Well after the weekend of coming out of hospital I had only two days before I returned for some more treatment. Not enough time says I who after receiving 30 needles in the space of my 2 week hospital stint needed much more time away – so a little bit of emotions came into play when I had the normal blood tests taken.
It’s over in a jiffy but just seeing that metal in my arm with all the other scars from the previous needles and my random allergic reaction to a plaster still marking my skin, even the nurse commented on how much I looked like a pin cushion.
Anyways, tests all done and good to go for chemo that day. I sought after the ward sister from the cancer centre who had wonderfully been able to put in my cannula the week before in one go and she got it again! Such a good feeling when you only have to do that once as they stick the cannula in and need to move it around a bit before the vein really takes to it. Then it’s taped down and the Taxol and Carbo get administered with all the pre-med drugs too. All good for Chemo 5. One more and I’m half way done!
I did eventually give in to that fast food craving by the way. It took 5 days to cave in but after trying to find what exactly my body was searching for, nothing was appeasing the mind from having that McChicken sandwich. I did it, I went to McDonald’s and had the meal and I felt great haha. It took care of the craving and that’s that.
Chemo 6
My final chemo day on the trial! I met with the head doctor, awesome woman, Dr Clarke, someone who makes you feel that you already know them and there was no need to catch up on who I was or what I was doing, just straight in great rapport.
I got some Magnesium to ease muscle pain and also my blood tests showed that I was at 0.69 marker not 0.7 on the magnesium scale in my bloods – nothing too drastic, but the sachets of magnesium are fantastic and they taste great too. I was having to wear very soft bras as it felt like my skin was sunburned when I wore my normal underwired Ann Summers lingerie and towards the end of my evenings my body would just ache. I normally avoid prescription drugs and be a person who would suffer through it and wait for my body to kick in with its immune system, but that’s low just now and sometimes drugs are just awesome!
The cravings I have now I guess are due to the steroids. It’s breakfast food! Cereal! Omg, I would eat my dinner salads and then before bedtime enjoy one, sometimes two! bowls of cereal. Cheerios and Special K with heaps of milk. I wouldn’t normally eat this many carbs, or drink calories in the form of milk, especially now since I am not getting to the gym so I have added 3lbs but I don’t feel super guilty. I am taking a lenient approach to all this just now as I know when my body is ready for extra exertion I am going to love it.
Celebrate time for me!!!!! I am half way through my cancer treatments!!! I have completed the clinical trial Interlace and now breathe, celebrate the milestone so far and look out for the next 6 weeks to come. That week my older sister visited from Scotland and we celebrated with some cake, art gallery visits, gardening, lots of chats and green tea. Can’t wait to see my girlfriends this weekend for some shrimp and venison gumbo! I don’t know what the next half of treatments is going to be like so before I get nervous, time to chill and take it all in. Get those breathing exercises done, got a colouring book, do some retail therapy, be a movie goer again, check in with friends.
The Uninvited Guest - Cervical Cancer 