Previous Updates:

13 December 2001
Brilliant news today! Julia is in remission! This means the cancer has virtually gone! We're all so happy and thankful - not bad considering earlier in the year she was given a 10% chance of survival. Michelle went with Julia to the hospital to take notes of what the doctor was saying - because Julia can never remember what was said! Mum and Dad and over the moon at the moment with this good news. Dad even spent 10 minutes chatting to me on the phone!

12 December 2001
Julia is waiting for the results of her PET scan. This is the highly detailed test that will let us know what's going on inside her body. It's taken the doctors well over a week to analyse the results so we're praying for the best...

22 November 2001
Julia had a brain scan today and the doctor said everything is fine. Her blood count is good too so we're all happy. Julia has been going out every night with friends and is having a good time. She deserves that and is certainly making the most of her "good health". Yeah, I had to put that in quotes to indicate "as healthy as can be under the circumstances".

19 November 2001
Last week Julia was away in Spain on holiday. One minute she had an urge to go away and two days later she'd caught a plane with a friend! I received a text message saying she's having a great time and has been to two stag parties! As you can tell, Julia is feeling well and we thank God that she's enjoying life as she always had. Julia's brave face and amazing spirit is sometimes deceptive - she's not out of the woods yet so please keep her in your prayers.

20 October 2001
A PET scan has been booked for Julia in December. This is a very detailed scan that takes up to 2 hours to complete and will give the doctors a very clear picture on how Julia is doing.

13 October 2001
Julia was released from hospital on Thursday but went back in again on Friday for a scan which was brought forwards by a week. This scan is to find out what the cancer is up to and if it's gone down or spread. The results, Julia was told, would be available next week. The doctor phoned Julia last night to her surprise and said that he had to tell her the results before the weekend. There has been a decrease in the amount of cancer and the treatment she has received is working. They want to scan her again in 3 months to find out if the treatment will continue to work - the treatment is still working inside her right now, even though the transplant and chemo was 8 weeks ago. We're so happy that this is positive news, but Julia isn't counting her chickens just yet. Please keep your fingers crossed and pray the effectiveness of the treatment continues in this direction. Well done Julia, keep fighting it, girl!

9 October 2001
A higher than normal temperature and loss of appetite has brought Julia back into Hammersmith hospital. She was told to go to A&E yesterday and was waiting from 3pm to 8pm to be given a bed. After all that waiting she wasn't given any treatment so she just went to sleep (but had a bad night). The doctors want to monitor her for the next few days to make sure that she doesn't have an infection (or that it goes away for good). Last week Julia had her hickman line taken out so blood samples and treatments need to be done via needles which Julia hates - as you can imagine. Please don't buy her any food/sweets until she's got her appetite back which we hope will be soon.

30 September 2001
Julia has spent the past 4 weeks at home going back to the hospital at least twice a week for blood transfusions and platelets. On arriving back from a day out in Brighton to visit our great aunts yesterday, there was a message on the answerphone from the hospital saying they have found an infection in Julia's latest blood test and she had to go to A&E immediately. Julia went there today (and waited hours on a trolley) and they finally said her hickman line needs to come out because it may be harbouring the infection. It was late in the afternoon by then so they decided she should come back tomorrow rather than stay there overnight (Julia hates staying in hospital!). They haven't given her any antibiotics yet so we just have to hope that whatever they do for her tomorrow catches the infection in time before it gets worse.

2 September 2001
It's been touch and go over the past few days because Julia's count has been going up and down. The good news is that they're letting her out today! She'll have to watch herself very carefully for the next couple of weeks. It's up to all of Julia's friends and family to make sure she doesn't go out of the house, especially to pubs or anywhere there is a crowd of people as she is many times more susceptible to catching germs than the average person. Thanks to everyone for their support. Julia will be scanned in a week or four (?) so we'll keep our fingers crossed for good news.

29 August 2001
Julia has this to say today:
"I got a day release yesterday to go to my Grandma's funeral which was a nice surprise for people. When everyone left the house to go to the funeral I raided the fridge and had my first meal in 10 days! Most of my close friends came to pay their respects which really pleased me and mum. I was really happy to see my great aunts from Brighton, they're the coolest! Yeah, older people can be cool too! I want to thank Claire for switching off the dishwasher during prayers. I'm trying to be really good now now because I might be able to get out by Monday - these 4 walls are driving me mad! I don't hate anyone today, I'm actually in quite a good mood and love people (especially good looking ones) and animals (especially good looking ones)." Oops, editing error - on purpose of course!

25 August 2001
Julia insisted that I put this message up on her site: "I'm fed up with people! I'm having a 'I hate people day'!" Sorry everyone, Julia is annoyed with people who don't read messages on this site and still phone her up at the hospital. I know you all care, but she says she can only take a certain amount of "how are you feeling today?" questions before blowing her lid. Other than that, she's feeling a little better today. Please don't take any of this personally, she's just very fed up and frustrated at the moment.

24 August 2001
Dad and I visited Julia today to break the news about Grandma Hannah (see yesterday's update). She took it worse than we thought so we stayed with her for a while. Julia's breathing has got slightly better which is the good news. She's allowed outside of her room now but doesn't have the strength to wonder far and still has pain. Please continue to send letters or cards via mum and dad and restrain from phoning her until she's ready to talk to people again. Thank you everyone for your support.

23 August 2001
I'm very sad to say that our Grandma Hannah (Susan's mum) passed away at about 9pm. She had a major stroke a week ago and didn't quite regain consciousness. Julia had this brilliant idea of taking familiar objects to the hospital to place into Grandma's hand. She responded to a couple of objects and moved her hand to feel them. She even opened her eyes for a couple of seconds. We thought she was going to make progress, but that never happened. She was 87 years old. We all love her so much and will never forget her, she was the perfect grandmother. It would be impossible for Julia or I to think of anything we could have changed about her. Our consoling thought is that she wasn't in pain and at last can be together again with Grandpa Jack after 11 years apart.

22 August 2001
Unfortunately Julia hasn't improved and is still very uncomfortable and has breathing difficulties. She's being given blood transfusions and platelets but as far as I'm aware they haven't treated her for water on the lungs yet, I'll have to ask what they're doing about this next time I speak to her. Julia sends a big thank you to Keith and Mary for the pooing cow, Julia thought it was very funny! She asks all of her friends not to phone or visit her until she's improved. She's very frustrated and short tempered so please don't call her. It's also very difficult for her to answer the phone due to the pain she is suffering in her chest and upper body. If you wan to let her know you're thinking of her please send a card to mum & dad who will pass it on. Julia likes cards, especially funny or rude ones! Thank you for understanding.

20 August 2001
Julia hasn't had a good few days. Last week her shoulder swelled up and this weekend she's had breathing difficulties. Her eyes are red and swollen and the doctors think she has water on the lungs and also an infection on her Hickman line. She's very tired and uncomfortable. They scanned her today and hope to have some results soon.

16 August 2001
Julia is still in hospital and is doing okay. We expect her to be there for another 2 weeks. Thanks to everyone who's visited or called her or bought her a gift. It's best not to buy her chocolate because she can't eat it at the moment and there are certain rules covering what foods she can eat, so please check first. Sorry I haven't updated this page for a week but there wasn't really any news. Julia seems to be coping better this time around. Oh, her hair started falling out so she took a pair of clippers to it and she's hairless again. It grew back really nicely as well.

9 August 2001
Nothing special to report today. Julia is doing okay. Dad is making her Breville toasted sandwiches every day. He's also making them for her visitors and all of the doctors and nurses! I think he likes his role as chief toasted sandwich maker!

6 August 2001
Julia had her second stem cell transplant today. It went well so now we have to wait several weeks to see how Julia does. The next 3 weeks will be very critical for her as her immune system goes down to zero (literally) she will be in isolation soon and susceptable to the slightest germs. We took her out to Pizza Express on Sunday for a pre-transplant lunch. The doctors said it would be okay providing we took her back in the afternoon. She was very good - we didn't have to handcuff her!

31 July 2001
Julia went back to Hammersmith Hospital on Monday to begin chemotherapy in preparation for her second stem cell transplant. Just as her hair is growing back she will have to see it go again. At least she can enjoy it for a few more weeks. Julia welcomes your phone calls and text message at the moment because she's bored. If you have any good videos or can spare 20 minutes to brighten up her day she'd be pleased to see you, but you must call and ask if she wants visitors first. Thanks!

28 June 2001
Good news. Julia's doctor has confirmed that the cancer has shrunk to half the size it was before. Although this hasn't been a cure (as there is no cure for cancer), it shows that the transplant had a positive effect so a second transplant should also produce positive results. There may be lasting side effects of going ahead with a second transplant but Julia is a brave girl and is willing to go for it.

22 June 2001
Julia had an imporant scan at the hospital on Wednesday. The results will be available on Monday, but today the doctor called Julia to say that his initial impression is positive. There appears to be an improvment, but we won't know by how much until Monday. The doctor will go ahead and schedule a second stem cell transplant for her within the next 4 weeks. Well done Julia! So far so good. Perhaps all those vodka jellies helped?

10 June 2001
Julia's School Party was excellent! Everyone dressed up in school uniform and joined in the the games and ate jelly and ice cream! Thanks to everyone who came, Julia was thrilled to see you all enjoying yourselves. Expect some photos to appear here soon.

9 June 2001
It's Julia's 26th birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We went out for lunch to celebrate and she's having a party tomorrow.

7 June 2001
They let Julia out of hospital today.

6 June 2001
Julia is staying in hospital for another night for observation. Doctors think she may have got an infection, but they're not sure so they're just being cautious. Julia feels okay though.

5 June 2001
Sorry there hadn't been an update for a while but Julia had been at home and keeping well. In recent days she felt very tired and she suspected she needed another blood transfusion. No one at Hammersmith would help her when she phoned (the cancer ward said she's nothing to do with them anymore and haematology told her to go to A&E) but she managed to persuade them to let her have a blood test. She sat waiting in the hospital for 5 hours for a simple blood test and was then told that they won't give her a transfusion. Julia then contacted Northwick Park hospital who managed to find a bed for her tonight where she is currently receiving a transfusion. The staff at Northwick Park are fantastic. Apart from that Julia is very lively and full of smiles and mischief.

Julia made a new friend when she was Hammersmith a couple of weeks ago. Melissa had Leukaemia and very sadly she passed away the other day. Melissa had tried 3 transplants but unfortunately they didn't work. Julia had spent some time with her while in hospital talking on the telephone. Julia brought some happiness to Melissa in her final weeks and hours with her humour and smiles. We are all very sorry about what happened to Melissa and our thoughts are with her family and friends. God bless you, Melissa, now you are at peace. x x x

30 May 2001
Julia is behaving like she used to - normal in her book, a bit crazy in everyone else's! ;-) Her scan has been scheduled for late June, so please keep your fingers crossed for her. I still think it's strange or amazing how she can be in isolation one day and two days later she's out by herself shopping! Only Julia I tell you, only Julia! :-)

22 May 2001
Just to prove there are kind-hearted strangers out there in the big bad world, Julia had a taxi ride today and chatted to the driver about how she is going to buy some TVs for the other cancer patients in the hospital. On reaching her destination the driver gave Julia a handful of money to buy a colour TV for the hospital! Later, Julia visited an electrical store to buy 2 TVs with built-in VCRs. They said they can order them for next week. Later they phoned Julia to say they made a mistake and they won't have any at all, but if she buys 3 TVs they will give her 3 VCRs for free! So that's what she did! (Please note we're not asking anyone to give money, this is just a simple story Julia told me which warmed my heart).

20 May 2001
Julia was released from hospital this afternoon and sent home! Actually she was asked to move back to a shared room with 3 strangers but she persuaded the doctor to let her go home. She has made a very quick recovery from the treatment which has totally surprised the doctors. We don't know what's happened to the cancer until she gets scanned which is obviously our main concern. The doctor wants to wait a while until they schedule a scan but from past experience Julia's cancer is resilient and grows back quickly. It's important to get the scan done as soon as possible to show if the treatment has been effective otherwise if we wait several weeks the cancer could grow back and the doctors would conclude that the treatment had no effect on the cancer. Julia is not allowed out of the house and is still susceptible to germs so she won't be clubbing or pubbing just yet!

13 May
This is another message from Julia: Hi everyone! I've been kept been very busy in solidary confinement with some great company from some great friends. Dad has gone a bit mad and bought more helium balloons, I'm just waiting for them to start leaking then I'll start to sound like a choir boy. I'm really missing the outside world. If anyone can smuggle in a bag of fresh air I'd really appreaciate it. Dad's feeding me well. I'm living off Marks & Spensor's take-away food. Strangely enough I was assigned a dietition because they expected me to lose 2 to 3 stone during the experience, but of course I do things differently. I've gained 3 lbs this week!

I'd like to say hello to Linda & family in Ohiho. Thank you very much for my card - it's been amusing everybody. I send you a big hug and my love. Rona, I ope you're still coming over because I really miss you and I send you and your family a big hug too. Auntie Beyna, thank you very much for my pressies. They've brightened up my room and made me smile. Big hugs and love! Begonia, thank you so much for asking after me. I do miss you and would love to see you again and I send you and your family all my love and have a wonderful time un Euro Disney.

9 May
This is a message to everyone from Julia: Hi guys! Everything is really cool at Hammersmith. The doctors are pleasantly surprised by my well-being although they insist I will get an infection while I'm in isolation. I told them "bugger that!" I don't have time for an infection! For those of you that haven't seen my room, I've called it "my little council flat". For those who have seen it you know why I've called it that! I haven't made any friends from Wormwood Scrubs next door (it's a prison!) but I'm trying my charms on the workmen below out of my window. Thank you for all your messages, cars, phone calls, etc, and I look forward to seeing you all soon. I send everyone an individual big hug. If you have any messages for me then email them to Gary please.

4 May 2001
I went to see Julia on Thursday night after her transplant and she was doing really well. The doctors warned her that her appetite would drop and she'd lose 2-3 stone in weight but she's actually been very hungry and hasn't lost any weight which is good. The doctors are surprised at how well she is doing, she really is quite inspirational. It won't be for another few weeks until we know how effective this proceedure is, although she's not out of the worst yet as the chemo is still yet to take effect. (It's taking its time which concerns me as it's not normal to be so well after such an intensive treatment). With luck and Julia's fighting spirit she'll see this through.

2 May 2001
Julia is having her transplant on Thursday to put the good cells back into her body as she has finished the chemo therapy for now. Please can you refrain from calling her for now as this is a crucial time for Julia as she doesn't know how she is going to react to the transplant. Julia says that she wishes with all her heart that she can speak to friends over the next few days, but she can't guarantee it. She wishes to thank all her friends and family for their support and enthusiasm and she wants you to send her some dirty cards! Julia says Hammersmth holds high standards for extremely fit doctors. Unfortunately they're all married (she's checked!). A special "hi" and hugs goes out to Rona & family from Julia.

27 Apr 2001
I went to see Julia today and she has her own isolated room at Hammersmith. It's a bit like a hotel room with TV, video, fridge, and en-suite bathroom. She's been on intensive chemo for 2 days now and remains chirpy, well, and very upbeat. Dad was there too and we had a good laugh with Julia making the most jokes and pulling funny faces as she does! She had the results of the tests they did last week to find out why she had a seizure. The MRI scan was negative, the lumber puncture was negative and the X-rays were negative. Julia said to the doctor "so does that mean the cancer has cleared up?" Julia's sick sense of humour is a good sign that she's doing okay, but we get the feeling that some staff take Julia seriously as a twisted sense of juvenile humour is the last thing you'd expect from a cancer patient. That's my girl! :-)

23 Apr 2001
Julia saw a lot of her friends at the weekend which made her very happy. Now she's back at Hammersmith and will be there for the next 4 to 6 weeks. She's feeling well and is in good spirit. The high dose therapy starts on Wednesday so please keep your fingers crossed and think good thoughts for her.

20 Apr 2001
Still at Hammersmith, Julia is feeling quite well today. She even got dressed to come to the restaurant for a proper meal. They're letting her out on Saturday until Sunday evening when she must return for treatment to start the following day. She can't be let out for too long otherwise they'll give her bed away to someone else. If you want to call Julia then you will have a small window to do so this weekend - if she's not sleeping - but please keep your call short as she had bad trouble sleeping at the hospital. Thanks.

17 Apr 2001
Sorry for the delay with this update. The problem Julia had last week was worse than I was told. I'm not sure of the exact details (test results pending) but Julia had to be resuscitated. The good news is that Julia recovered and a few days afterwards she was much better. Today she was walking freely between her hospital bed and the day-room and was fairly chatty and in good spirits. She says it's strange but she feels much better now than she did before her close brush last week. The doctors want to bring her high dose therapy treatment forward to commence on Monday.

11 Apr 2001
Julia had a bad day yesterday when she went into Hammersmith Hospital as a day patient and ended up as an in-patient. Julia had a blackout and a small fit so they had to keep her in for tests. They scanned her to try to find out what the problem is. At the moment she's "comfortable" but I'll report back as soon as there's any news. Please try not to phone mum or dad as they are exhausted with all the driving to Hammersmith, the worrying and keeping a full time job (or 2 in my dad's case!). You are welcome to call me instead. Thanks.

5 Apr 2001
Yesterday Julia went to interview her new doctor at Hammersmith Hospital. He's a very nice man and carefully explained everthing so even dad could understand it. It came down to 3 options for treatment:
1) Do nothing (some patients say they have had enough by this stage)
2) Try more chemo using different drugs
3) High Dose Therapy with stem cell transplant
The doctor said option 3 was the best but it does carry risks, especially at a point where Julia's immune system hits zero and becomes open to any infection which could become fatal. He gave Julia a 25% chance of a successful treatment which is 5% higher than the previous doctor gave. Julia is going in on Tue/Wed as a day patient to have her cells harvested and frozen. The high dose chemo will begin a week later.

30 Mar 2001
Hoorah! Julia is at home now, but she hasn't been let off lightly. The doctors gave her several bags of medicine and syringes which she and a district nurse must regularly administrate. Julia is seeing her new doctor at Hammersmith on Wednesday and will probably become an in-patient a week later.

28 Mar 2001
Julia is currently in Northwick Park Hospital being prepared for a stem cell transplant next week at Hammersmith. This process involves giving her more chemo and then removing stem cells through a machine which are then frozen. She's then given an extremely high dose of chemo which will destroy virtually all white cells, bone marrow, and hopefully the cancer cells. At this point she will be highly prone to infection. Her stem cells will then be returned to her where they should regrow and new white cells and marrow will be produced.

22 Mar 2001
Julia started having really bad headaches at the weekend and was re-admitted to hospital on Wednesday. I saw her last night and she wanted me to put a message on the website saying "The bitch is back in Byrd!". Byrd being the name of the hospital ward. The latest scan is not good and shows there is no change in the cancer despite an intensive run of chemo a couple of weeks ago. The doctors said the only chance is an extreme dose of chemo but they need to check that her kidneys are up to it first. More news as I get it...

16 Mar 2001
Julia has made a remarkable recovery. Her stigma appears to have gone and she's walking without crutches - even though a doctor remarked it was more like waddling! Her appetite is in full swing, but she's gone off chocolate because the drugs have left a bitter taste in her mouth. She has another week at home and then she's back on chemo, but the doctors hope they can do a small course this time around depending on the scan she's having next week.

11 Mar 2001
Good news! Julia was let out of hospital on Friday and is now recovering from the mystery brain disease at home. She needs crutches to help her move about and gets tired by doing the most simple of tasks. If she's up to continueing the cancer treatment the doctors will probaly ask her to come back in next week. Although Julia is at home please don't bombard her with phone calls. She's not taking any visitors so please don't pop in on the off chance. Sorry to sound rude, but Julia needs space and peace in order to recover.

8 Mar 2001
Julia was a little more chatty today and I stayed for about an hour before she got tired (of me?). They put the Hickman line back in the same place as the old one which was strange because even the doctors originally said not to put it back in the same place because of a risk of re-infection. She's going for physiotherapy every morning to help her walk again and get her co-ordination back. I told her that having a lack of co-ordination isn't that bad - after all, I''ve muddled through with my poor sense of fashion and it's done me no harm! :-)

6 Mar 2001
Julia had a new Hickman line put in today. She's not in any pain as the anaesthetic seems to be more potent while Julia is weak. Before she was ill it took an elephant dart to knock her out! Hopefully they'll let her out at the weekend for a few days.

3 Mar 2001
I bought a hot French bread pizza to the hospital at Julia's request and before I could get the knife and fork out of the bag she had grabbed the pizza and dug in using her fingers! I'm not sure if this is an accurate way to benchmark her recovery from the mystery virus, but I was rather thrilled. She says the doctors confirmed it was a brain disease but they don't know what it was exactly, but they think it's going away and it looks like there won't be any long lasting damage. They're going to attach a new hickman line in a few days. (That's the tube that fits into her chest for taking and delivering chemo, blood samples, and other fluids).

2 Mar 2001
I wasn't able to visit Julia tonight but mum and dad told me she was doing okay. She's still not up to receiving phone calls or visitors so please hold back on contacting her for a little while longer. If you want to send flowers then please don't send them to the hospital as Julia is in the infectious diseases ward which disallows flowers. Sorry, but rules is rules.

28 Feb 2001
Things are looking better. Julia ate two small helpings of dad's cheesy mash potato for dinner and kept it all down! She's even watching TV now which is another promising sign of improvement. She had another lumber puncture today - this is when the doctor takes a sample of spinal fluid - ouch! I asked her if she had a message for your friends reading this and she says "Merry Christmas! I look forward to going to everyone's wedding engagement party. No, I'm not disillusional, I'm just getting back to normal."

27 Feb 2001
As if by magic Julia seemed a lot chirpier today. Okay, she's a thousand miles away from being her old self but this was a noticable improvement. She made some jokes and even laughed which was rewarding for mum, dad and me (Gary) to see. At least she's going in the right direction now. I just hope it's a perminant improvement. The doctors still don't know what kind of infection she has - 3 weeks after she reported it. Julia sends her love to everyone who reads this on the Internet.

Symptoms: Sore eyes, poor co-ordination, sweating, poor appetite, sore legs. This is not related to the cancer, but to a mystery virus which the doctors were unable to identify. The sore legs are from being stuck in bed for over 2 weeks now.

24 Feb 2001
A couple of weeks ago Julia started getting really bad headaches and she's been in hospital since then. The doctor's have no idea what this mystery illness can be. They've tried all kinds of tests (lumber puncture for one) and sent slides and samples away to other doctors and labs around the country, but so far no one knows what this virus is. It has nothing to do with the cancer but at the moment it's really taking it's toll on poor Julia. She's crying and her spark has gone out. We've never felt this low. She's very sensitive to light so the curtains are always drawn and the lights never go on. She has double vision and can't stand noise either. We have to whisper or not talk at all.