Ding Ding! Round 4

I am now half way through chemotherapy!! YAY!

I must apologise for neglecting my blog last week; I found last week quite difficult emotionally and physically.  I have worked out that the steroids that you have for anti-sickness alongside the chemo make you feel a bit 'trippy' for the first two days, and by Thursday I start to experience a bit of a come down.  I spent nearly all of Thursday sleeping, and emotionally I have felt a bit down since.  But I am determined to have a positive week this week.

So, let's fill you in on what happened last week!  Tuesday started earlier as usual as I was having my Hickman line inserted.  As you may have already read the PICC lines which go in through my arm to my heart didn't work out for me, so rather than risk permanent damage from the chemo to the veins in my hands, it was decided that I would have a Hickman line inserted.  It essentially does the same job as the PICC; it is tunnelled under the skin from the chest to the main artery in your neck, it is then inserted through the artery into the heart.  It will (hopefully) stay in until the end of my treatment and all blood tests can be taken from the line and my chemo is administered through the line.

Here's what the Hickman line looks inside

 My Mum and I arrived at 8.30 ready for the procedure; the car park was empty so we were able to park right by the Berkshire Cancer Centre for the first time!  I had decided that I would be sedated for the procedure as I had had enough of being brave all the time, so I hadn't eaten since the previous evening.  We had been warned that it would be manic in the Cancer Ward due to the two Easter bank holidays, and it certainly was! Normally everyone has their blood tests the day before the chemo so everyone was in early to have their blood taken ready for their chemo.  Thankfully I was able to have mine taken whilst Esme inserted my line.  I felt very apprehensive about the line as I have enjoyed feeling free of lines and also it is quite intrusive, but Esme is so lovely and she made me feel relaxed.  My Mum decided not to stay and watch, and I think that was definitely a good decision as it wasn't very pleasant.  The sedation didn't really touch me much, but the area was anaesthetised so I could feel pressure but no pain.  I'm not going to lie, it was really horrible, especially the pressure of my neck as the line went in.

Here's my lovely Hickman line!

So the line was inserted and it felt very strange, limiting movement in my neck, but we went off to the X-Ray department to make sure it was in the correct position.  Luckily it was and I went down to meet my Oncologist dressed in a lovely hospital gown alongside half of my comfy tracksuit!  Very attractive!  This ran smoothly, although it is probably due to the fact that I was quite late for the appointment because of the procedure and the X-Ray.  He was happy with how I was getting on and my bloods were fine; he decided to drop the dosage of Oxiplatin by 15% and would look at maybe reducing my tablet chemo next time depending on how severe my side effects are this time.  So it was back up to the chemo ward expecting a long wait, but again it ran smoothly and I was in within an hour!  Even more luckily the ward was so busy that there were no chairs left so I was able to go into a side room with a bed; so a good two hour nap was enjoyed!  That certainly made the chemo go quicker.  Before I knew it it was time to go home.  It was then that we encountered our last challenge of the day.  Somehow we had managed to have two idiots parking so closely to either side of the car that we could not open the doors either side; I mean, really, can people be THAT stupid?!?  Luckily they had permits in them so we managed to track them down, only to be told "well you shouldn't have parked so close then!"  Ummmmm, excuse me! We were here at 8.30 with no cars in sight and parked well within the lines! He did sort of apologise when he saw the predicament we were in and realised HE was at fault.

The dropping of the dosage certainly helped with the side effects; I had a tingly nose and fingers as I left, but nothing too extreme thankfully.  The side effects have grown in intensity during the week, and it wasn't helped by the cold wind this weekend making my hands and feet totally numb!  The exhaustion has been the main side effect this week; if you left me I could sleep all day and night!  But I am holding on to the thought that I am half way through and I have come so far that I will not let it beat me!

Hope you are all well?
Much Love Cx