Drove my wife to her hair appointment at 1130. Felt shattered after with massive hot flush. (Off abiraterone for six days now but still on steroid tabs). My abdomen is much less distended now and my waist has lost up to 2 inches as measured by my trouser belt holes! The right leg remains swollen up to my knee but is cool and painless. No DVT there.
Bowel and bladder have behaved much more calmly in the past week and have obviously put out a lot of retained fluid, hence the reduction in waist size. Tomorrow is the new patient assessment at the chemo unit at 0830. Means an early breakfast before driving into the hospital and parking. Parking permit will be issued by the unit now I'm on their chemo.
Thoughts on all this: my wife is coping but carrying on as usual. She has booked her own appointment to see a knee specialist on Saturday, the day after my chemo. I've said I don't know if I will be able to drive that day and she has agreed to go by taxi. In other ways I expect no change in all the things about the house that I am expected to do. We shall see. This is preferable to a wife who is all over you wailing and worrying and saying 'you poor thing', or whatever they do! I expect we will set out for the supermarket on Sunday for our week's food supplies as usual.
One thought that is grabbing me is that I always said I would never consent to chemo, and now I have. Before getting cancer I always imagined that chemo was part of the final end-game and not worth the hassle unless one was some kind of masochist. Now I'm there, it's not like that at all. Being relatively well, active and free of serious pain I didn't want to turn down the chance of a bit more life even if it means chemo and its side effects. I may be lucky and get off lightly. One thing that has helped to convince me is that CT scan report. I had no idea at all until last week that my disease was so widespread.
One thing that I would like tomorrow: someone just to talk to me and listen to my mental ramblings while I'm sitting there on the end of the infusion needle. It's a lot to ask but I have a great need to talk, as some do to their priest or counselor. I talk too much anyway and off load too much on my wife who doesn't understand the twists of my mind. She has the practical, logical outlook that gets her through her life.
