First Chemo
Classic. Didn't get the memo telling me to be there at 8.30am. Jauntily rocked up at 10.10. So 10mins late for what I thought was my appointment, but two hours 40 late for the actual one.
Rock and roll chemo, baby.
I won't bore you with minute details of treatment through my writing if I can help it; having said that, a description of the first experience of chemo might be useful.
I take a seat in my throne, having had my height and weight done. The nurse (lovely, Clotilde, from somewhere in Africa with a French lilt) lets out an avalanche of info, then a litany of pre-drugs start going in to the port. No pain or discomfort even though the wound of the port is fresh. All good.
The pre's are an antihistamine (makes you drowsy) and dex (steroids, make you jumpy, stops nausea – we hope). Then on with the big stuff, Pembrolizumab – now approved by NICE, shown to manifestly increase the chances of triple-neg sufferers to not have recurrences. And then THE COLD CAP.
There's no way I can get all zen and deep with a cold cap on. It's very cold. It's very tight (otherwise won't do anything for you), it left marks and ridges deep into the skin of my forehead afterwards and now I will have bruising there. Also, lots of docs and medics and dieticians and pharmacists and nurses ALL come up to you to have a chat and impart info through your treatment. And the cold cap means you CAN'T HEAR!! Your ears are covered and there's a swishy noise.
I'm doing it for the wedding; so 3 more with the cold cap, then I'm going commando.
Too late for S, he'll be married to me by then so won't be able to escape the new hairless me....!
After the Pembro, the two chemo drugs, Paclitaxel/Carboplatin. I think the Carbo made me feel the worst, very out of it, heavy headed, wobbly on my feet, and hot on the inside.
I also still have the biopsy site hurting my left hand side underarm and breast; and the port is not healed, so is sore. So I can't use either arm. Which means I get to ask everyone else (especially M!) to make me tea and do things.
Enough now, I'm not very inspired, just weirded out.