Today's the day! The day of my last administered BEP drugs... My final bag of bleomycin! And as a cerebration(?!) those nice people at The Christie really speeded through the whole process. They were really busy but somehow everything was done-and-dusted by, what, 13:30!
They somehow have me down on the notes as "pathetic male" when it comes to the cannula part. Admittedly I don't much like that bit, and admittedly I did faint on the first bleo outpatient appointment - but there were mitigating circumstances, and it did take them three attempts. Anyhow, because of this they still managed to find me a complementary foot massage lady (Joanne). Sadly she didn't arrive until after the cannula, but that meant that I could just enjoy the indulgence!!
So that's it for treatment. My oncologist came in for a quick chat and we (he!) booked me in for my CT scan and follow-up visit at the end of November/beginning of December. So those are the dates to look forward to.
Showing posts with label Cycle 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cycle 3. Show all posts
Friday, 29 October 2010
Saturday, 23 October 2010
23/10/2010 Day 53 - One bag to go!
Yesterday (22nd Oct) was Bleomycin day, and went without a hitch. I got to the hospital (quick stop at Costa Coffee for a brew and a cake) on time and they were (unlike the last outpatient visit) really quick. I've obviously been there a lot, because I knew everyone of the staff this time around.
Shortly after being shown to my "room" sensual Julie arrived and was straight in with a foot massage - very nice, and totally distracted me from the cannula experience! (Which I have to say was probably the best cannula incision that I've had to date).
Bloods came back fine and I was off... Not only that, my immunity injections (and sleeping pills) came back within half an hour, so the whole thing went like a dream...
Back home, kids and dog spending the night at the in-laws, feeling much better (on the up after the chemo blues) so last night was pretty good as well.
And now (next Friday) just the one bag of poison left to go... :)
Shortly after being shown to my "room" sensual Julie arrived and was straight in with a foot massage - very nice, and totally distracted me from the cannula experience! (Which I have to say was probably the best cannula incision that I've had to date).
Bloods came back fine and I was off... Not only that, my immunity injections (and sleeping pills) came back within half an hour, so the whole thing went like a dream...
Back home, kids and dog spending the night at the in-laws, feeling much better (on the up after the chemo blues) so last night was pretty good as well.
And now (next Friday) just the one bag of poison left to go... :)
Thursday, 21 October 2010
21/10/2010 Day 51 - Back to normal
This last week I've done nothing. Actually not quite true, I've done very little other than feel unwell and waiting for the up turn! Last night (slightly earlier than expected?) the "upswing" started and today, whilst still a bit "off colour" I feel okay - just in time for tomorrow's Bleo... which is the last but-one... hopefully.
Not much else to say, this down period wasn't as bad as cycle 2, but it wasn't great. But the fact that I knew I'd been through the worst one helped. Probably the worst part of this time was yesterday, when I had my first "flash back" through the whole process (thinking this time last week I was hooked with another six hours to go). It was my first, and only flashback so far and it took a bit of the wind out of me.
Still, only two bags to go and then we start the next part of my life...
Not much else to say, this down period wasn't as bad as cycle 2, but it wasn't great. But the fact that I knew I'd been through the worst one helped. Probably the worst part of this time was yesterday, when I had my first "flash back" through the whole process (thinking this time last week I was hooked with another six hours to go). It was my first, and only flashback so far and it took a bit of the wind out of me.
Still, only two bags to go and then we start the next part of my life...
Friday, 15 October 2010
15/10/2010 Day 45 (part 3) - Death on the ward
Let's just cut to the chase - cancer is crap and it (can) kill.
That was brought home this evening rather abruptly. I (am lucky enough to) have private medical cover and so am treated in the private ward of Christies. One of the main benefits of this is that I have my own room - I don't need to interact with other people... There are pluses and minuses of this, one big plus (for me) is that I can pretend that there aren't any other ill people around - but there are.
Ironically, even though I have a private room I prefer to have the door open - so I can see what's going on (and it really helps the air circulation in the room). So it came as a shock when a mature orderly popped his head through the door and asked if he could shut my door (not usual). I asked why (tactless when I worked it out)? And my evening chemo-nurse said "oh it's just a couple of tests we sometimes run in the corridors". She was clearly hyper so that was the end of the conversation, and she also shut my window blind (also unusual).
Then the penny dropped. Pause... sound of trolley wheels going down the ward (left to right)... pause for a couple of minutes... sound of trolley wheels going up the ward (right to left)... pause for a couple of minutes... door/blinds opened by chemo-nurse.
Not much I could say, other than apploguise for being (in hindsight) rather tactless.
Puts it all in perspective again...
That was brought home this evening rather abruptly. I (am lucky enough to) have private medical cover and so am treated in the private ward of Christies. One of the main benefits of this is that I have my own room - I don't need to interact with other people... There are pluses and minuses of this, one big plus (for me) is that I can pretend that there aren't any other ill people around - but there are.
Ironically, even though I have a private room I prefer to have the door open - so I can see what's going on (and it really helps the air circulation in the room). So it came as a shock when a mature orderly popped his head through the door and asked if he could shut my door (not usual). I asked why (tactless when I worked it out)? And my evening chemo-nurse said "oh it's just a couple of tests we sometimes run in the corridors". She was clearly hyper so that was the end of the conversation, and she also shut my window blind (also unusual).
Then the penny dropped. Pause... sound of trolley wheels going down the ward (left to right)... pause for a couple of minutes... sound of trolley wheels going up the ward (right to left)... pause for a couple of minutes... door/blinds opened by chemo-nurse.
Not much I could say, other than apploguise for being (in hindsight) rather tactless.
Puts it all in perspective again...
15/10/2010 Day 45 (part 2) - I miss my family
Today had two real low points (apart from the x-ray "panic", which could have been the third). The first being that today's my little boy's seventh birthday and the first one I've missed. He from the photos I received had a good one, and I had a phone call with him this morning... but missing my boy's birthday was hard.
Still tomorrow he can go through it all again when I get home.
Still tomorrow he can go through it all again when I get home.
15/10/2010 Day 45 (part 1) - Don't panic, but I did!
Friday (today) was exciting for a number of (not necessarily good) reasons.
Firstly as is usual one of the SHOs/ward doctors came to see me this morning once I was up. I hadn't seen this chap before and he asked the usual questions (how are you today etc...) well I told him okay, except that in the shower I had to "clear my chest" (cough up some phlegm - nice!) three or four times.
And with that he was straight in there with questions like - was there any blood... Then he was out with the stethoscope and listening to my chest. And it was I'll arrange an x-ray for you... now. And so starts some mild angst in me... (I blame http://livethrivesurvive.blogspot.com/ - sorry Nick! who had a much more serious requirement of additional chest x-rays...)
I have 2 x-rays (back and side) then it's back to my room, and in comes one of the chemo nurses to take some blood from me (which they have only done before at the beginning of treatment - so that was unusual), and I feel my blood pressure rising.
And then... nothing... is that good/bad or what?!
Thankfully at lunch time my oncologist arrived for his weekly chat. First question (onc) "how are you", first reply (me) "well I am somewhat anxious..." and I tell him about the mornings escapade. This isn't (yet) in my notes so he stops me and goes to find out. Thankfully (very much thankfully) x-rays and bloods normal... I'll put it down to the bleo of yesterday and the fact I'm just vegetating in a chair.
The rest of the conversation was very good, I'd come up with a list of a dozen questions/things I'd noticed over the last cycle, which he noted a few things in my file and answered the questions as well as he could. Anyway I was basically happy as soon as he'd said the x-ray/bloods were fine!
Firstly as is usual one of the SHOs/ward doctors came to see me this morning once I was up. I hadn't seen this chap before and he asked the usual questions (how are you today etc...) well I told him okay, except that in the shower I had to "clear my chest" (cough up some phlegm - nice!) three or four times.
And with that he was straight in there with questions like - was there any blood... Then he was out with the stethoscope and listening to my chest. And it was I'll arrange an x-ray for you... now. And so starts some mild angst in me... (I blame http://livethrivesurvive.blogspot.com/ - sorry Nick! who had a much more serious requirement of additional chest x-rays...)
I have 2 x-rays (back and side) then it's back to my room, and in comes one of the chemo nurses to take some blood from me (which they have only done before at the beginning of treatment - so that was unusual), and I feel my blood pressure rising.
And then... nothing... is that good/bad or what?!
Thankfully at lunch time my oncologist arrived for his weekly chat. First question (onc) "how are you", first reply (me) "well I am somewhat anxious..." and I tell him about the mornings escapade. This isn't (yet) in my notes so he stops me and goes to find out. Thankfully (very much thankfully) x-rays and bloods normal... I'll put it down to the bleo of yesterday and the fact I'm just vegetating in a chair.
The rest of the conversation was very good, I'd come up with a list of a dozen questions/things I'd noticed over the last cycle, which he noted a few things in my file and answered the questions as well as he could. Anyway I was basically happy as soon as he'd said the x-ray/bloods were fine!
13/10/2010 And so (hopefully) the last cycle starts...
My (hopefully) last cycle of BEP started this last Wednesday (13th October), and on the whole it's gone pretty well. The main thing(s) of note this time around have been that I've been somewhat "hyper" for the whole three days. I think it's to do with the steroids, but I've noticed that almost all my conversations have had me in a somewhat intense frame of mind - barely letting anyone get a word in edge ways.
I did bring my laptop, in the hope of working through as I did in cycle 2's three day stay, but absolutely not a hope - my mind has been randomly uncontrollable and the last thing I have needed (this time) is actual work stress/concerns - so I've played the "sick note" and left them to it... also the Christies WIFI seemed to play up (honestly!) on Wednesday/Thursday - which was handy!
Other things, had lots of visitors this time - my folks (twice), my missus, my plutonic swimming friend, and a couple of other swimming friends, so I've been kept busy talking "at them"...
The treatment has gone well, it just takes so long:
I did bring my laptop, in the hope of working through as I did in cycle 2's three day stay, but absolutely not a hope - my mind has been randomly uncontrollable and the last thing I have needed (this time) is actual work stress/concerns - so I've played the "sick note" and left them to it... also the Christies WIFI seemed to play up (honestly!) on Wednesday/Thursday - which was handy!
Other things, had lots of visitors this time - my folks (twice), my missus, my plutonic swimming friend, and a couple of other swimming friends, so I've been kept busy talking "at them"...
The treatment has gone well, it just takes so long:
- Wednesday (Etoposide, 2 x Cisplatin and 1 x Saline) was much quicker than last time, but still didn't finish until 23:45.
- Thursday (Bleomycin, Etoposide, 2 x Cisplatin and 1 x Saline) took until 01:00, Friday,
- Friday (Etoposide and 2 x Saline) isn't scheduled to finish until 23:45.
Luckily, I still haven't been sick, so don't require the two "optional" bags of saline (or another eight hours!!)
I've couple of other things to report/say, but will do that in a couple of other posts.
Oh, the last thing of this post - what is it with me and flipping cannulas?!?!?! Poor old Dil (my chemo nurse on Wednesday) was the same nurse as cycle to who uttered the (now immortal to me) words "sorry I've hit a junction". Had more trials this time. Okay he got the cannula in first time (result!) but couldn't get any blood out of it - don't ask me why, the cannula is in a vein - so there should be some blood shouldn't there?!
Anyway try as he might, no go... But and this was brilliant. Instead of taking it out and searching for another one (vein) he asked if I wouldn't mind him using one of the "big" veins on the inner elbow for bloods? Result says I, straight in there no pain/slight scratch/whatever and all the blood he could hope for!!
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