(Click on entry title to comment)
Okay, so on Thursday I went in for No. 4 of the taxol part of this regime. My appointment was extra early so getting the kids of to school and then over to the clinic was a bit of a challenge but of course, the bonus would be getting out of there early. So you would think… The first part of it went okay – bloods taken, first appointment for my oncologist so no waiting there – then I get told that there’s a problem with the bloods and they have to be sent off for further testing. “Go away, have a coffee and come back later.” Well, I don’t know for sure how long “later” ended up being (somewhere around 1 1/2 hours, I think) but for most of that I was on the verge of tears. Who’d have thought I’d be upset at the thought of not having chemo? I hate it, but it seems I hate the idea of not having it, or it being delayed even more. Well, finally the results came back and I’m not even really sure what it was all about except that it wasn’t anything to do with me. Chemo went ahead and even quicker than usual as I no longer have the pre-meds.
A couple of dozen eggs and a bucket of persimmons greeted us at the back door when we got home! (Thank you, Janet – don’t know if you’ll see this in Nepal? but enjoy your travels!)
This treatment has taken a bit more out of me. After the usual chaos of school pickup and meals, etc, I fell asleep on the couch at about 6:30pm only to wake up about an hour later and take myself off to bed until after 4am. I felt really good then and happy to do the school run.
I had booked Elena and I on the high school tour that day so she could get a feel for classes next year. I went into the Hub (where I work) to say hello and it got me thinking that maybe I could be doing a day a week or something like that as I do miss working. However, by the time we were halfway around the tour, I was surreptitiously leaning on lockers for support, then I had to get Elena back to her school. By the time I was driving home, I was seriously concentrating on just getting there. So, maybe no work, just yet. I do envy those people who just seem to cruise through chemo. I know I’ve been fairly lucky with the side effects so far (fingers crossed), but I don’t know how people can do a productive day at work with it.
So, I’m quarter of the way through the taxol part of the treatment (with some expected pricklings in the fingers and toes but no serious side effects as yet), halfway through the total doses of poison, and I think around two thirds, timewise, through the chemo treatment (the brain refuses to calculate properly). While I’m not enjoying it at all (let’s face it – chemo is crap), I really want to stay well enough to complete the treatment. And be well enough afterwards to be able to enjoy life. So, everyone please send any positive thoughts to my poor fingers and toes!