First scan results are in

It's taken me a while to get this latest update written, the week of my scan results was pretty hectic and then I went away on holiday for a few days with my family.  So far it's good news, the chemo seems to be working, the timing is perfect because my side effects have been getting a bit worse recently. It's so nice to know that it's worth going through all the crap for a positive result.

I had my CT scan a couple of weeks ago now on 31st July and was due to get the results the following Tuesday.  Unfortunately the results weren't back in time for my appointment with oncology on the Tuesday so I had to wait a bit longer, a bit of an anticlimax! The registrar (Dr B) said that he would call me as soon as he got the results and let me know.  He called me the following afternoon to tell me that firstly the scan showed shrinkage in the cancer in my lymph nodes and secondly it showed that I had a blood clot near my liver which had restricted the flow of the iodine contrast dye injection during the scan and they couldn't get a good picture. Although he did stress that there was nothing on the scan to worry about at the moment, what they could see of my liver was fine.  Although Dr B wasn't worried about the blood clot posing a threat to my health, he still wanted me to come in to the hospital as soon as possible for some blood tests and to be given a course of blood thinning injections.

So the chemo is carrying on as normal, every week as long as my white blood count is high enough,. I've done 10 treatments so far, I think I could end up having 18 in total, so I'm more than half way through.  I do my injections at home for the blood thinning and am waiting to ask more questions about treatment plans and liver scans at my oncology clinic appointment next week.

Latitude - I almost didn't make it

Last weekend was quite a roller coaster but it had a happy ending with me having an brilliant time at Latitude Festival. The drama started at 5.30am on Thursday morning (the day before I was due to go) when I woke up feeling hot, I took my temperature and it was 38.4! Not good, so I took my duvet off, opened the window and tried to cool down, I took my temperature again after about 30 minutes, it was still above 38.  First rule of chemo club is high temperature = bad news, call the emergency number straight away, follow their instructions.  Shit, all I could think about was having to miss Latitude, it had been booked for months before I was re-diagnosed and I was determined to go. I waited until 7am and woke up my older sister who was staying in my spare room.  I felt fine, just hot, when I had a high temperature on chemo before I felt awful, I felt sick and couldn't stop shivering.  This was different, not nearly as bad, but as I had a temperature it could be a sign of an infection in my body, I have to be super vigilant about this.  The lovely nurse I spoke to on the phone said I should come into the assessment unit, get my blood tested and to pack an overnight bag just in case.... Eeeek!

I arrived at the LRI Osborne assessment unit at 8am, for what turned out to be a very long day.  The nurses were amazing, explained everything that was happening, they took a load of blood, pumped me full of antibiotics (the type I'm not allergic to, having chemo twice does have its upsides!) and I waited for the results to come back.  It took a few hours, but finally good news...no sign of infection, or anything wrong with my blood tests, I was free to have my chemo! I have never been so happy to be told this before, I nearly skipped round to the chemo unit.

My chemo didn't quite go to plan though, the chemo drug I'm having every week can cause my body to have an allergic reaction, this happened before on my third week, and on Thursday it happened again.  When it happens, I get a really tight chest, short of breath and my face goes bright red.  I have to push the emergency button for a nurse and they stop the chemo drugs going in for a bit, I get injected with some more drugs to counteract the reaction, and then the nurses start the chemo again at a slower rate. It's all hands on deck when someone gets an allergic reaction on the chemo suite, they bring over the oxygen tank and everything.  Luckily it only takes a few minutes to make me feel OK again and then I go back to reading Grazia, or fall asleep in the chair.  It can be bit scary when you are short of breath but I know what's happening now so it doesn't bother me too much, I'm just determined to get to all of the drugs in and not have my chemo delayed.

I had so many needles and drugs that day I was high as a kite, 1 blood test, 2 canulas, antibiotics, piriton, ranitidine, steroids, avastin, paclitaxel, hydrocortisone, more steroids and more piriton. Nine hours at the hospital in total, my sister waited patiently through all of it armed with snacks and didn't mind me nodding off for hours in the chair.  

When I woke up on Friday morning I felt fine, so I went to Latitude.  Yipppeeee.