I now have my first dose of Pembrolizumab and my first 3 doses of nab-Paclitaxel onboard. The regime seems ok so far. The chemo side effects are familiar from last year, with the bonus that I don’t need to have any steroids, or indeed anything else, served up with this albumin bound version of the drug. Overall the side effects feel a bit lighter, one of the nurses said the drug is slower release. The only difference on the week I had both was my skin felt a bit dry, so I am guessing that’s Pembrolizumab related. I am generally feeling well. The twinges I had been experiencing in my liver have settled. I think it’s too early for treatment to have done anything but perhaps not too early for it to have stopped my brain assuming any odd feeling is something sinister
My hospital’s oncology unit is struggling a bit under the strain of chemo patients at the moment. They have opened up an outpost in a community hospital in a nearby town, to give more capacity. My oncologist had asked me if I wanted to go there, and I hadn’t been keen, as it’s further away and involves travelling on a motorway that can get quite congested in rush hours. There was no space for me in the main unit for my 3rd appointment, so I had the choice of the community hospital, or waiting for a cancellation. I chose the community hospital, and what a revelation. It’s actually not far from the motorway exit, it’s small, and has free parking. The outpost was a room with 8 chairs and 2 nurses. No capacity for doing things like cold capping, and they only take people on a smaller list of treatments, and people who are themselves at low risk of having a cardio or anaphylactic incident whilst being treated. Ducks nesting outside, tea lady doing a round, people close enough to chat to. Such a different atmosphere. So I jumped at the opportunity to move the rest of my treatment there, and in the process negotiated a day change from Fridays to Wednesdays, which suits me better.
The change of day was addressed by moving my appointments back by 5 days, rather than forward by 2, which has given me a bonus extra chemo break (I would only have been having Pembrolizumab on the next appointment anyway). So we have taken advantage of the fact that I feel pretty well and have no appointment tomorrow to have a gastronomic weekend in the New Forest, to celebrate our wedding anniversary. As an added bonus, my hair hasn’t started shedding yet, so I can leave the wig at home. We will also throw in a ‘tourist’ appearance at Moors Valley parkrun, as that’s been on my list to do for sometime. I may have mentioned in previous blog entries that I am a parkrun addict, trying to close in on my 250 shirt, progress to which has been somewhat impacted by the lockdowns, then having my hip replaced in 2021, and this little saga. So should be a fantastic weekend.
