Fighting through the dark days....

Round 3 of FEC was not without its challenges - I think the cumulative effect had started to kick-in - although I'm pleased that the super-expensive antiemetics have stopped the vomiting, the residual nausea and fatigue are completely debilitating.

Some people (foolishly) say that I should welcome the opportunity to lie in front of the tv for 4 days but the drugs mess with your head too making it impossible to make sense of what's happening around you. I must admit, those are my lowest points and the ones when I shed the most tears as it starts to feel like cancer is winning, however, the most important thing to remember is that the treatment is doing this, not the cancer and it's doing this because it's kicking cancer's butt!

That said, the dark days really do add perspective, they make you appreciate the "green days" as my team have aptly named them - the days where I feel well and full of energy. The team have landed some spectacular ninja projects over the last couple of weeks and refuse to let this hold them back, I have been so lucky to have the support of M&S to work flexibly and still have such a rewarding job to put my energy into, it has proven to me that you really should choose an employer that aligns to your own personal values.

So, round 4 starts on Tuesday and I'm trying very hard to remain positive. As it is a brand new set of chemo drugs I am terrified that we'll see a repeat of round 1 but the Oncology team have already proven that they know how to handle every possible adverse reaction and I'm confident that I couldn't be in better hands. I promise to let you know how it goes and will do my best to stay off the KFC while on the steroids!

#fightlikeagirl

Half-way through chemo.....

After a much-needed week with the folks in Winkleigh, we returned home to prepare for my last dose of FEC, I must admit, although I'll be glad to see the back of my strongly coloured bodily fluids, I'm not looking forward to the massive doses of steroids that will accompany the upcoming 3 sessions of Docetaxel. The most important thing to remember is that we're half-way through chemo....!

I've been having some issues with the chest-port, it turns out that it wasn't being flushed as often as it should and most of the nurses have struggled to access it (a pretty painful experience particularly when they continue their attempts with ever-increasing lengths of needle). By the time chemo day arrived on Wednesday I was thoroughly dreading the port-access, thankfully, my nurse, aptly named Blessing, was a dab-hand and managed it with ease on the first attempt. The smallest things can make difficult experiences more tolerable and this was a perfect example, we laughed through the rest of the session and I'm now feeling much better about round 4.

The effects so far seem to be tolerable, I'm now heading into my sickly/tired stage so am not expecting to leave the sofa for the next 48 hours but Erica and I are very much looking forward to watching the Oxford and Cambridge ladies take on the Thames on the same day as the men for the first time in history... who can believe it's taken this long? Perhaps we'll see our little sprog donning light blue in 15 years time..... for the time being though, extreme downhill appears to be her sport of choice!   #fightlikeagirl