SMILE chemotherapy protocol

What a ridiculous name! I have made several requests that the name of the protocol is changed, but it was created in Japan, so I have little influence.

The drugs that Ryan is subjected to are as follows:

Steroid Dexamethasone, days 2-4: A steroid used as an anti-inflammatory, increase appetite, prevents reactions.
Side effects: Muscle weakness, mood swings, insomnia.

Methotrexate, day 1: A cytotoxic - Anti Cancer Antimetobolite drug that prevents cell division.
Side effects: Neutropenia, Alopecia, Fertility.

Ifosfamide, days 2-4: A cytotoxic - Anti Cancer Alkylating Agent that changes cell DNA.
Side effects: Neutropenia, Alopecia, Fertility.

L-asparaginase, day 8: A cytotoxic - Anti Cancer Pancreatitis Enzyme that breaks down asparagine in the body. Since the cancer cells cannot make more asparagine, they die.
Side effects: Anaphylaxis, Neurotoxicity, Liver function.

Etoposide, days 2-4: A cytotoxic - Anti Cancer Plant alkaloid that halts cell division.
Side effects: Neutropenia, Alopecia, Fertility.

Ry also has to take all of these in addition to counteract some of the effects on the body.

Sodium Lactate	500ml Day 1	/	Electrolytes balance
Phenytoin	300mg days 1-6	Muscle & bone pain	Anti-neurotoxicity
Folinic Acid	Days 2-5	/	Assists in Methotrexate breakdown
Mesna	Days 2-4	/	Bladder protection
Filgrastim (GCSF)	300mg day 6-15	Bone pain	Assists bone marrow make stem cells for neutrophils
Cyclizine	Days 1-10	/	Anti sickness
Ondansetron	Days 1-10	/	Anti sickness
Methylene blue	prophylaxis for ifosfamide reaction	/	Ry unfortunately had a grade 1 neurotoxic reaction to Ifosfamide in cycle 2. Click here for more information.

Missing Education due to Illness

The Importance of Attendance If you read any news articles on education, correspondence from your child’s school, or are simply clued up on parenting then you will know the importance of school attendance. Schools place a great deal of focus on targets and will often offer incentives and competitions to encourage and increase attendance figures, but what if your child has a serious illness. What happens if they really are not well enough to attend school. What happens then? Attendance targets at Ryan's school are currently set at 95% attendance for the school year. Therefore realistically your child can only miss 10 school days due to illness. Medical appointments such as GP or Dentist do not count, but you are encouraged to make these appointments outside of the school day where feasibly possible. If your child consistently misses school, even if it is only one day a week, that equates to 39 days over the school year. Even missing one day in a week results in pressure on the

Questions to ask after Cancer diagnosis

Cancer Sucks I have shared with you Ryan's lymphoma journey where we have talked about the ups, the downs, the protocols for drugs, the side effects, but I realised recently I have never shared the questions. This post is all about what to ask when you receive a diagnosis of cancer. Receiving a cancer diagnosis is never ever going to be seen as good news. It can never be dressed up or made pretty. It is devastating, it is gut-wrenching, it is life-changing. There is so much information to process you will not think of the questions you need to ask or you will have hundreds of questions you want to ask all at once. These are just some of the questions you can ask once you have processed the news, in order to gain a better understanding of your fight ahead. General Information What type of cancer do I have? Where is it located? What are the risk factors for this disease? Is this type of cancer caused by genetic factors? Are other members of my family at risk? What lifestyle c

3 Years in Remission

3 Years in Remission In May 2017 Ryan finished his 6 gruelling cycles of Chemotherapy and was in remission for 3 months before his cancer returned in September 2017. I wrote about our first 3 month cancer free milestone in our blog post here . In August 2020 Ryan once again finished treatment. This time he completed 3 years of Immunotherapy treatment and in November 2020 Ryan had tests done to confirm he is once again in remission. This is, of course, outstanding news but we were muted in any celebrations as it was such early days and we had been here once before. Ryan has been having regular check-ups every 3 months and in May 2021 we were able to confirm he has reached the 9-month milestone which was phenomenal news. Massive Scare - Relapse #3, ALMOST. Tuesday 4 October 2022. Ryan mentioned to me about an Ulcer on the roof of his mouth. I took photos and monitored for a couple of weeks before we start to panic too much.😳 Thursday 27 October 2022. Sadly Ryan has had to have yet a

Cancer Survivor Story

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Swansea Community Farm

Swansea Community Farm In April 2021 Ryan began volunteering at Swansea Community Farm (Welsh - Fferm Gymunedol Abertawe). For now, he attends one day a week on a Tuesday from 10 am to 4 pm but there is a possibility that he could also volunteer on Thursdays as well also 10 am to 4 pm. About the Farm Swansea Community Farm is the only city farm in Wales set in 3.5 acres of land with a variety of animals, an allotment, wildlife habitats, beehives and a café. The animals include donkeys, goats, sheep, ducks, geese and chickens. The farm aims to improve wellbeing, build skills and create a sense of community engagement by caring for the animals, producing local food and caring for the local environment. Duties Ryan has enjoyed a variety of different duties so far. He has walked the Donkeys, Sheep and Geese from their barns out to their fields and pond. Collected eggs from the Chickens, and has mucked out the donkey sheds. He has also cleaned out the chicken coops, cleaned and refilled all

There's a Panda in my Bellybutton

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