Viv starts radio therapy
Today Viv went into his first radio therapy session in Faro. If you’re interested here is an article about the place.
A letter to the doctor
Hello Dr. Julio,
I have just got your e-mail address from Avril’s mail to you. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for everything you have done for us in the last few weeks.I think that the day we were referred to you, the Gods were smiling on us.I am absolutely convinced that without your help, persistence, your friends and connections we would never be where we are today.
The last five weeks have been an absolute whirlwind of Hospitals, Clinics, Specialists, tests and needles. Even taking into account the language problems, everybody has been absolutely fantastic with us. Your
Spanish Colleague at the Faro Hospital (who does not speak English) was especially concerned for me and I do believe that he performed a small miracle in getting everything done so quickly. Everybody has been very honest with me and in a very calm manner have been reassuring that everything will be done to help me.
Avril and I have discussed the possibilities of taking different advice, such as going to London and America. We have both agreed that we could never have been given any better support anywhere, than we have already had here in Portugal. The Clinic that is going to do the Radiotherapy from next week, seems to have all the very latest equipment, the Specialist has been very thorough and given me tremendous faith in their professionalism. I can assure you of one thing, I believe that if this had been discovered in England, we would never have had everything done so quickly and ready to start treatments in just five weeks.
My very sincere thanks to you for everything and the many hours you have spent trying to get appointments and set things up for us. I look forward to sharing a very special glass of South African wine with you, when
this is all over and I have my taste buds back again.
Kindest regards,
Viv.
And his wonderful reply:
The Mask (no… not the movie)
Viv went in to the radiotherapy unit in Faro today to have his mask fitted. We will explain more about this scary looking contraption that resembles some kind of “sex-domination-gimp-outfit” in future posts. The mask helps keep the face still and provides targets for the radiotherapy machine.
Viv tells people about the news
Hello Everybody,
I am sure that this information will come as a bit of a shock for you as it did to me.I feel that it is only right that you get all the info from me and not some second hand bullshit through the grape vine. Some three weeks ago I discovered to my horror that I have cancer and the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of doctors, specialist, clinics, tests and endless frigging needles etc. So to ensure that you are not fed some crap about my health, this is the state of play.
The primary source of the cancer is in the base of my tongue and the secondary is in the side of my neck. My tongue is the cause for concern and the real problem. I am due to start radio therapy on Monday for both tumours, which will take 4 to 6 weeks of daily treatments. According to the specialist, the radio therapy has a 30-40% chance of success. The one in the side of my neck does not seem to present a problem and can be removed without too much of a problem. They are hoping that the radio therapy will at least shrink the tumours, in some instances it can kill it off all together. If this therapy is not totally successful they will have to remove a large portion of the base of my tongue. Unfortunately this will mean that I will have great difficulty swallowing and I will have a bad speech impediment for the rest of my days.
A combination of radio therapy and the surgery has a 70% success rate. The medical services, Doctors, Specialists etc here in Portugal have been absolutely fantastic and I have great faith in them, that they are going to do everything possible to help Avril and I get through this shit. With a bit of luck, I will be able to get to work everyday for the next 6 weeks and business will be going on as usual. We are extremely fortunate that we have the very best bunch of people working for us and I have no doubt in my mind that things will continue as usual, with or without me.
It goes without saying that Avril is your direct contact to me if I’m not available, at anytime for what ever you may need. I apologise to anybody who would have preferred to hear this info from me personally, instead of this rather matter of fact e-mail. I am coping with this thing quite well, but I do get very emotional when I have to talk to somebody I care about and I do feel very embarrassed when I can not control my emotions.
It only remains for me to thank you all for your very valued support and friendship over the years and I can assure you that nothing is going to stand in our way to try and get through this thing.
Kindest regards,
Viv & Avril.
Viv alerts his staff
On Monday the 10th July – Viv called a staff meeting whilst on location in Quinta do Lago near Almançil to alert the staff about his cancer. Everyone was devastated by the news, but took it really well and quickly moved into support mode.