Over a week later and I woke up in bed to think where the hell have I been in the past 8 days.
Chemo was hard, for people that are about to have the same chemo, I must inform that my experience seems to be not normal, so please don't read my words and think this is what it will be like. Please read this about the cancer treatment and side effects
But it seems for me, I fit into that 5% that have a bad reaction to it, bloody brilliant! its been Hell.
The collection of drugs I take is called 'Folfox' which makes it sound more like a Northern 80s nightclub more than something that beds you for a week but when looking up one of the drugs (oxaliplatin) I was surprised to what it read on the Macmillan website.
Hair loss
Your hair may thin but you’re unlikely to lose all the hair from your head.
I had one chemotherapy, sneezed over breakfast and my hair was in my Frosties, what the hell is all that about.
So, Mum and me was in the chemo ward a week last Monday, I have an injection with a type of drug to stop two of the side effects happening from one of the chemotherapy, and thats sickness and abdominal pains, half an hour into the chemo the abdominal pain started. I guess i freaked out due to thinking that they have given me the drug, so why was it happening, its not a small pain, its a heavy paralysing shooting pain and due to the amount of pain, both me and my Mother both seemed to jump.
The nurse called for the Doctor and he came, the pain eased, and then came back, but then eased again, so I learnt, when it starts to hurt the best thing is, is to breath though it, as I knew it would settle down. Then I was sick.
After 3 hours of chemo, I am attached to a small plastic container with a deflating balloon inside, which pushes more chemo into my system for the next 48 hours, and dangling from my other arm is a compact plastic box containing a large injection that pushes anti sickness drugs for the next 48 hours, and with a look in the mirror, Im ready to hit the town!
Well, to be fair at that point the only thing I'm hitting is my bed. I guess I walk out of the ward and I kind of remember getting into Mums car, I'm not sure of the whole details, as from that point I feel totally drugged up, and I guess thats exactly what I am.
I have an idea on what happens throughout the week of been in bed, it starts off with a lot of sickness, and when sick my temperature raises very high, very quickly, its not a nice feeling, if feels like all the chemicals and poisons of the chemo are trying so hard to escape you are not just throwing them up, they are sweating out of every pores. When having chemo you should always watch your temperature, and if it goes over 37.5C, thats when you start to worry. But with this type of reaction I am sure my temperature goes sky high every time I am sick.
The sickness, wow, I am sick until nothing else can come out, but that doesn't stop my body from trying to get more out, and when it gets to that point, this vile green liquid spews, which I can taste the chemicals in, which makes me gag more, its bad but looking on the bright side! I know this only lasts two to three days.
Day three seems that there is a small light at the end of the tunnel, the sickness started to easy, there is a light.
But then the next stage happens and it is more subtle that the sickness stage, but it seems to last a lot longer. I felt I was hit by a bus, and then was in a comma, and then on day 8, when I woke up, i cried, In the joy that it felt like I had just got home form a very distant and dark and different place, a little battered and a little bruised, but still home.
I am having the nano knife surgery done a week on Thursday and a problem been, my chemo is on monday, I feel I am going to be in no state to have the chemo, and then days later travel to London to go to that ( I feel sorry for the person I will be sat next to on that train journey!) not sure what to do at this moment in time, the surgeons in London like you to have the chemo, and so do the Oncologist in Leeds. I'm not sure if it's physically possible.
Luckily that's where Pancreatic Cancer UK are great for advice, and there are always well known about each of the treatments. will call them today for advice.
When writing this blog I found it difficult to write about how the chemo was. I have three other blog items I have not published which where even more random than the ones I publish. I have been avoiding this one. But, last night I started to write it and once I did, it felt better. I know I have been quite descriptive on how bad it's been. I hope I have not offended anyone.
I have an pre-assessment, and I will let them know how it has been, hopefully they will give me more sickness drugs, but I will write about it on here.
This is now nine days after and I still feel light on my feet, but It's so nice to feel back to some kind of normal again.
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