I’m properly into week two now. Last Friday I had my first need to call the oncology hotline, I was having a slightly troubled night sleeping, when I measured my temperature it was 35.9 DegC, the information I had told me that below 36 DegC was a potentially significant issue. As it was only a tenth below I decided to monitor for an hour first, all subsequent measurements were below 36 DegC, the lowest being 35.6.
I called the hotline, left my details so they could pull my records and they were back to me within 10 mins – not bad considering it was 2am! After a brief chat I was told to watch out for any chills / shivering and to continue to monitor temperature, ideally with two thermometers as a cross check (I purchased a second the next day). Fortunately, my temperature climbed back up to just above 36 DegC the next day, but I continued to monitor.
This brings up the whole area of neutropenia, which is essentially a low count of white blood cells, I had some blood work earlier last week and my count was definitely down. Essentially, it means that you are vulnerable to sepsis if you get an infection, not a journey that I’m planning to take if it’s in any way avoidable.
It’s now Bank Holiday Monday, lower temperature again over night, below 35.5 this time. I checked in with the hotline again, but the advice was the same. So, with no other symptoms, I am getting on with some light tasks, in the scorching heat – not a good combination when combined with the odd ADT-driven hot flash.
On Tuesday I started to get cold-like symptoms, a little sore throat and a little tight in my chest. I contacted the oncology hotline again and they told me to book an appointment with my GP for an assessment. So, I contacted the GP Wednesday morning and, given my situation, they saw me pretty much straightaway. By this time, I had a proper sore throat and a full on ‘phlegmy’ couch. The GP examined me and wasn’t overly concerned, but wanted to be cautious so I was prescribed with a course of anti-biotics.
By Thursday morning, I’d turned a corner on my cold / flu symptoms and I was starting to feel a little better. This was fortunate as we had planned a lunch out at Ivy Asia to celebrate our God-daughter’s birthday; we had a lovely meal with Maisy and her boyfriend Luke. An enjoyable end to my second-week post-chemo.
