Four weeks and two days into the treatment and the side-effects have now really begun to bite, so much so that my chemo session was cancelled yesterday – apparently I had been on a high dosage and so there was scope to do this. One side-effect that is of concern is hearing damage which I'm told can, in some cases, be permanent. At the moment I have ringing in both ears and at the current level it is not really a major problem – it would be if it got much worse though. They are going to make a decision about my last chemo session next week – they will either go with the same, a reduced dose of the same or a change to another type of chemo. The type that I am on (Cisplatin)does have some tricky side-effects and I will go with whatever they recommend – these guys know their business (I hope). Ringing in the ears may be a price worth paying. The daily radiotherapy sessions continue in anger.
I have not really been able to talk for the past 48 hours. The rear of my tongue is very swollen and painful and I can communicate by whispering only some of the time.
I cannot take either food or liquid by mouth now which means that I have to be
very strict about feeding myself through the tube – this is difficult when one has no appetite whatsoever. I'm now down to10st7lb and the dietitian that I see each week has told me that I
must try not to slip below that – she's actually a bit scary so I'll be sure to do as she says!
I am now getting daily nosebleeds. I don't think I've had a nosebleed since a playground fight aged 14!
The good news is that the nausea / vomiting is still being held at bay.
As always my Lynne has been the star of our little outfit. It is really difficult for her but she is coping well. Lynne has arranged some time off over the next couple of weeks because I think that the daily train journey may become too much for me to handle within the next few days and I certainly can't drive at the moment. We are still maintaining a sense of humour at all times and we entertain ourselves by planning the super slap-up holiday that we're going to take once I've recovered and been given the all clear in December.
Despite all the side-effects the prognosis is still extremely positive.
The large lump on the side of my neck has now all but gone. There is still a very slight pea-sized lump under the skin but they tell me that they will operate to remove this once the treatment and recovery phases are over.
Overall things are becoming uncomfortable but this is pretty much how I expected to be.
