I went to hospital today. Hadn't been there for all of, oh, 24 hours? What a treat and a novelty.
Today was in fact an excellent hospital visit, as they go. Oncologist lady checked that I hadn't had any adverse effects outside the normal realms that they expect for chemo. By this I assume they mean that my head hadn't actually fallen off, given that just about everything else seems to be considered par for the course in terms of side effects.
I arrived 5 minutes early. Sat down to wait and noted that the lady I was seeing had nothing written on her "how many minutes late I am running" laminate poster. Her colleague, however, was running 50 minutes late. Bad luck, that doctor's patients - you win some, you lose some in cancer patient world and today was my day. I was called in before my actual appointment time (I know!) and was outta there within 5 minutes. Bargain.
As for yesterday's appointment, that was early too. Genetics lady agreed I was mentally prepared to take the test but had some concerns that my white blood cells might not have risen enough yet post-chemo to provide them with sufficient DNA to properly test. It was therefore decided that instead of stabbing my arm that day she would let me have the blood test pack to take to Ricky Grant Unit on Friday for the blood to be taken pre-chemo. From my port, not my dreaded arm. Yay! The theory also being that my white blood cell levels will be the best they are going to be at that point, and if they're not good enough then the chemo won't be going ahead either anyway.
Back to hospital tomorrow afternoon for more blood test fun and games to establish my white cell status ready for Friday.
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
Monday, 8 July 2013
Fit
Well here I am sat in the hospital cafe waiting for my genetics appointment as I type. See Helen, I do use the iPad for something other than playing games! Lol.
Assuming that following the "Counselling" part they determine that I am mentally ready and prepared to take and receive the result of a Genetics test, I suspect that this appointment will involve a blood test. I further suspect that the person taking the blood won't be willing to access my port and will want to stab my arm instead. Gah.
Had my hair cut off on Friday - grade 0.5. Feels like a hedgehog, looks surprisingly ok. The wigs look much less 80's mullet now they've been trimmed as well.
In fact, after the hair cutting I returned to my friend's house with my short wig on. Encountered her son and one of his mates in the drive and like a typical woman driver had to get the mate to move his car so that I could get in. My friend's son later reported back to me that his mate took one look at me in my car and pronounced me "fit". Bless him, it's all fake! Nice to receive a compliment though.
I raised £302 for the Ricky Grant Unit. Thank you so much to everybody who has contributed, especially my fabulous work colleagues who contributed more than £200 of that sponsorship. I am humbled and grateful for all your generous donations.
Dan and I spent an absolutely lovely weekend in Bude courtesy of the fantastic Hebasca hotel. Check them out at www.hebasca.co.uk. Really gorgeous place which has just opened this season. Fabulous grill restaurant too, thank you Helen and Jono for shouting us a yummy dinner :)
Spent Sunday relaxing and reading the papers by the beach before heading back to collect the kids from my mum who had looked after them for us. Discovered that my mum's chap had bought them a paddling pool, in the very loose sense of the word given that it is about 8x4 feet. They'll refuse to get in Lauren's 4 ft round paddling pool at home now after trying that!
Assuming that following the "Counselling" part they determine that I am mentally ready and prepared to take and receive the result of a Genetics test, I suspect that this appointment will involve a blood test. I further suspect that the person taking the blood won't be willing to access my port and will want to stab my arm instead. Gah.
Had my hair cut off on Friday - grade 0.5. Feels like a hedgehog, looks surprisingly ok. The wigs look much less 80's mullet now they've been trimmed as well.
In fact, after the hair cutting I returned to my friend's house with my short wig on. Encountered her son and one of his mates in the drive and like a typical woman driver had to get the mate to move his car so that I could get in. My friend's son later reported back to me that his mate took one look at me in my car and pronounced me "fit". Bless him, it's all fake! Nice to receive a compliment though.
I raised £302 for the Ricky Grant Unit. Thank you so much to everybody who has contributed, especially my fabulous work colleagues who contributed more than £200 of that sponsorship. I am humbled and grateful for all your generous donations.
Dan and I spent an absolutely lovely weekend in Bude courtesy of the fantastic Hebasca hotel. Check them out at www.hebasca.co.uk. Really gorgeous place which has just opened this season. Fabulous grill restaurant too, thank you Helen and Jono for shouting us a yummy dinner :)
Spent Sunday relaxing and reading the papers by the beach before heading back to collect the kids from my mum who had looked after them for us. Discovered that my mum's chap had bought them a paddling pool, in the very loose sense of the word given that it is about 8x4 feet. They'll refuse to get in Lauren's 4 ft round paddling pool at home now after trying that!
Thursday, 4 July 2013
Party Trick
Nowhere near as exciting as the title sounds, but my current party trick is demonstrating to people how if I don't like the way my hair is sitting today then I can just grab the offending section in my hand and pull it clean out. Have shown Dan and my Dad. Freaky. This morning I even plucked out a stray eyebrow without the aid of tweezers and with no feeling of pain.
At least this means the drugs are working - I'd be a little worried if they weren't capable of killing something as innocuous as a hair follicle.
Went to the hospital today, had my port insertion site checked, all uneventful and healing spiffingly.
Just warming up now for another five out of six day appointment marathon next week. I will have (deep breath...): Genetics on Monday - to see if I have mutant genes as well as mutant tumours, Oncologist on Tuesday - to check that the first chemo cycle and side effects were ok and that nothing needs to be tweaked, Ricky Grant Unit on Wednesday - for a blood test to check that my white blood cell and other levels are acceptable for the next chemo cycle, Day off on Thursday, Ricky Grant Unit for second chemo on Friday then Turner Ward for white blood cell boosting injection on Saturday.
It's a bit like one of those "I went to the supermarket and I bought..." games really!
At least this means the drugs are working - I'd be a little worried if they weren't capable of killing something as innocuous as a hair follicle.
Went to the hospital today, had my port insertion site checked, all uneventful and healing spiffingly.
Just warming up now for another five out of six day appointment marathon next week. I will have (deep breath...): Genetics on Monday - to see if I have mutant genes as well as mutant tumours, Oncologist on Tuesday - to check that the first chemo cycle and side effects were ok and that nothing needs to be tweaked, Ricky Grant Unit on Wednesday - for a blood test to check that my white blood cell and other levels are acceptable for the next chemo cycle, Day off on Thursday, Ricky Grant Unit for second chemo on Friday then Turner Ward for white blood cell boosting injection on Saturday.
It's a bit like one of those "I went to the supermarket and I bought..." games really!
Monday, 1 July 2013
Infection risk stops play
My head shave and wig titivation (oh, the irony...) has been postponed until Friday as my hairdresser developed a sore throat and given that I am now within the peak infection risk period and supposed to be avoiding people with obvious symptoms of illness, we thought it best to leave it for today.
So I may end up experiencing proper hair loss after all between now and Friday. It is hanging on at the moment though.
A friend I have known for years has co-incidentally been going through something very similar to me recently. She is now colloquially known amongst my chums from my other walks of life (who don't know her personally) as my Cancer Friend. As you can imagine, she's thrilled to bits by that nickname.
Anyway, I digress. The point was that my Cancer Friend (Aww, Cancer Friend!) recommended I look on you tube for videos about head covering techniques. What a fantastic idea and an as yet completely untapped shopping opportunity! I'm gonna need more than one head at this rate, the number of items I've ordered.
In other news, I still do not have to go back to hospital until Thursday all being well. I have had so much time I even started doing some work today until technical problems related to remote networking arose (don't they always?) - frozen dictation screen, if you must know. This working from home lark is not as straightforward as it sounds.
At least the iPad is working. Now where's my credit card gone, again...?
So I may end up experiencing proper hair loss after all between now and Friday. It is hanging on at the moment though.
A friend I have known for years has co-incidentally been going through something very similar to me recently. She is now colloquially known amongst my chums from my other walks of life (who don't know her personally) as my Cancer Friend. As you can imagine, she's thrilled to bits by that nickname.
Anyway, I digress. The point was that my Cancer Friend (Aww, Cancer Friend!) recommended I look on you tube for videos about head covering techniques. What a fantastic idea and an as yet completely untapped shopping opportunity! I'm gonna need more than one head at this rate, the number of items I've ordered.
In other news, I still do not have to go back to hospital until Thursday all being well. I have had so much time I even started doing some work today until technical problems related to remote networking arose (don't they always?) - frozen dictation screen, if you must know. This working from home lark is not as straightforward as it sounds.
At least the iPad is working. Now where's my credit card gone, again...?
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Tourists
My brother in law and me had planned to go to Torquay today. This morning I decided it would be nice to take Abbie (3) with us. We all had a lovely time having lunch then going on the Torquay Big Wheel.
There was one moment where I feared the big wheel decision could be a major error, as we began the climb and Abbie was not only holding on to me for dear life, she was also crying.
However, inspired by the sudden glimpse of living coasts I mentioned the magic word "penguins" and even though you can't actually see them, the existence of the big nets and the knowledge that they were there somewhere seemed to suffice and she thankfully stopped crying and managed to actually look out of the window for the rest of the ride.
Then we pottered around at the beach before heading back to the car whilst wondering why we hadn't parked somewhere a bit more central...
I have foolishly managed to catch the sun on my neck. I would bang on about skin being more sensitive whilst having chemotherapy but who am I kidding, anyone who has ever been on holiday with me knows I am a vampire who should never venture out in the sun.
I have stuck aloe vera moisturiser on it and I am hoping it is gone by the morning. Someone whose choices of top half attire are limited enough as it is does not want to be having to worry about covering the back of their neck as well.
<zips up Superdry hoodie. Puts up hood for good measure>
There was one moment where I feared the big wheel decision could be a major error, as we began the climb and Abbie was not only holding on to me for dear life, she was also crying.
However, inspired by the sudden glimpse of living coasts I mentioned the magic word "penguins" and even though you can't actually see them, the existence of the big nets and the knowledge that they were there somewhere seemed to suffice and she thankfully stopped crying and managed to actually look out of the window for the rest of the ride.
Then we pottered around at the beach before heading back to the car whilst wondering why we hadn't parked somewhere a bit more central...
I have foolishly managed to catch the sun on my neck. I would bang on about skin being more sensitive whilst having chemotherapy but who am I kidding, anyone who has ever been on holiday with me knows I am a vampire who should never venture out in the sun.
I have stuck aloe vera moisturiser on it and I am hoping it is gone by the morning. Someone whose choices of top half attire are limited enough as it is does not want to be having to worry about covering the back of their neck as well.
<zips up Superdry hoodie. Puts up hood for good measure>
Friday, 28 June 2013
Hair, mainly
So one week on from first chemo and port insertion. The port site is starting to be less swollen and this is the first day that I have not been constantly able to "feel" the tube whenever I move my arm.
It's a strange feeling as I can't say it's painful but equally it's not something I would have wanted to put up with for the duration of the time that the port is in place. Fingers crossed this is the start of an improvement and that it will become less and less noticeable.
This is the first day for ages that I haven't (yet - it's only 8.30pm!) taken any tablets, not even painkillers.
I have a sore mouth, a similar sensation to having burnt your tongue, but all over my tongue. Using the mouthwash provided and hoping that this side effect plateaus rather than worsens.
Today I made an appointment with my hairdresser to see her on Monday and have my head shaved. She will also have a look at the two wigs I got yesterday and give them a bit of a cut if needed. At the wig place I also acquired what I would describe as a "Hilda Ogden style" pull on turban. This is a flannel affair not unlike those post hair washing towel turbans that exist. Methinks that item will be reserved for at home and specifically night times if I start to get cold. I can't quite see me wearing it out in public!
I did have some luck with trying out the one scarf that I possess (Primark, £4...) literally tying it around my head like a ponytail. Little bit miffed to discover that it actually looked better than my existing ponytail which still has shorter greyer bits sticking up uncontrollably like a halo from where my hair at the front fell out after pregnancy and has started to grow back.
Anyway going back to the head shaving - at the suggestion of my friend we sent a message round inviting donations from my work colleagues as sponsorship for that event. I was in two minds about this as I thought it might represent the final step towards becoming the ultimate cancer cliche. (Blog - check, sponsored head shave - check, becoming catatonic during any conversation lasting longer than 15 minutes - oh, that's just me, then...?).
But I will take that risk because it means that next time I go for chemo I can hopefully go along to the Ricky Grant Unit - my chosen cause - clutching a nice little donation cheque made payable to them.
It's a strange feeling as I can't say it's painful but equally it's not something I would have wanted to put up with for the duration of the time that the port is in place. Fingers crossed this is the start of an improvement and that it will become less and less noticeable.
This is the first day for ages that I haven't (yet - it's only 8.30pm!) taken any tablets, not even painkillers.
I have a sore mouth, a similar sensation to having burnt your tongue, but all over my tongue. Using the mouthwash provided and hoping that this side effect plateaus rather than worsens.
Today I made an appointment with my hairdresser to see her on Monday and have my head shaved. She will also have a look at the two wigs I got yesterday and give them a bit of a cut if needed. At the wig place I also acquired what I would describe as a "Hilda Ogden style" pull on turban. This is a flannel affair not unlike those post hair washing towel turbans that exist. Methinks that item will be reserved for at home and specifically night times if I start to get cold. I can't quite see me wearing it out in public!
I did have some luck with trying out the one scarf that I possess (Primark, £4...) literally tying it around my head like a ponytail. Little bit miffed to discover that it actually looked better than my existing ponytail which still has shorter greyer bits sticking up uncontrollably like a halo from where my hair at the front fell out after pregnancy and has started to grow back.
Anyway going back to the head shaving - at the suggestion of my friend we sent a message round inviting donations from my work colleagues as sponsorship for that event. I was in two minds about this as I thought it might represent the final step towards becoming the ultimate cancer cliche. (Blog - check, sponsored head shave - check, becoming catatonic during any conversation lasting longer than 15 minutes - oh, that's just me, then...?).
But I will take that risk because it means that next time I go for chemo I can hopefully go along to the Ricky Grant Unit - my chosen cause - clutching a nice little donation cheque made payable to them.
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Having cancer = full time job
Had a lovely night at my sister's house last night. Have fed all the animals, then washed my hands several times...
Had to start a new food bowl for the rabbit and chuck it in the "bed" side of the cage as the rabbit was looking at me menacingly from the main part of the cage and I was afraid to open that door in case she came out.
The only pet we have at home is one very moulting and very noisy cat. She got used to being my baby for 7 years before children arrived and has been impossible to handle ever since. She is called Tizzy but I have only recently reverted to addressing her by that moniker after suddenly noticing that Abbie had started in all seriousness addressing her as "Bleddy Cat" instead. No idea where she could possibly have got that from... Pre-schoolers, eh?! :-S
Today my mum is taking me to Exeter to try on wigs. These illness related appointments never end! Not a great shopper at the best of times, I am not exactly looking forward to it but I am however attracted by the fact that all potential decisions are confined in one building. I have always hated this idea of "let's see what is in the other shops before we decide". No. Let's just buy what I've just tried on then spend the rest of the allocated shopping day doing something fun like eating stuff and stopping for coffee.
Had to start a new food bowl for the rabbit and chuck it in the "bed" side of the cage as the rabbit was looking at me menacingly from the main part of the cage and I was afraid to open that door in case she came out.
The only pet we have at home is one very moulting and very noisy cat. She got used to being my baby for 7 years before children arrived and has been impossible to handle ever since. She is called Tizzy but I have only recently reverted to addressing her by that moniker after suddenly noticing that Abbie had started in all seriousness addressing her as "Bleddy Cat" instead. No idea where she could possibly have got that from... Pre-schoolers, eh?! :-S
Today my mum is taking me to Exeter to try on wigs. These illness related appointments never end! Not a great shopper at the best of times, I am not exactly looking forward to it but I am however attracted by the fact that all potential decisions are confined in one building. I have always hated this idea of "let's see what is in the other shops before we decide". No. Let's just buy what I've just tried on then spend the rest of the allocated shopping day doing something fun like eating stuff and stopping for coffee.
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