Taxol, farewell
Yesterday I had my last Taxol shot. The morning started auspiciously. The bus I was meant to catch to the hospital didn't come and the one that did come was late, so I was 25-30 minutes late for my appointment with the Professor. No matter, I thought, it's always a long wait, so maybe this time I'll be on time. So, I booked in at reception, went to get my blood test (they don't start anything without those results) and sat down quietly to edit something I am doing for my Amnesty International Speakers Group.
Wouldn't you know, 20 minutes later the Professor comes looking for me, apologising for the wait. So, I sit down and first thing that comes out of my mouth is a big wail. Who knows whence it came, but I started crying my guts out. The Professor is famous for his humanity and so he should be. He was incredibly kind, and after I dried my eyes and stopped babbling, he just kept the jokes coming until the end of the session. My kind of guy. The problem was that the blood tests haven't come in yet, so I had to wait some more.
In any case, it the good news is that the weight (much of which is water retention), the hand, foot and nail discolouration (I have chemo rings on every nail now), foot pain and other muscle and joint pains will eventually disappear (no, he doesn't know when) and my hair will definitely regrow – probably stronger and curly.
The blood test results were expected pretty soon, so I called Sue C who lives nearby to start walking and meet me in the hospital cafe. Nellie G, who was going to stay with me for the worst, was already on the way to keep me company for this last stretch and take me home. So, after the blood tests were in, I went to the chemo lounge, got my pre-chemo pill and went off to have coffee with my friends. It was great to be distracted by good company.
In the chemo lounge the atmosphere was relaxed. It was a quiet day, the nurses had time to give patients more attention, not like in the mad rush of the Christmas and New Year season. I commiserated about that with Cath, who did my last two chemos and who was clearly doing work well beyond the call of duty, with good grace and humour. Yesterday she was relaxed and Catherine did the honours. I don't know what it is, but there are eat least three nurses with variants of the name Catherine.
I think I said in one blog that I bought a portable DVD, but in the end I decided not to take it with me,because it was too heavy. So, I asked Catherine whether I could have one. She brought me two inane comedies to boot. Nellie and I watched both, but they were really stupid, so Nellie went to choose something and came back with Ali, because we both like Will Smith, but watching the film I realised I hate boxing and I never was a fan of Cassius Clay, so we left it, and just had a wonderful quiet chat.
Since I came home I have been felling OK, just scatty and hyper one minute and tired the next. Nellie has a slow form of MS, which she told me yesterday has recently flared up, so I told her I don't need her to stay the night, because I feel OK, and also I don't want her to be exposed to my toxicity for the next few days. They tell you to stay away from kids and people with weak immune systems for the first two days. Don't know what mothers do, but that's another story. Makes you wonder how strong this poison is!
So the evening went by fine. I worked on my cross stitch wall hanging and watched TV. Today I am by myself and it's fine (Nellie is coming over tomorrow afternoon). In the morning I still had some energy, so I did some correspondence, my Qi Gong, and odd bits and pieces. Now, I am getting tired. I take very strong antinausea pills and I started taking the lower level panadine, so I guess they slow me down. The portable DVD is coming in very handy, because I can lie comfortably on my bed and watch Moulin Rouge, the new version, which I didn't have a chance to see in the theatre when it came out. All that talent makes me wonder about mine....... But that's another story.
Now, I shall go, get Dr Booboo and and Freddie the Lion and finish watching the movie and go to sleep. Talk to you later.
Wouldn't you know, 20 minutes later the Professor comes looking for me, apologising for the wait. So, I sit down and first thing that comes out of my mouth is a big wail. Who knows whence it came, but I started crying my guts out. The Professor is famous for his humanity and so he should be. He was incredibly kind, and after I dried my eyes and stopped babbling, he just kept the jokes coming until the end of the session. My kind of guy. The problem was that the blood tests haven't come in yet, so I had to wait some more.
In any case, it the good news is that the weight (much of which is water retention), the hand, foot and nail discolouration (I have chemo rings on every nail now), foot pain and other muscle and joint pains will eventually disappear (no, he doesn't know when) and my hair will definitely regrow – probably stronger and curly.
The blood test results were expected pretty soon, so I called Sue C who lives nearby to start walking and meet me in the hospital cafe. Nellie G, who was going to stay with me for the worst, was already on the way to keep me company for this last stretch and take me home. So, after the blood tests were in, I went to the chemo lounge, got my pre-chemo pill and went off to have coffee with my friends. It was great to be distracted by good company.
In the chemo lounge the atmosphere was relaxed. It was a quiet day, the nurses had time to give patients more attention, not like in the mad rush of the Christmas and New Year season. I commiserated about that with Cath, who did my last two chemos and who was clearly doing work well beyond the call of duty, with good grace and humour. Yesterday she was relaxed and Catherine did the honours. I don't know what it is, but there are eat least three nurses with variants of the name Catherine.
I think I said in one blog that I bought a portable DVD, but in the end I decided not to take it with me,because it was too heavy. So, I asked Catherine whether I could have one. She brought me two inane comedies to boot. Nellie and I watched both, but they were really stupid, so Nellie went to choose something and came back with Ali, because we both like Will Smith, but watching the film I realised I hate boxing and I never was a fan of Cassius Clay, so we left it, and just had a wonderful quiet chat.
Since I came home I have been felling OK, just scatty and hyper one minute and tired the next. Nellie has a slow form of MS, which she told me yesterday has recently flared up, so I told her I don't need her to stay the night, because I feel OK, and also I don't want her to be exposed to my toxicity for the next few days. They tell you to stay away from kids and people with weak immune systems for the first two days. Don't know what mothers do, but that's another story. Makes you wonder how strong this poison is!
So the evening went by fine. I worked on my cross stitch wall hanging and watched TV. Today I am by myself and it's fine (Nellie is coming over tomorrow afternoon). In the morning I still had some energy, so I did some correspondence, my Qi Gong, and odd bits and pieces. Now, I am getting tired. I take very strong antinausea pills and I started taking the lower level panadine, so I guess they slow me down. The portable DVD is coming in very handy, because I can lie comfortably on my bed and watch Moulin Rouge, the new version, which I didn't have a chance to see in the theatre when it came out. All that talent makes me wonder about mine....... But that's another story.
Now, I shall go, get Dr Booboo and and Freddie the Lion and finish watching the movie and go to sleep. Talk to you later.
Labels: breast cancer
posted by Unknown at 12:50 PM
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