-
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…
-
Some good news, at last
Well, this is exciting! I’ve just taken a call from the hospital and I am booked in for surgery on Friday 16th October, and I’m very pleased this has come around so quickly. After everything that’s happened over the last few weeks, having an actual date feels like a great leap forwards. There have been…
-
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…
-
Some very welcome news 🎉
I met with my oncologist today and he advised me that last week’s MRI shows the tumour has shrunk from 30mm to 17mm — this is such amazingly good news and, quite honestly, a very welcome morale booster. 🙌 Apparently, my case was even discussed at the weekly team meeting because I’ve been experiencing the…
-
Missing magnesium and fingerprints
Last week was supposed to be my “good week”, being the phase in the chemo cycle when things are meant to be settling down and I’m supposed to get a few days to feel a little more like myself before the merry-go-round starts again. Except, somewhere around Wednesday, I started feeling progressively ‘not quite right’……
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
First chemo + 1: The fear was worse than the needle
The day after my first chemo session was, surprisingly, not too bad. I felt OK throughout the day and was able to do most things as normal, which felt like a small victory. I knew the treatment effects might not appear immediately, so I was cautiously optimistic – but also aware that I was still…
