I'm now into the programme of weekly chemotherapy and
daily radiotherapy. I've had two chemos and 6 radios so far. The
chemotherapy involves being on a drip for around 7 hours at a time
but the radiotherapy just involves a 20 minute zap on a huge machine.
Another six to eight weeks to go.
The main issues at the moment are the emerging side effects - severe fatigue and nausea, a lack of saliva and an occasional inability to swallow. These will get worse as the treatment progresses but should then slowly disappear during the month or two after the treatment has finished.
Minor mishap last weekend - after the chemo
session I was not given any anti sickness medication as I should have
been. This was an oversight by the hospital. This involved me being
admitted to hospital for 24hrs over the weekend whilst they
rehydrated me. The staff have apologised profusely and they are
really nice people - so I let them live!
The news is not all doom and gloom however - the
fatigue means that I sleep like a log and the swelling on my neck has
already started to reduce.
All in all the prognosis is still good although
I've got a bit of a journey ahead of me.
