Wednesday 13 March 2013

Is no news good news?

I had an appointment with my Oncologist today to discuss the next lot of treatments, which went well, and rather surprisingly, started on time! It was a huge relief to be sitting in the waiting area of what is effectly, the chemo ward, and not be waiting for someone to call my name to take me through for more poison....

Still no MRI results though, which is frustrating as I was desperately hoping for some good news by now. Apparently it's the surgical team (and my lovely surgical consultant) that have to contact me, so perhaps I'll get a letter with an appointment booked by the weekend.....

A couple of ups and downs today - the up being that I can start Tamoxifen "when I like" but of course, within reason - sometime in the next couple of weeks. This doesn't sound like much of an "up" but my joint pain has been much worse today, not to mention my cold/cough (thank you children), so any excuse to delay taking more pills quite frankly, is a good thing.

For the downs - apparently I didn't pay much attention when we discussed Herceptin. I had assumed that it would be every 4 weeks for a year, i.e. 12 doses. Not so - it is 17 doses, so one every 3 weeks for a year. Bugger. Oh yes, and I should expect some joint pain as well.... Bugger.

However, I keep telling myself: "at least I'm going to be given it at all". It isn't offered to everyone, and particularly bearing in mind my "heart issue", I'm lucky that they'll give it to me at all. I will do anything to myself stop cancer coming back, so I'll just have to get on with it, scary or not.

I am slightly proud of myself this week though, even though it's a small thing.

I've been having injections in my tummy to increase the white blood cells by encouraging the bone marrow to generate more. Well, I had to do the injection myself yesterday, and despite a bit of whinging and moping about it to start with, I did it. Without fainting. Or being sick. I even did it again today.

This is a huge result, not only for me but for my poor long suffering husband who has had to pin me down the last few times.......

Small steps, but I feel pleased with myself nonetheless.

I'm back up to the hospital for a CT scan tomorrow to help plan my RT, and will report back in due course. Thank goodness for free parking is all I can say!

1 comment:

  1. I am in awe of you. I had to take heparin via injection when I had knee surgery many moons ago. Nurse said "you can do it yourself" to which I said "erm, no" and she said "well, I'll do it this time and you just watch"

    In 30 years of nursing she said I was the first person she had ever seen go through definite colour changes of pink/reddish/white/grey/green and then pass out. They got the district nurse out to me every day for a week for that.

    WELL BLOODY DONE. You did it. Both the injection, and the chemo. Cancer picked a fight with the wrong lady.

    Big hugs. xxxx

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