Pink Tears And Other Weird Bodily Functions

I started my chemotherapy on Thursday 15th April.  We had to be at Wellington Hospital by 9.20 so it was another early start to beat the traffic. When we got to the city we went to the Cancer Society rooms first.  There we were given a pass to park free in the Cancer Society carpark whilst I was having my treatment.  We got to the Blood and Cancer Dept in good time and I thought that we would not have to wait very long as it was an early morning appointment. We were due to meet the oncologist at 9:30  and then onto the nurse for the actual chemotherapy at 10:00. We didn't actually get to see the oncologist until 10:30 so I was quite nervous with all the waiting around; I just wanted to get on with it. We met with the oncologist and he ran over a few things with us and then advised that the results of my MUGA scan had come back fine.  He also told me that some benign fybroids on my uterus had shown up on the CT scan. I think at that point, Darren, Nicole and my own heart skipped a beat for a second thinking the worst. They showed the results to the Gyno people and they said that the fibroids were not very impressive so therefore nothing to worry about but I will have to go and have an ultrasound at some stage.

After that we were taken down to the treatment room which had six Laz-y-boy chairs in. I was introduced to my oncology nurse Anne. First thing I had to do was sit with a wheat pack on my arm for about 20 minutes to ensure that the arm was warm and that the vein would be easy to get at. When that was done, a needle was inserted into the vein in the top of my hand and a saline drip was set up.  Once that was well underway I was given a concoction of anti-nausea drugs. At this point I thought I would read a bit of my book but the anti-nausea drugs seemed to fuddle my brain a wee bit so I gave up on that idea.

The first drug they administered was the Adriamycin which the nurse injected from a syringe.  The funniest thing about having this go through your system is that your urine comes out pink and apparently if you cry, your tears are pink also.

Whilst I was waiting for the next dose, a lovely lady from the Cancer Society came around and gave everyone a lunch pack which was awesome as I was getting really hungry by this time.

I was then hooked up to a machine where the second drug, Cytoxan was going to be pumped into my veins.  It was a very long proceedure; I think we ended up leaving the hospital about 2:00pm. So that was my first dose over and done with. I have to have three more of this regime at intervals of  three weeks. A day before I am due for a cycle of drugs I have to have blood tests. If my white blood cell count is too low I have to wait until it comes back up, before I can have my next dose.

So I arrived home after firstly going to pick up a prescription for three kinds of anti-nausea medication which I had to take for the following five days. They also give you three vials of anti-nausea medication incase you actually vomit and can't keep tablets down.  If you get this bad, the nurse comes round and injects you with it.  Thursday night I felt ok. The oncology nurse did warn me that the steriods in the anti-nausea medication could make me feel a bit manic.  Friday morning I felt ok and decided I would go and get the groceries with Darren.  This was ok too but the meds made me feel that I couldn't stop walking so I pushed the trolley and just kept on the move.  Friday afternoon I started to feel tired and things started to kick in. My face started to feel hot and I looked like I had a bad dose of the flu. I think Saturday was the worst day of all; all I did was sleep, wake up and take meds and try and eat a few spoonfuls of food and then go back to bed.  I was so ravenously hungry but had no appetite and the more hungier I was, the more nauseous I felt. Also one of the meds made me fidgety and during the night I had to keep getting out of bed and walking around to ease the weird sensations.

Sunday morning dawned and I felt slightly better. I was able to send a few texts and managed to hand sew a hem on one of my work dresses.  In the afternoon Darren took me out for a drive in the car and I managed to get out at the park and have quite a long walk in the sunshine.  I even managed to wolf down a lovely beef roast that evening.

Monday came and I felt even better still only I could not stomach the sickly sweet smell of the air freshner in the toilet or the smell of the handsoap in the bathroom.
Another side effect of the anti-nausea drugs is that it can effect the muscles in the fact that they do involuntary things.  Much to my annoyance, the sides of my mouth seemed to take on a mind of their own and much to Darren's amusement, I started to dribble from both corners.  Luckly this passed in a couple of days.

Tuesday I was feeling even better.  Once I was on my way up I seemed to improve in leaps and bounds so much so that Nicole and I went shopping.

On Wednesday I went back to work.  I felt better than I thought I would even though I had to have a rest half-way up the stairs to my office.

On Thursday I started to get a bit of a sore throat and had also developed big, painful ulcers on my tongue and a very sore mouth, which made me quite miserable.  I followed the nurses advice and made up a special mouthwash, got hold of some Orocort from the chemist and by the next morning, my mouth was on the mend.

To ensure that I stay in good health, I am not allowed to go anywhere where there are huge crowds of people and also I am not allowed to hug anyone.  They may be carrying an illness or infection but be unaware of it. I also have to stay away from people that have coughs, colds or flu. Because my white cell count is low it means that my imune system cannot fight anything and if I get an infection, it will put me in hospital....I think I've spent enough time in a hospital bed in the last few months so am not keen to revisit.

I am now on day 14 and my hair has just started to fall out. Just as well we are heading into the cooler weather.

So, my next round is scheduled for 6th May and I am all prepared and know what to expect.  Next time I will be half way through this main regime. The three months will be up before I know it.

The Big Shave

Well, I have finally done it, I've shaved off my hair! No, I haven't joined the ranks of Britney Spears and shaved it off for attention but have mentally and physically prepared myself for my impending loss of lovely locks.  I am not prepared to sit back and wait for the drugs to decide when they will attack my hair follicles. I am the boss, I am in charge and it will go when I say so! I start my chemotherapy on the 15th April; two thirds of the way through this journey that nobody wants to take. I am almost to the finish line.

Once my hair starts to fall I will have to shave it anyway as it comes out in clumps so I thought it best to do it whilst I am feeling strong, well and happy.  Whilst the roast was cooking on Sunday night, our bathroom became a barbershop.  Darren was revving up the clippers and all keen to go......my heart was racing...but there was no going back. The pictures are self explanatory.

I braved the big wide world this morning and ventured out in public to our local shopping mall to go and get my bloods taken at the lab. I avoided making eye contact with anyone in the carpark and prayed that a big gust of wind would not suddenly rip through the carpark and take my hair with it. I opened the door to the lab waiting room and.... the room was full!  Talk about being thrown in at the deep end. There were 12 people waiting and I had to wait in front of them all at the counter behind another lady who seemed to take forever. I kept telling myself, it is only you that knows it's a wig.  When I at last could take a seat, I glanced around to see if anyone was staring at me......nope, they weren't. I felt quite warm and as my head started to heat up, it began to itch and itch. I tried to be discreet and scratch it but was so aware that one false move by a wayward finger nail would send the wig flying across the floor and I would be left sitting there with my bristles showing for all the world to see; so I suffered in silence.  I have had it on for half a day now and the itchiness seems to be going away abit. Thank goodness we are moving into the colder months.  I am off the hair dressers tomorrow afternoon as the fringe is a bit long, so they will trim that for me. 

So, I no longer have to do my hair each morning for the next 6 months or so.  All the upkeep this thing requires is a quick wash in a mild detergent once a week and shaken and left on its' stand to dry. Because it is made of artificial hair, I do have to be careful when cooking or around anything that gives off heat as it will melt the strands and the last thing I want is a clumpy mess....not the look I am going for.