Well, I've now completed my first 2 weeks of chemo and I'm still hanging in there - more than that really! I've been amazed at how relatively well I've been feeling actually. Weekly chemo is supposed to be better tolerated than the more common 3 weekly (3times the dose)regime I was on 5 years ago.
Last week after the first chemo I was able to eat normally and although very drowsy on the day itself due to the pre-med they give you with the Taxol chemo I'm on, I was able to go on an hour dog wlak the next afternoon and even played the best badminton I've ever played (only a beginner!)for an hour and a half group coaching in the evening!
I then had a bad night with mild nausea and constant joint pains in different random parts of my body all night but was still able to go into work the next morning for my last teaching day of the term. Luckily the pains subsided after 2 days and although I have odd twinges now it's perfectly manageable.
It was a 3 hour session last week due to me having the extra Avastin drug which is just fortnightly. Today it was just the chemo and the cold caps to try and curtail or prevent dramatic hairloss and the whole process took 2 hours. I've had a big sleep this afternoon and should be able to sleep well tonight as I'm still quite drowsy.
We were able to order a new car at the weekend which is something to get excited about in this turbulent time. We've also booked a much needed holiday to Antibes on the Cote d'Azur in May which is also something to look forward to in a time where planning ahead is very tricky! Luckily I need to have a 2 week break from the chemo in order to have my 8 weekly PET scan in London so it will be nice to relax after that for a short time. I realised just after I'd booked -bagging the last room in the lovely small hotel we've stayed in before that we'll be there at the time of the Cannes Film Festival so it will be very busy! Am excited about star spotting but hope it won't be too crowded!!
Am still very touched by all the support I'm getting and am very grateful for all the comments on my blog. As I'm new to this I forget who I've acknowledged so I thank you all and am grateful to you.
Words are inadequate and yet so powerful too. I have been so heartened by dear friends and particularly a new friend who's come into my life and helps me enormously to feel that I've still got a valid place in the world - as corny as that may sound! I am beginning to feel that I can "live" with this now instead of "die" with it right up until the end as none of us truly know when that will be anyway.
"It's not over until it's over!"
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7 comments:
Hang in there, sis - you're doing brilliantly! And feel sure that once you get into the swing of this new regime things will seem more manageable. I'm so impressed by how positively you're coping with this, although I'm sure there are hard times to cope with, too. Looking forward to seeing your smart new car. Will really feel like the poor relation! xx
Yes, living wih it instead of seeing it as a sentence must be the best way forward. What do I know - I've never been through it, but I've read so much lately about it starting to be seen as a disease that can be managed, rather than the awful C-word that people mutter about in hushed tones. I've come from LBD's blog, and have just caught up with your previous posts. I'm glad the chemo isn't too bad this time round, I'm sending lots of positive thoughts.
God it all sounds a tremendous ordeal which you are facing with wit and dignity. When my friend had chemo, the thing she hated more than the sickness, more than anything, was the canula. Enjoy that car, but take it steady on the bends. All the best.
Spot on Living with it rather than dying with it - berludy good for you. We could all love life knowing that at any minute something awful could happen and we could suddenly die. We all live in the shadow of the axe, but why let that spoil each day that we live . . . yeah yeah I know it sounds a bit trite, well alot trite, but it is true. I used to worry all the time that something awful was going to happen - then we had a major fire . . .horrible, horrible time . . . I don't worry so much any more cos my worrying doesn't actually change whether things happen or not.
So berludy good for you.
I like your spirit, 'living with it' is absolutely right. Positive thoughts all the way
Best wishes Lampworkbeader
Aha ,,,have just sussed the connection! Keep on trucking girl.... you sound a gutsy person that can deal with this.....and with the powers of purple there with you as well who the hell is going to argue......
Love that you're loving blogging....it is just the best therapy in the world (well, has to beat chemo hands down).
New car sounds good as does trip. By the way, meant to say on your later blog that you MUST go to New Zealand (not that I've been) but see the very wonderful Cowgirl!
Hang in there with the chemo....jxxxx
PS - don't know if you're into this kind of thing, but a good homeopath could give you a remedy to help offset the side effects of the chemo... Just a thought.
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