Hello again,
Prior to the chemo starting I had my PIC line fitted. When they describe what they are going to do it always sounds 10x worse than it actually is. That's one thing I have found so far none of the treatment is as bad as your mind imagines it going to be.
So I was to have 12 doses at weekly intervals. I opted for the cold cap as well (to minimise hair loss) At first I thought why am I bothering with this but as the treatment went on I'm so glad I did. I just did not want to look like someone who had cancer.
The disadvantage with the cold cap is it prolongs how long you have to be in the treatment unit for. As I was told, the first time the cap is used it is uncomfortable for the first 20 minutes or so (I did it thru gritted teeth) The more you get used to it the less you feel it and after the first few sessions I hardly noticed it. The best thing was ....it worked I did not seem to have any hair loss only what comes out naturally was not replaced so it did feel a bit thinner.
The chemo treatment itself, I felt very lucky no side effects apart from tiredness. Even the tiredness was not that bad. I think thru the course of treatment there may have been a couple of days where slept in most of the day but that was about it.
Being in the treatment unit itself was OK. Over the course of the weeks there were a couple of people who were clearly suffering which was distressing but most people were chirpily getting on with it.
The staff in there were great, I felt in safe hands how they do this day in and day out I will never know.
Once the treatment began I had my weekly routine, Saturday Covid test (which had to be done at the hospital) Monday PIC line maintenance and Tuesday chemo treatment. Thank goodness for the PIC line, it just made everything so much easier and was manageable. I only had once problem with it where I needed it checked at the hospital but apart from that it was a god send as I hate needles.
For the rest of the week we got on with life as normal and got out for lunch once a week or so as a treat.
After the chemo there was a 6 weeks gap before the radiotherapy was to start (27 sessions of that to look forward to!) So for those 6 weeks I felt well, managed to go visit people I had not seen for a while which was fantastic.
Next blog...the radiotherapy
Much love.
