May 2022: Cycle 5 and 6 proved more of a struggle, with low-level pain and fatigue setting in and digestive issues getting troublesome. The strength of chemo was dialled back to 80% because of the toxicity, especially the neuropathy - which was becoming more permanent and not just a temporary inconvenience. Nevertheless we battled on, encouraged by the oncologist who said M was 'doing well'.
June 2022: Cycle 7 has been a real challenge. M developed a fever in the 'week off' before treatment restarted, which had to be considered an emergency and treated with anti-biotics. This set him back and coincided with a recurrence of swallowing issues, but only with certain foods, eg tomatoes, necatines. But then water, which now tastes metallic, became hard to swallow in the large quantities expected whilst on chemo. Fizzy water was subsitituted and that seems to help - but its still hard work getting all that liquid down. Got to be done though.
10 June 2022: The birth of our grand-daughter created a burst of light in the darkness and gave us cause for joy and celebration. Photographing M holding his grand-daughter was an emotional experience. From the photograph you wouldn't guess he was on Cycle 7 of chemo. He just looked like the proud grandad that he is. 1st big milestone - DONE!
Unfortunately, the swallowing issues became more acute until almost nothing solid would go down. Fears of the tumour possibly growing again began to surface and the dark clouds started to hang over us. Meanwhile I set about concocting fresh vegetable soups and fruit milk shakes to keep the calories and nutrition up and I furiously researched to see whether it could be the chemo causing the disphagia, or something else, perhaps the infection. The oncologist seemed optimistic that we should carry on. The next 3-monthly scan at the end of June would tell us what we needed to know.
We carry on, holding on to hope. We must fight the fear and remain optimistic unless proven otherwise....
