I had some pretty sweet news back in Feb and it’s a huuuge change for me.
This year will mark 11 years since I was first diagnosed with bone cancer and spent nine months on the children’s oncology ward in Cardiff.
Since then, I’ve been going for check ups regularly – at first, every few months then every year.
So when I got my oncology appointment letter in Jan, I assumed the appointment would be like any other.
In fact, it actually turned out to be a late effects clinic, which is all about the long term effects of chemo.
I chatted with the doctor about my heart, my hearing, my fertility and the chance of cancer coming back.
My heart is functioning on borderline normal so it’s doing pretty well (yay!). My hearing will probably deteriorate as everyone else’s will as we all get older but it’s fine for now – I have constant tinnitus but I’m kinda used to it these days. My fertility will be something that we’ll have to think about more when I want kids (not just yet!) and I have a slightly higher chance of getting cancer again so it’s important that I have a healthy lifestyle.
After I saw the doctor, I met the nurse who gave me my first ever dose of chemo. She told me I could decide whether I wanted to come back to the clinic again or not.
After 11 years of going to the same clinic, seeing the same people, having the same X-rays and following the same routine, it seems so weird to say that I’ve officially been discharged from paediatric oncology.
I feel so happy to be free but it’ll be really weird not to go back to the clinic anymore.
It’s almost like going back to when I finished chemo and feeling almost as though the safety net had slipped out from under me.
It’s a time of big change in my life but I couldn’t be more ready to close that chapter and move on.
I’ll still be going to see my surgeon in Birmingham every five years and having yearly heart check-ups but apart from that, we’re all good!
If you’ve just started treatment, I hope this brings you a little bit of comfort ❤
Allie x
Allie Morgan - Writer & Cancer Survivor 