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Out, damned squatter! Out, I say!
After a long day at the hospital for breast cancer surgery, I was eventually allowed home late in the evening. What a day! I had to rock up at the POCU (Pre-Operative Care Unit) for 7am, before being whisked off to the Nuclear Medicine department to have a radioactive isotope injected to help identify which…
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A Change of Plan
Well, it seems my body has finally lodged a formal complaint about chemotherapy. I saw the consultant earlier this week and, after everything that has been going on, they’ve decided that we’ve reached the point where enough is enough. The main chemotherapy is being stopped immediately and the plan is now to go straight to…
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Cancer stole my identity
It is now over three months since my diagnosis of an aggressive form of breast cancer, and I had no idea how short a time it would take for this horrible disease to change my life and rob me of my identity. For over twenty years I have been Finance Director and part owner of…
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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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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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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:…
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Well, here we are…
I survived another night, so things are looking up IMHO😀 The upset stomach continues, so I’m back on a drip for fluids. I’ve also developed a skin rash, and my chest has now been “Sharpied” with what looks like a pirate treasure map. 🫣 The doctor will be round later to review everything, but all…
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First chemo + 2: It’s starting to catch up
NB: These posts are written from notes I made at the time. Some days they are reflections; some days they are simply a record of getting through the next hour. I think I managed to pace myself reasonably well today. I did a little work, had a nap when I needed one, did some ironing,…
