On the twelfth of December my true love sent to me, a fever of 38 degrees.
Plus serious aches and a general feeling of malaise. Contacted the Breast Care unit who saw me same day and I had 40ml of fluid drained from my recent surgery wound. Advised to "do nothing" to avoid further fluid accumulating. Off work AGAIN.
On the thirteenth of December my true love sent to me, an emergency visit to the GP.
My wonderful GP agreed to see me at 5.30pm on a Friday as I was in a right flap about feeling so lousy and not knowing why. I was concerned I might be reacting to the Tamoxifen tablets that I had recently started. He rang microbiology who said that the fluid drained off was not showing any infection as yet. As the fever seemed to have broken and the wound wasn't that red, he thought we could probably watch and wait over the weekend.
On the sixteenth of December my true love sent to me, revised results from Microbiology.
The fluid was infected. Having tested it they knew which antibiotics should work and which wouldn't. My GP stepped in again, liaised with the hospital and prescribed Flucloxacillin. Take 4 times a day on an empty stomach. How do I fit that in around actually eating as well?!
On the seventeenth of December my true love sent to me, a planning meeting for Radiotherapy.
Went to hospital, had a CT scan, had a snakes and ladders/grid affair drawn on me with black pen and then three prison method tattoos (seriously, just ink and a needle readers - no fancy buzzy tattoo pen) dotted in the middle and sides of my torso. Yes they are permanent.
On the nineteenth of December my true love sent to me, a check up of the infected vicinity.
Saw the Breast Care nurse again. Infected area still red and hot but no further fluid accumulating. She measured the red area so that we can tell whether it is getting better or worse. She also reassured me that the infection is sensitive to other antibiotics as well so if this one doesn't clear it then they have others to try.
The good news is that today the redness seems to be reducing. I am going to limit activity until at least new year now as the nurse advises to try and give the area time to heal so that hopefully there are no pockets for fluid to gather in once I start being active again.
Onwards and upwards!
Friday 20 December 2013
Oncology Reunion
You will probably recall that several months ago my Consultant Oncologist put our relationship on hold due to me being too boring for him.
Well I am pleased to say that we were reunited on 6th December, although I fear I might still be quite boring.
He talked about the hormonal therapy Tamoxifen which I am likely to need to take on a daily basis for at least 5 years. Discussed the side effects - aching, menopause, hot flushes. I'm already there anyway after what is colloquially referred to as the "chemopause".
Then we had a chat about radiotherapy. I will be having radiotherapy to the chest wall only and not the armpit given that as far as we know there were no cancerous cells present in the armpit.
We talked for some considerable time about a Trial that I would be eligible for. The Consultant was keen for me to hear about it. I get a sense that the take up on this study hasn't been great. As far as I can gather the current position at my hospital is that they give 15 radiotherapy sessions. It used to be 25 sessions but a study was carried out which suggested that 3 weeks was adequate.
The Trial involves giving higher dosage over one week rather than three. I asked several questions including what the thinking behind this was and whether there was any suggestion that this could be beneficial in terms of the women receiving it. My chap said not really, it is simply being trialled due to demand for machines.
After answering that question and getting my "so that's your client's case then, is it...?" look in response, I think he strongly suspected then that I was unlikely to be a "yes".
He then immediately decided to cut his losses and said "I'm just going to get the consent form [for radiotherapy itself] and prescription [for tamoxifen]". Next thing I know the nurse comes back in with those items. Erm, ok then, so that's the end of our consultation. No, I didn't have any questions - thanks.
I didn't even get the chance to ask "When will I see you again?". Am I too clingy? Is it my fault??!
Well I am pleased to say that we were reunited on 6th December, although I fear I might still be quite boring.
He talked about the hormonal therapy Tamoxifen which I am likely to need to take on a daily basis for at least 5 years. Discussed the side effects - aching, menopause, hot flushes. I'm already there anyway after what is colloquially referred to as the "chemopause".
Then we had a chat about radiotherapy. I will be having radiotherapy to the chest wall only and not the armpit given that as far as we know there were no cancerous cells present in the armpit.
We talked for some considerable time about a Trial that I would be eligible for. The Consultant was keen for me to hear about it. I get a sense that the take up on this study hasn't been great. As far as I can gather the current position at my hospital is that they give 15 radiotherapy sessions. It used to be 25 sessions but a study was carried out which suggested that 3 weeks was adequate.
The Trial involves giving higher dosage over one week rather than three. I asked several questions including what the thinking behind this was and whether there was any suggestion that this could be beneficial in terms of the women receiving it. My chap said not really, it is simply being trialled due to demand for machines.
After answering that question and getting my "so that's your client's case then, is it...?" look in response, I think he strongly suspected then that I was unlikely to be a "yes".
He then immediately decided to cut his losses and said "I'm just going to get the consent form [for radiotherapy itself] and prescription [for tamoxifen]". Next thing I know the nurse comes back in with those items. Erm, ok then, so that's the end of our consultation. No, I didn't have any questions - thanks.
I didn't even get the chance to ask "When will I see you again?". Am I too clingy? Is it my fault??!
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