... on the medical front.
For those who have risked looking in for the first time, a brief summary of my treatment so far. Weekly Taxol chemo from July to November last year which did a wonderful job of shrinking the tumours. December to February this year I've been on Arimidex (hormone therapy). A CT scan at the end of February showed that the Arimidex had done nothing and the time spent on it has allowed the tumours to progress again.
So next week it's back on to weekly chemo for me but this time on Doxorubicin as fairy dust is out of stock!
On the plus side, the Doxorubicin is bright red (my favourite colour) .... ok clutching at straws on the plus side but every little helps!
Showing posts with label chemotherapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chemotherapy. Show all posts
Saturday, 27 March 2010
It just fell off .....
..... and I didn't touch it, honest!
It would never have won any prizes or been held up as an example of perfection but I was rather attached to it. Maybe I should have paid it more attention. Lavished some time and effort to lift its self esteem. To be honest it did always look a bit like the poor cousin and never as grand or imposing as its near neighbours.
Anyway it's gone now, superglue and bodge tape won't make any difference. Yes, today I said goodbye to my little toe nail. It's a good few weeks since my last chemo (Taxol) but it held out for as long as possible.
It was attached to the only bone I've ever broken. Miss Bad Fairy and I had a skipping incident a couple of years ago. (Is skipping covered by 'elf n safety? If not then it should be!) My little toe was the only casualty. It was strapped up very elegantly and spent a good couple of weeks fixing itself admirably until one of my dogs lolloped in and promptly sat on it. Have you ever seen a GP rolling on the floor laughing?
It would never have won any prizes or been held up as an example of perfection but I was rather attached to it. Maybe I should have paid it more attention. Lavished some time and effort to lift its self esteem. To be honest it did always look a bit like the poor cousin and never as grand or imposing as its near neighbours.
Anyway it's gone now, superglue and bodge tape won't make any difference. Yes, today I said goodbye to my little toe nail. It's a good few weeks since my last chemo (Taxol) but it held out for as long as possible.
It was attached to the only bone I've ever broken. Miss Bad Fairy and I had a skipping incident a couple of years ago. (Is skipping covered by 'elf n safety? If not then it should be!) My little toe was the only casualty. It was strapped up very elegantly and spent a good couple of weeks fixing itself admirably until one of my dogs lolloped in and promptly sat on it. Have you ever seen a GP rolling on the floor laughing?
Friday, 26 March 2010
Hair loss, the positives....
.... always look for the positives!
It seems I've taught my children well. When my long, thick and curly (some would say unruly) dark brown hair started parting company with my head we took control. Can you imagine the twinkle in the eyes of a pair of primary age children being told they can cut Mum's hair? Typical children they soon got bored but then I did say it was thick and it was hard work! Mr Bad Fairy came to the rescue when it was suitably shorn with his hair clippers and razor. Definitely not a job for children if I wanted to keep my eyebrows for as long as possible! So now for the positive side of having no hair ....
1. Save on hair products.
2. No need to unblock the shower every day.
3. Save on hair dye. Contribution courtesy of 7 year old Miss Bad Fairy. This one made me realise that over the years I must have spent over £1500 colouring my hair!! (I haven't told Mr Bad Fairy that yet!!)
3. No need to drag a nit comb through it on a regular basis. Kindly thought of by 8 year old Master Bad Fairy. I did point out that if he and his sister would refrain from rubbing heads with their school friends I wouldn't need to own a nit comb never mind use it!!
4. I would now have an understanding of Mr Bad Fairy's life. This being the latest contribution from Mr Bad Fairy after I moaned about how painful it was being hailed on with a bald head!
So there are positives afterall. ;-)
It seems I've taught my children well. When my long, thick and curly (some would say unruly) dark brown hair started parting company with my head we took control. Can you imagine the twinkle in the eyes of a pair of primary age children being told they can cut Mum's hair? Typical children they soon got bored but then I did say it was thick and it was hard work! Mr Bad Fairy came to the rescue when it was suitably shorn with his hair clippers and razor. Definitely not a job for children if I wanted to keep my eyebrows for as long as possible! So now for the positive side of having no hair ....
1. Save on hair products.
2. No need to unblock the shower every day.
3. Save on hair dye. Contribution courtesy of 7 year old Miss Bad Fairy. This one made me realise that over the years I must have spent over £1500 colouring my hair!! (I haven't told Mr Bad Fairy that yet!!)
3. No need to drag a nit comb through it on a regular basis. Kindly thought of by 8 year old Master Bad Fairy. I did point out that if he and his sister would refrain from rubbing heads with their school friends I wouldn't need to own a nit comb never mind use it!!
4. I would now have an understanding of Mr Bad Fairy's life. This being the latest contribution from Mr Bad Fairy after I moaned about how painful it was being hailed on with a bald head!
So there are positives afterall. ;-)
Thrown in the deep end....
... without a snorkel or so it felt!
After such a quick diagnosis there was no time to worry or do any scary internet research. Looking back this was probably a good thing. Mr Bad Fairy and I shed a few tears and had no choice but to move on and deal with this new life that had been forced on us. Life goes on doesn't it? Being optimists we were determined to seek out, no matter how deeply they were buried, any tiny little positive moments along with any hint of something which might raise a giggle at a later date. (See? Positive thoughts .... there will be a later date!)
So there we were meeting the oncologist for the first time on a Monday. On Wednesday I was hooked up to an IV pump having the first of ten weekly doses of Taxol. What a strange new world!
Daft as it sounds I was quite pleased to be starting this journey with my vivid yellowness. Logic says that if the chemo started to work then the tumours would shrink and the yellowness would fade. It worked! Family and friends could slowly see a difference on the outside which reflected the changes on the inside.
Nine weeks later and I was flat on my back in the CT scanner to check on progress. Yeah hey! On average an 80% reduction in tumour sizes. It was working!
The plan was to have three more doses on a three weekly cycle. The last one was cancelled and I'm now on Arimidex tablets and Zoladex implant/jabs whilst waiting for an appointment to discuss having my ovaries removed.
Another CT scan (last week) showed that things had remained unchanged except for on my bones .... bones? No one had mentioned bones before. It seems that on the previous scan there were a couple of spots on my spin but as it was a CT scan and not a bone scan it wasn't obvious what these "spots" were so they didn't tell me. Seems that on the latest scan there has been a noticeable change which could be new bone growth resulting from the effects of the chemo. This new revelation now means a three weekly trip to the chemo unit for IV Zometa to strengthen my bones.
So there you go, that's where I am (medically) today only five months into this journey! Mr Bad Fairy keeps reminding me that I never did like being predictable and that I've always been impulsive rather than taking things at a leisurely pace!!
After such a quick diagnosis there was no time to worry or do any scary internet research. Looking back this was probably a good thing. Mr Bad Fairy and I shed a few tears and had no choice but to move on and deal with this new life that had been forced on us. Life goes on doesn't it? Being optimists we were determined to seek out, no matter how deeply they were buried, any tiny little positive moments along with any hint of something which might raise a giggle at a later date. (See? Positive thoughts .... there will be a later date!)
So there we were meeting the oncologist for the first time on a Monday. On Wednesday I was hooked up to an IV pump having the first of ten weekly doses of Taxol. What a strange new world!
Daft as it sounds I was quite pleased to be starting this journey with my vivid yellowness. Logic says that if the chemo started to work then the tumours would shrink and the yellowness would fade. It worked! Family and friends could slowly see a difference on the outside which reflected the changes on the inside.
Nine weeks later and I was flat on my back in the CT scanner to check on progress. Yeah hey! On average an 80% reduction in tumour sizes. It was working!
The plan was to have three more doses on a three weekly cycle. The last one was cancelled and I'm now on Arimidex tablets and Zoladex implant/jabs whilst waiting for an appointment to discuss having my ovaries removed.
Another CT scan (last week) showed that things had remained unchanged except for on my bones .... bones? No one had mentioned bones before. It seems that on the previous scan there were a couple of spots on my spin but as it was a CT scan and not a bone scan it wasn't obvious what these "spots" were so they didn't tell me. Seems that on the latest scan there has been a noticeable change which could be new bone growth resulting from the effects of the chemo. This new revelation now means a three weekly trip to the chemo unit for IV Zometa to strengthen my bones.
So there you go, that's where I am (medically) today only five months into this journey! Mr Bad Fairy keeps reminding me that I never did like being predictable and that I've always been impulsive rather than taking things at a leisurely pace!!
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