After all the fun and jollity's over the Christmas and New Year - in between traipsing up and down to the hospital. I now know the following. My Heart is fine, but my liver is not. So today I have decided to start a detox. That was until the hubby came home with chocolate biscuit cake! To be fair I've only had a mouthful and I have eaten loads of fruit and drank green tea. I figure that my body needs a bit of a rest from gin, wine and everything else I have drank and eaten over the Christmas period.
When I went along to see the oncologist the end of last month I was measured and weighed. Apparently I have lost 1/2 an inch in height and I've put on 2 pounds, since the last time I was weighted. Now I am clueless about the loss of 1/2 an inch, but I certainly know where the 2 pounds came from - and we still have tons of Christmas food left. My only hope is that my son - who eats us out of house and home most of the time and has size 11 boots to fill at the age of 15 - will hoover up everything else that's left including the 10 ton of sausage rolls. When I was in hospital I lost weight, and got a tad thin. Now in less then a month, that's not something I need to worry about.
On New Years Eve I had my heart checked and thankfully its fine. It had to be checked to see if it can handle all the treatment that's going to be thrown at it. So a Sister Anne called me up today and gave me my next couple of appointments. Next week I have my bone scan to see if the cancer has spread, then the following week I'm having my PICC line inserted ( to you and me that's a long, thin, flexible tube known as a catheter. It is inserted into one of the large veins of the arm near the bend of the elbow. It is then threaded into the vein until the tip sits in a large vein just above the heart.) This will sit in my arm covered in a bandage for the whole of my treatment - so until May time when the Chemo finishes. However it'll have to be checked on a weekly basis as it is prone to all sorts of problems. Anyway the following day my chemo starts ( 17th January ) I'm going to be receiving - 3 sessions of FEC and 3 Sessions of Docetaxel. Okay, for those of you that are lost FEC is made up of a combination of 3 difference drugs that along with an anti sickness drug and a saline solution is put into the PICC line at the same sitting - this will last around a hour of so. This is the one that makes me lose my hair. Then after that 3 sessions of Docetaxel a single drug that I have to have steroids with ( the day beforehand) this is the one that'll make me put on weight. So basically come May, I'm going to look bloody gorgeous.
I did get up this morning and think - I might go back to work next week, but as I've now got my next lot of treatment lined up, I don't think that' s going to happen in the foreseeable future. However, yesterday I drove the car albeit only about a mile or so. It was very strange as I don't have any muscle in my back to support my turning of the wheel etc, so I looked a bit like a learner and reversing was a bit of a nightmare let alone putting my seat belt on, but I did it and I was quite safe. Having said that I don't think I'll be driving too far in the near future but I do feel safe enough to drive up to the supermarket and the local shops. Lets just hope there's a big parking space when I get there - husband would say nothing new there then, but I wouldn't feel very confident getting into a smaller one at the minute.
Anyway, I am really pleased with my breast and how it is settling down, its still a bit swollen and sore, but at least I can get myself in and out of the shower without problems now. Although having a bath is a bit of a pain, I have to turn myself into a synchronised swimmer in order to not place too much support on my right hand and arm, but even that's getting better each day. My back is still very sore but at least I can now touch it. Still can't feel any thing in certain parts of the breast and armpit but I am getting a tingling sensation when I do touch it. I am sure that at some point I will discuss with my plastic surgeon about having a new nipple tattooed on, but I am not worried about one at the moment.
In general today is a good day. I had a little bit of a cry earlier after the Sister phoned me up, but I'm getting used to the hospital calling me, or letters from them landing on the mat. I've got 9 days before I have my next hospital appointment although my wig fitting should be in the next week or so. I've also sorted out a few hats and scarves to wear.
In the meantime, I've worked out if everything goes to plan and I remain strong throughout the sessions. I can still go to our friend's Andrew and Karen's wedding in June in Ibiza. Its a tight time line but I remain positive. Also I've worked out that family and friends birthday's and other events I've got coming up in the next couple of months fall in between chemo so hopefully I should be well enough for these. All I need is my pink wig and some elasticated trousers and I'll be all set!
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