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Another bump in the road
Just when I thought I was beginning to understand the rhythm of chemotherapy, the weekend had other ideas. Having sailed through round two of my targetted treatments without any major dramas, I rather optimistically assumed I was on the home straight for a “good” and “positive” cycle. Instead, Saturday was spent clocking up six hours…
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A third of the way through!
I had my second round of chemotherapy yesterday and, thankfully, everything went very smoothly. My matching teal ensemble of a £2 headscarf and a favourite necklace teamed with my positivity vest was complimented by the nurses and even a fellow patient. I laughed and said, “This is the only chance I get to go out…
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“Round 2: Ding! Ding!”
Yes, I know I’ve said in my previous post “Lost for Words” how I dislike the ‘fight’ and ‘battle’ analogies but unfortunately as I start typing this new post in the wee small hours of the morning, I can’t think a more appropriate title. Last Friday I popped into the hospital day unit to have…
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Hair today, gone tomorrow
I think everyone knows that one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss. But knowing something is going to happen and actually experiencing it are two very different things. I was walking past Rochester Cathedral earlier this week when I saw a little boy, probably about four or five years old,…
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Lost for words
Since my diagnosis I’ve discovered that cancer doesn’t just come with side effects. It also comes with a script. Almost everyone reaches for the same handful of phrases. They’re not meant to hurt. They’re usually an attempt to fill an awkward silence, offer comfort, or make sense of something that feels really frightening. Sometimes, though,…
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Little wins and #LittleLifts
When people talk about “little wins”, they often mean the obvious things: getting through a difficult appointment, reaching a treatment milestone, or ticking something off the list that once seemed impossible. But sometimes a little win is much smaller than that. Sometimes it’s simply getting home. After my unexpected hospital stay, I was allowed home…
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Positivity vest
My positivity vest has worked!! 🎉 I can go home around 5pm… Honestly, I am so very grateful to be allowed home at last, and I got all teary when the oncologist said I could 🥹 She is reasonably positive that this was a one-off, and that things should be much better next time. To…
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Pieces of a bigger picture
If you’ve followed my story so far from the beginning, you may have got the impression that I am a very independent person and – under normal circumstances – more than capable of looking after myself. However, I have recently learned the hard way that sometimes we need to call upon others, or ask for…
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Food for thought
British hospital food has long been the butt of jokes. I haven’t exactly helped, having rated the breakfasts here in earlier posts. On Saturday, based on the previous couple of days, I reduced my expectations slightly for the breakfast by omitting the Bucks Fizz. That was a good move on my part, because today’s breakfast…
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Settling in
Once again, I could not sleep. So, around dawn, tentatively stepped outside the confines of my room for the first time since I arrived and peeped into the little garden across the corridor – there was a tiny finch in the tree singing its little heart out 💛 Breakfast review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆A definite improvement on yesterday:…
