The final treatment was yesterday!! It seems ages waiting to say that. We were at the hospital for a long time, because I had to see the doctor before lunch, to make sure that I was OK to go ahead. We were then called in half an hour early for the actual treatment, which was unusual, but I then waited from about 1:40pm when they fitted the cannula, to about 3:10 for Pharmacy to get round to actually delivering the medication. It was just before 5 before we got out of there.
The doctor told me that I should feel about 90% of normal by early August, when we are going on holiday to Ireland, so I should be able to start building up my capacity for country walks again. However, she did say that it could take up to a year to feel 100% of my normal self, so I shall have to take that into account when building up at work.
I've had to go for emergency dental treatment this morning, because one of my top molars has disintegrated, don't know how much to do with my chemotherapy. I bit on a skate bone on Monday night, which is what was the immediate cause. He has done an emergency crown that will last a few months, and I'll have to go back for proper treatment in September when I am through all of this.
Side effects are not too bad yet. I felt rather sick last night, but medication helped. I'm on steroids from day before treatment to today and this stops you sleeping properly, so I didn't get much last night. But slept for about 2 hours this afternoon. In addition, the nerves in my lower half are very jumpy. It feels a bit like pins and needles, but a bit more painful. My fingernails and big toenails are still very yellow with blood collecting under them, but at the moment the soreness has worn off. The doctor explained that the nails lift up a bit, because the nail tips are not growing properly, and this is what causes both the yellowness and the bruising. She warned that it will get worse during this cycle and will take a few months to recover.
On the positive side, I am developing a fuzz on my head as this latter drug does not seem to have as bad effect on hair loss as the previous cocktail of drugs. However, I do have to paint on my eyebrows and hardly have any eyelashes, not even enough to put mascara on!
Will keep updating you on progress, depending on how I feel, but the positive thing is that this is it. No more chemotherapy treatment and by beginning of August I'll be taking the hormone treatment (aromatase inhibitor - explained before), which should keep threat of a recurrence at bay. It really feels good to be on the road to proper recovery and only a week to 10 days of side-effects to deal with (hopefully).
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