When the nurse called me three weeks after my hysterectomy, she told me that due to the aggressive nature of the cancer I would need chemotherapy, at this time I thought I was only dealing with cervical adenocarcinoma.
I thought I knew a fair amount about chemo, how wrong I was.
My first meeting with my oncologist still didn't reveal the name of my cancer, but I was shocked to find that the chemotherapy wasn't being given to offer me a cure, but purely to attempt the stop the spread. At this meeting I was also told that there was still no specific treatment for this cancer, but instead the protocol was to treat it the same as small cell lung cancer and that because I was young and healthy I would have four high doses rather than six lower ones :yippee:
So my regime;
Day one
Steroids 3 X tablets of Dexamethason.
Intravenous flush, these vary between saline and glucose depending on what is coming next.
Intravenous anti sickness.
Intravenous flush
Intravenous Carboplatin given over 1 hour
Intravenous flush, one of each.
Intravenous Etoposide given over 1 hour.
Intravenous flush.
Day two
Seven X 50 mg Etoposide
3 X Demamethasone
Various anti sickness meds across the day.
Various meds to combat the constipation caused by the anti sickness meds.
Day three
Same as day two
Day four
Same as day two
Plus injection in to the tummy of filgrastim.
Day five - eight
Anti sickness
Constipation meds
fIlgrastrim injection.
Day nine - fourteen
Anti sickness meds
Constipation meds.
Day fifteen - twenty one
No meds.
Blood test on day 21.
Cycle 2 - 4 identical but with some extra anti sickness thrown in.
So that all probably sounds managable, I think we all know that chemo comes with side effects so I had the main ones, hair loss, this started on day 10, I'd already lost a bit following the hysterectomy, by day 12 it was coming away in clumps.
Sickness, the nausea never went away, I still have it now, it was agrevated by smell and movement.
Vomiting, violent projectile on one to two days of each cycle.
Swelling, this wasn't obvious in cycle one, my throat was just a little sore, cycle two my whole body was swollen, every single gland in my body was painful, I trapped a never in my neck due to this :ouch: cycles three and four better but still very obvious.
Temperature, my digital thermometer became my best friend, 38+ requires a call to the emergency number immediately and probably a trip to the local hospital, you are advised not to take paracetamol before calling to try and bring it down, fortunately my temp peaked at 37.9.
Bone pain this is caused by the filgrastim doing its job of building the platelets in the bone marrow, most noticable in my pelvis and legs.
Cycle one I had pain in my spleen.
Chemo brain, this hit me big time, I'm still struggling to find words at times and my memory is poor, my spacial awareness was shocking, I abandoned parking the car a few times.
Taste, I didn't suffer with the metallic taste that others report, instead everything I loved to eat I couldn't stand and all the foods I wouldn't normally eat I loved.
Weight gain I was two stone heavier after day fourteen of cycle four, I've shifted 8lbs so far.
Fatigue, this doesn't creep up, it slams in to you mid stride, it really is the oddest thing, probably amplified by the surgery.
Cannulation, I had various problems with this, it generally took between two and three attempts, the heated glove really helped as did keeping the site of cannulation warm during the session, I have a fair few bruises even now.
The one side effect they don't really tell you about is the emotional one, not just mine but our whole family. My girls have been incredibly brave, they both accompanied me to chemo days and to the hairdressers, my youngest found my hair loss particularly hard it was probably the first time you could tell I was poorly. My husband has had the monumental task of keeping me together, working full time and running the home.
Continuing after cycle two was especially difficult for me, no idea why maybe because I know this isn't a cure. It was at this point I started to look for ways to get through it as I really wasn't coping very well at all, there may have even been a few tears. No idea if the following things were just a placebo effect, but they certainly made cycles 3 and 4 more manageable and I felt like I bounced back quicker after cycle 3. Rebounding, this is bouncing for a few minutes each day on a small trampoline, I did this three times a day. Starting each day with a piece of fruit. Changing my liquid intake to warm fluids, I went for a variety of herbal teas.
So despite a fair few side effects I got through it 
Now I wait, no idea how long, for some this buys them weeks, others years, there appears to be no set indicators as to where it will go next or when, I'm on 3 month reviews with the oncology team with an open door if I notice anything unusual, given I had no symptoms before my main concern it I won't know it's back.
