Well done my little white cells

An epidemic of swine flu has been spreading across Europe this winter. It seems to have been particularly pronounced in Ukraine, where 3000 people a week were being hospitalised and over 300 people have died. Unfortunately in recent weeks it has spread to this island and over 20 people have died here thus far. Swine flu is a particularly virulent strain of flu (H1N1) which is strong enough to kill the young and healthy. This flu last hit us in the epidemic of 2009 when over 250,000 people died from it worldwide. It doesn’t come from pigs, but is similar in its structure to a virus that affects pigs. You don’t get it from eating bacon and sausages.

I know only too well what it feels like as I’ve had this flu for the past two weeks. It began in the normal way, with a headache and sore throat. Then it quickly escalated to a sinus infection and a chest infection. My chest became very sore and I had frequent coughing fits that couldn’t be soothed. I took Paracetamol, Sudafed and Benylin. My chest got so bad I was heading towards a bottle a day habit. I was feverish, my joints were aching, I felt exhausted and listless. I couldn’t concentrate, my eyes and forehead throbbed. Added to that was the diarrhoea. Without doubt it has been one of the worst doses I’ve ever had.

After the 2009 epidemic the UK stockpiled a drug called Tamiflu.  This drug inhibits the spread of the virus through the body. But it must be taken within the first two days of the virus appearing and has some significant side effects. In practice most people are very unlikely to recognise that they have something out of the ordinary within this time period. The £500 million cost of this stockpile has undoubtedly benefited Roche, the drug manufacturer, but probably not the rest of us too much. The seasonal flu vaccine does offer some protection from this strain, apparently you still get infected but you don’t get quite so ill with it.

Once the flu virus has spread through your body there is little you can do other than keep warm, keep hydrated and take things like Paracetamol, Sudafed and Benylin, to manage the symptoms. Over the past week I’ve also taken a course of antibiotics but they haven’t had any discernable effect. This confirms that the problem is viral and the bug will have to run its course. Thankfully, during the past day or so my immune system appears to have been gaining the upper hand, as I have had periods when my symptoms have subsided and it feels like I am getting better. But I also know that I must be careful as deep down some vestiges of the swine are still there.

The greatest boost to my recovery came today when I heard that the CT scan I had last Thursday was all clear of cancer. I’m over the moon and deeply relieved. I was dreading the result of this scan. Because last month the Oncologist told me that she thought that this scan was ‘likely’ to show a recurrence, as the pathology report had shown that some cancer cells had been left behind by the surgeon. She even gave me a leaflet about the chemotherapy drug that she was expecting to put me on.

I can only conclude that my immune system is doing extremely well. It has killed off all the cancer cells that were left behind when my tumour was removed. It has repaired all the cells that were damaged during my abdominal surgery. And now it is sorting out the swine flu bug that has already killed hundreds of healthy people across Europe. Well done my little white cells.