Fcancerwith: 3 Months Off Chemo

After a brutal cycle 6, Russ shares what it means to take a 3-month break from chemo. It’s not a celebration—it’s relief, reflection, and time to reset with integrated care.

MY STORYWORK AND CANCER

Russ Read-Barrow

7/15/20252 min read

Wow. Last week’s post was pretty bleak. But it reflected exactly where I was—cycle 6 absolutely floored me. A week of feeling wrecked, post-Glasto crash, and a steroid spiral. It sucked balls.

But I came out the other side. Helped by an awesome weekend down by the seaside (I need more of that.)

Then, last night, in my latest (and much dreaded) call with my oncologist, I found out: I can take a 3-month break from chemo.

Lung nodules and lymph nodes have shrunk by 50%. My CEA marker is down too. The chemo did its job—for now, at least.

Relief is the overwhelming emotion. Not bell-ringing or bottle-popping. Not because I’m not grateful, but because I know this isn’t done. Battle won, war ongoing.

And to be honest, I’ve always struggled with the celebratory side of cancer. The bell-ringing photos. The “I’m done!” posts. It’s not that I don’t feel happy for people—maybe it’s envy, or just the realisation that I’m probably never going to have that moment. My cancer is unlikely to end with a full stop. It’ll be managed, not cured. And that’s hard. It doesn’t mean I’m not hopeful. Just means I see these milestones differently.

So this isn’t a champagne moment. This is a head-down, deep-breath, let’s-reset kind of moment.

The next three months are for resetting.

I’m working with a new integrated health specialist. Looking at nutrition. Supplements. Supportive therapies. More reading. More planning. More strength-building.

Because chemo will be back—and when it is, I want to meet it stronger.

None of this would be possible without support:

My wife, Katy Read-Barrow
My wonderful friends
My team at work who gave me space to survive last week
And some brilliant new voices changing how I think about cancer and healing: Amanda King, Dale Atkinson, Gina Jacobson, Tom Crudgington - to name a few

This week, I’m back at it. Hopefully able to focus. Hopefully with a bit more energy.

FC:AI updates coming Thursday I’ll start sharing how AI helped me through the last 12 weeks. What worked. What didn’t. And what I’ve learned.

Onward.

#FCancerWithAI #FCAI #WorkingWithCancer #CancerLife #RealityCheck #IntegratedHealth