Update on Me: Good News

Do you want the good news, the bad news or the really good news first? 

The really good news is that I had a PET scan on 8th April and except for a couple of non-reactive spots on my liver, the lymphoma was GONE!  I’ve had two rounds of chemotherapy since then, so those spots should be gone by now.  I even got to ring the bell to proclaim that I’d had my final round.

The t-shirt reads “Science is magic that works”.  True.  I’m living proof.  

Oh, and I get my PICC line out tomorrow - that’s the thing in my right arm.  I have my first follow-up appointment on 2nd July.  I guess this means that I’m officially in remission.

The bad news is that I really have lost all my hair!  

You can even see the scar on my scalp, where I was hit by a Number Board, which fell off the wall and landed on me in Grade 1.  It’s on the right of the back of my head.  I remember that it bled everywhere and that the GP glued my scalp together.  I so was disappointed not to get stitches. What 6 year old wouldn’t be?

The good news is that I’ve lost my excess weight and am down a dress size.  No, that wasn’t planned and I’m not really sure I should celebrate it, since most of it was due to the tumour occupying all the space my abdomen and making me feel full really quickly.  It was either the tumour or the ascites it induced.  (That’s fluid in the abdominal cavity.). Anyway, over the course of November, December and January, I lost two stone (28lb, 12.7kg). While I put on a couple of pounds once I left hospital, I now weigh 8st 12lb (124lb, 56.2kg) and have maintained that weight since February, without doing anything.  No dieting; no watching what I eat; nada; zilch.

What this weight loss means is that I’m back wearing clothes that I haven’t fitted into since the 2010’s, and that is something to celebrate.  This time last year, I couldn’t fit into the Science t-shirt above.  Now I can and I’m so glad I wore it when I rang the bell.

- Pip

Recipe Tuesday: Chicken Liver Pâté

One of the biggest mysteries of the past few years is “where have all the chicken livers gone?”.  OK, I no longer shop at a Kosher butcher - they closed - but I haven’t seen any in a supermarket for years and our local butcher has real problems obtaining them.  Lurking in the freezer are a goose liver from removed from the 2022 Christmas goose and a tiny duck liver taken from the Christmas 2023 duck, both just begging to be turned into pâté.  Imagine my surprise when DH phoned me from the supermarket on Friday - I haven’t been shopping since I started chemo - and told me they had chicken livers!  Yay!! Three 400g packets came home with him. Two went into the freezer and, on Sunday, I made the third into Chicken Liver Pâté.  It was yummy!

My recipe is based on one by Rachel Khoo, from her Little Paris Kitchen cookbook. She uses shallots, brandy and rabbit livers, while I used onions, sherry, chicken livers together with the duck and goose liver from the freezer, and made a double quantity.  You will need a food processor.

Ingredients

250g chicken livers

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon sherry

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon Schmaltz or use olive oil

Method

1. Melt the schmaltz in a frying pan over a low heat.
2. Gently fry the onion and garlic, until the onion has softened and turned clear. 
3. Add the chicken livers.  Keep the heat low. Fry on one side for 2 minutes, then turn over and fry on the other.
4. Once the chicken livers have been turned over, add a pinch of salt and the sherry.  Stir. Fry for another 2 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook - they will toughen.  Test to see if they’re cooked by pushing down on one using the edge of a spoon.  It should break up easily and be brown inside.
5. Tip the chicken liver mixture into a food processor and process until smooth.
6. Decant into ramekin dishes, smooth down to give a flat top, allow to cool, cover with cling film and refrigerate until needed. Serve with good bread.

NOTE:  Traditionally pâté is covered with a layer of clarified butter/fat, in order to help preserve it.  I never bother but, if you wish to: melt 150g unsalted butter and allow it to cool for a couple of minutes. Skim off the white crusty layer, then gently pour the liquid butter over the pâté. Once cool, refrigerate and ensure the butter is set before serving.

- Pam