Little prick!
In this instance i must agree that size matters. I would rather have a little prick than a big prick when having a cannula fitted.
I apologise for my smutty innuendo, but thats what i do. Its not meant to offend, its meant to make people smile. I like to see the funny side of things.
Well, its nearly 2am and I'm wide awake. I blame the steroids and I'm aware i have another 4 days of them. I will have to take everything a bit easy over the next few days, if not the next few months.
One of my new lymphoma friends who had her first chemo on friday told me she felt her blood sugar dropping had caused her to become nauseous , so I'm here, wide awake, writing a blog, eating digestives. I don't feel nauseous but i think it only right i protect myself! The only problem is crumbs! Digestives are quite crunchy beggars and i know I'm gonna roll over in a bit and feel like I'm laying on broken glass. In the grand scheme of things, i suppose thats not a huge problem.
Anyway, more important matters.
Ive done it. Ive had my first chemo. Let me tell you about it.
We arrived at the hospital at 11.30 and was greeted by a lovely nurse called Laura who was gonna administer my drugs. I say we, it was me and the lovely Linda.
She settled me in and asked me questions. Then i waited for the haematologist, Dr Jack to arrive with more info for me and a consent form. His first bit of info was not what i was hoping for. The PET scan shows the lymphoma has spread to both sides of my pelvis, higher up in my peritoneum, (the lining of the abdominal cavity), and to my spleen. I still remain a grade 2a, but it means i will be having 12 sessions of chemo over 6 months, instead of 6 sessions over 3 months. And no radiotherapy as the area is a lot larger than thought. Bummer! But some people have it far worse than that. So pick myself up and get on with it.
He chatted about so much other stuff.
1. Don't worry too much about germs, were all a bag of germs. Just don't mix with people with hacking coughs, or infections. Any temperature and i should ring the unit and discuss with the nurses who will advise.
2. He told me alcohol was ok but don't go getting 'trollied'. I believe that is a medical term!!
3. No to the dentist and hygienist. Wait till all the chemo is over. Now that is a shame. I shall have to cancel this fridays appointment!!! A silver lining, me thinks.
4. No to any sugaring (hair removal). It opens the pores so could lead to bacteria entering the body and causing an infection. He said don't worry cos you'll probably lose most of your hair anyway!
5. He commented on my head hair loss and i told him i had bought myself a wig. He was keen to question my choice of colour. I think he's picked up on my personality already cos he asked if it were bright pink!
6. Id heard i couldn't have any massages cos of the lymph being pushed round the body and possibly spreading. He said he didn't have a problem with it, but he felt he didn't like the thought of someones hands all over his body! What a strange response. I wasn't expecting that. However i will be giving a massage a miss. You gotta be careful at times like this!
There was so much other stuff, but its overload at that moment. More will come to me as time goes on, I'm sure. He's a nice man. Obviously very clever, and very funny. And just a little bit cheeky. He got me to sign a consent form. Actually, he signed it for me himself and then had to cross it out and get me to do it! Bless him. Maybe a little absentminded too. He had a little joke with us and then left us to it.
Laura returned and this is where the little prick comes into it. I was all 'cannulad up' (thats not a proper word by the way, but i like it), and normal saline was left to steadily drip into the vein that Laura felt was her favourite.
Lunch arrived. Roast pork. It was ok, i was very hungry at that time!
Then back to the drugs.
I was given some Hydrocortisone. This is to relieve any inflammation i may have from the chemo, prevent allergic reactions, to help with nausea and vomiting, to stimulate appetite in cancer patients. I think, and i could be mistaken, this is the drug that gave me the feeling of 'ants in my pants'. Another medical term! It was a weird feeling where everything in the underpants department was very very itchy! Not horrid, just a bit weird. It does however have some side effects which i won't go into other than to say, it can cause insomnia!!! Oh yes, so it can!!!
Then i had an injection of an anti-emetic (anti sickness drug). A fairly strong one was given which should cover me for a couple of days, which was nice! Then back onto the saline whilst the stronger drugs were prepared.
Now it begins - Doxorubicin - bright red in colour and causes your wee to be bright red, don't panic!
Bleomycin was next, Vinblastine, and then an infusion of Dacarbazine over 2 hours, a quick flush with normal saline again, i was finished.
None of this caused me any real pain or discomfort. I think it could for some people, but it was fine for me. It could be a little boring sitting there for a few hours, but i had my Linda.
Linda is my bestie! She has lovingly offered to come with me for EVERYTHING. Scans, lung tests, chemo, consultations. She is what is known in the trade as 'a rock'. Luckily we get on like a house on fire, and spend many an hour chatting and laughing. And today was no different.
I have nicknamed her my chemo slave, and i feel it only right that i use her in that capacity. She got me drinks, turned the tv on, passed me things when i need them, unwrapped sugar free polos and starbursts after finding me the red ones. She hasn't yet rubbed my feet, but I'm working on it!
I was very glad she was there. We laughed about so much. The seagulls flying outside which i renamed vultures, she photographed them. The unwrapping of the red starbursts. She even laughed when i told Laura i had saved her from a life of prostitution and drug taking many years ago. I don't know where that came from, but its not strictly true. We met when our children started school. Enough to make anyone take drugs!
So heres a photo of my chemo slave. Isn't she lovely?
Well we laughed and laughed about so much. It was almost good fun to be there. Im glad we did though. Imagine how worried me Linda must have been. Supporting someone through a rough time like this is not easy. It drags you down, its depressing. Well i don't want it to be like that. If i gotta go through it, and if I'm gonna drag her along with me, then we must make it as positive and have as much fun as we can. However Linda, your abuse of me must stop here! She's so rude to me! I will forgive her though cos she did cut up my roast pork lunch for me. And a couple of times, uninvited, she did push a bit of food about on my plate! Ideas above her station, i believe.
Anyway, that was it. I was de-cannulaised (another made up word), and set free. We got home and had a cup of tea and a piece of cake and then Linda left me in the capable hands of my middle son, and favourite (i gotta say that) Sam.
I spent the rest of the evening (we didn't leave till 5pm), watching tv with Sam making me a hot water bottle, turning lights off for me, sorting the dogs, and generally being slave number 2. Bless him.
I normally go to Rock Choir on a monday night, but felt i didn't want to push it. I need to pace myself (she said, writing a blog at 3am!). So my lovely Rock Choir buddy Jenni recorded a little of the choir singing Adele's, 'Someone like you' for me with her own little rendition of the chorus at the end of it, and sent it to me. At that stage, I had started to 'come down' a little. I was feeling a little exhausted and had the occasional very mild feeling of nausea (thats where the eating of the digestives came in to force). So to receive that audio message made me laugh so loud, i nearly had the 'ants in my pants' feeling again. Then i cried, not sure what for. But i played it again, and laughed, and recovered from the tears. I think that was allowed. Its been an emotional, fun filled, frightening, unnecessarily frightening, day. And i think i will allow myself a team point for getting through it.
Now i think its time for me to attempt some shut eye. Time to roll over onto the digestive crumbs.
Thanks for listening to my ramblings, people. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it.
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