Did not get a lot of sleep last night, I think I finally drifted off around 3am, only to wake myself up at around 7am, at this point I dragged myself out of bed for the normal over-dose of pain medication.
I was told already what the Chemotherapy drug was called but like most medical terms you easily forget what was said especially as they are always strange words that are never spelt like they need to be.
Anyway, after returning home on Saturday, I sore that I have finally got another letter from Clatterbridge that informs me that the treatment that I will be on is called: Cisplatin and Gemcitabine and is referred to as ‘GemCis Chemotherapy and I like it that the Risks take up a page and a half compared to the one line of the actual name of the stuff.
Risks are Bruising and Bleeding, Anaemia, Feeling Sick (Already got this one), Tiredness and Feeling Week (Yep got that too), Kidney Issues, which I suppose must be expected after all its basically a poison! Liver problems, well if you are affecting the Kidney, you may as well enjoy the Liver as well. Chills, Muscle Pain, swelling in the face (I am so going to get called names), Excess Fluid, Blood in my pee, Shortness of breath (Got this just wearing these bloody face masks), Skin Rash, Hair Loss (I wish, I hate hairs in my ears and up my nostrils), Hearing loss (Yep that’s another already got), Increase risk of infections, basically got to stay away from everyone, Loss of appetite (Got that already as well), Alteration in Taste (Yep and its not because of Covid – Been tested so there!), Constipation (That’s why I have Ice Cream), Sweating (Thanks), Runny Nose (At last something I don’t have already), and the list goes on basically covering everything else that you would expect, its almost like filling in a car insurance form where you know that if you ever claim you will only get enough back to buy a replacement bulb if you are lucky.
The last page has on it a quick note about making a Living Will, so I suppose if the Chemo doesn’t get you, and the side effects don’t, then at least those close to you will know that they will still be looked after once they suffocate you with a pillow in your sleep!
So, all good there!
Is it weird to actually be looking forward to treatment today? My thoughts here are that at least something is now happening at last, it’s been a little worrying, as just in the last few days another lump has emerged and pain is still increasing daily, the meds kind of take the edge off, but I am suffering worst luck, I know that this won’t change instantly but I do wish that it will, the hearing is what annoys me the most, or at least the lack of it, what it leaves me with is a constant hiss, along with the loud beating of my heart, which seems louder than what I can hear out of the semi-good ear.
Nearly 9am, and soon time to take my sickness tablet (Emend 80mg), this is to hopefully stop me from throwing up during the treatment which I start at 10am…
10:00am started prompt, checking of weight, blood pressure and sat in chair all ready to be plumbed in to the mass of tubes and bags of liquid that were already being placed around the bed on various apparatus.
The nurses are really great, especially after I was a woos and fainted after my canular was installed, blood pressure went really low, must be down to the stress of what’s happening, along with my breakfast being vomited all over the bathroom floor earlier.
12:50 and my second trip to the toilet in just a few minute (I am going to get very bored about this very soon, I can see…).
I am being pumped full of liquid, a drug to make me visit the toilet a lot (which is so working overtime at the moment) and a Steroid, all along notes of fluids in and out are being taken to check i’m fit enough for the next bit.
So being pumped full of liquid has the great side effect of going to the toilet a lot, which is always great when you are tethered to a machine and bags of drugs.
14:00 and just started on the god stuff, at least the first of the good stuff anyway, it has to be kept hidden from the sun, which was worrying…
, and then I sore the feed rates on the machine…
‘666’ – It must be evil stuff after all.
Around 15:30 I started to get very hot and uncomfortable, and actually started sweating quite a lot all of a sudden, this enabled the swat team of nurses to drop everything and un-plug me, change bags, and yet more tests were run to check the normal as well as Liver and Kidneys, meanwhile I was placed on drips of water to flush out any issues, thankfully after about 20 minutes this seemed to return to normal and after another short time things were kicked off again with the Chemo drugs until this batch were gone.
After another flushing through with saline, I was given the second Chemo Drug, this was the worst of the two, both in potency and quantity of drug, by this time I was all alone in the ward.
18:00 and still going strong, with most of the drugs in, I had to wait around for a final flush, a few more checks, another trip to the toilet which I had been doing at least every 20 minutes, I was wondering at this point if I would be able to make it home in time for a toilet run, but poor Megan wanted to go home, it had been a long day for her too.
So made it home by 19:30 and yes the first stop was the downstairs toilet with a big sigh of relief, the rest of the night was sent having a small frozen meal (about all I could handle), loads of drinks, settled for Ginger Bear as very good to stop you feeling sick, I do not feel too bad, considering what I have gone through today, i.e. the being pumped full of poison, and I have been really well looked after, especially the few times that my body let me know it was not happy about something, the nurses sorted this out fast and I was feeling much better in a really short time indeed.
10/10 for Nobles staff.
Now back for a few hours and trying to relax, I have a lot a pain in my legs and back but nothing that a coding and some morphine won’t help get rid of, I am not exactly comfortable, and certainly not looking forward to all this kicking off again next Monday, although more Blood tests on Friday, which I must remember to book tomorrow.
