Third Cycle

Third cycle in and I am taking it a little easier than the previous two, I have realised that the 3 days following infusion knock me out quite substantially. I am still getting annoying hiccoughs in this period but I have some drugs to counter the uncomfortable indigestion I was suffering. My drug collection seems ever expanding. Some disappointing news was that I will have to inject myself with Fragmin for the duration of this treatment I was hoping that this would stop after a couple of months, oh well.

Saturday before last was Martha's first holy communion and as has become tradition we went for lunch at Pizza Express afterwards. We had a good time but I found the day knocked me out and I had to go to bed when we got home. I think this was a residual effect of the virus I had had the previous week.

Later in the week Stella and I went to my Aunt Shirley's funeral, the service was very good and the eulogy, done by one of Shirley's sons in law was very moving and poignant.
Interestingly, to me they have always been just Uncle Frank and Aunt Shirley but back in the fifties they toured through France and into Spain on a BSA. This at a time when there were no auto routes with convenient petrol and rest stops and if a British bike made it from London to Johnson's cafe on the A20 in one hit it had outstripped reliability expectations. In my eyes this makes them truly pioneers of European motorcycle touring.

On a slightly down beat, I have felt quite low this week I can't really put my finger on it, everything is positive and with starting the 3rd cycle I feel I am turning a corner. Still, I feel close to tears at times for no apparent reason. I was disappointed at not getting through my medical in June and these last few weeks have been tough emotionally and physically and it may be this that is affecting my moods at the moment. I am hoping that time and a more definitive immediate future path will help clear these 'blues'. 

Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated

Nigel told me that some friends at work were concerned that further chemotherapy treatment meant a relapse in my condition. I reiterated that the treatment I am under going is to prevent/reduce the chances of recurrence in the future. When I finish in early October I will have completed my 'nuclear' journey (hurrah!). 

Just before we went away last week I lost another dear Aunt, Shirley. Her death was totally unexpected and very sudden, she was a feisty woman, full of life who worked up until 3 weeks before she died. This was another terrible blow for the whole family, I have managed to rearrange my chemotherapy appointment to attend her funeral later in the month.

Devon was a bit like the Parson's egg, good in parts, for all but 2 days the weather was atrocious. I managed the drive down on the Saturday after my infusion but was shattered when we arrived. The extreme sensitivety to cold that I suffer in that first week after treatment meant that I could barely stand going outside in the inclement weather.

This picture shows how pathectic I am in that week, the gloves are thinsulate and my feet were already numb by this point. The beach was only a 10 minute walk from the chalet.
Stella ended up doing a lot of walking and taking the kids to the beach in the week, including taking Martha swimming in the sea! I on, the other hand, spent most of the time in the chalet reading or sleeping. The kids watched a lot of videos.

It wasn't all bad though....

Gabriel at Baggy point.

The kids enjoying Pasties and a sausage roll at Clovelly. Stella and I had a hot mackerel bap here and they were superb.

We also had some nice meals in 'The Thatch' at Croyde and 'Squires' in Braunton.

Unfortunately I picked up a virus and we came home a day earlier than planned, I became progressively more ill through Friday night and ended up in Pembury hospital in the early hours of Saturday morning only to be discharged at lunch time. The problem is that my treatment does have an impact on my immune system which makes me more susceptible to this type of thing, that said, talking the consultant even a 'normal' person would have succumbed. I just have to be as careful as I can to avoid contact with any such virus. I must confess that, in the early hours of Saturday, I thought this may be more sinister than it was.

I have learnt a lesson here, that first week after infusion is probably best kept with a low profile, certainly up until Wednesday. I think that driving down and back, the return journey took 9 hours and was very stressful, depleted my strength too much and contributed to the resulting illness. What I am relieved about is that so far none of the misfortunes I have suffered during this phase of treatment are directly attributable to the chemotherapy.

Finally, I am still receiving cards and well wishes from friends specifically, this month, cards from White and Blue watch Wandsworth. But everybody continues contact either through texts, phone calls, email, comments on this blog, visits or invites to 'brunch'. This contact is beyond value and continues to bolster my spirits.

A very different weekend

Thankfully, the pain and swelling in my left arm have subsided dramatically and this weekend we set out to complete Reuben's birthday celebration. We went to Borough Market for 'brunch' which was what he wanted to do last Saturday but held off so that I could go as well.
It was a glorious day and we walked along the river, stopping for an ice cream outside the Royal Festival hall and crossing the river to catch the train home from Charing Cross.

Face book photo.


I was exhausted when we finally got home and had to 'power down' for a couple of hours. I think its too early for the chemotherapy to affect my levels of fatigue, but I am still a little tender from the operation. I suspect its this and the remnants of recovering from the DVT that made me feel so tired.
Also this weekend I had brief period (less than 24 hours) of diarrhoea, I'm not sure what caused it but I drank quite a lot of carbonated drink on Saturday and I think this may have been the cause; I was warned against drinking carbonated drinks when I initially had the stoma.

Had a disappointment this week when I went for a medical for work, I was hoping to be signed off as fit for light duties. Alas that wasn't to be I am still sick pending specialist reports and have another medical on the 10th July, I will have completed 3 cycles of chemotherapy by then and will have a better long term understanding of how it affects me.

Yesterday (Thursday) I started my second cycle with the infused oxaliplatin conventionally through a cannula in my right arm. It wasn't painful just vaguely uncomfortable towards the end, I think I will use this method throughout the remainder of my treatment as it is the less complicated way of administering this drug. The initial side effects are the same as previously, initially extreme sensitivity to cold with pins and needles plus pins and needles in my arm where the drug went in, I expect this to dissipate within 5 to 6 days tailing off completely by about 8. It is all manageable and this time I have a drug (omeprazole) to counter the unpleasant indigestion and hiccoughs I had before. I take the anti sickness tablets religiously as prescribed for the first 3 days following treatment but trail them off to nothing by the 5th day they are very effective.

I feel fully recovered with no pain from the DVT and am still self administering Fragmin through injection every evening, this will be reviewed by my oncologist at 28 days but I suspect that I will end up with at least another month of injections. I am beginning to feel like a pin cushion!

I am beginning to develop a taste for the classics, I am well into the second book of Don Quixote and on recommendation I will download Voltaire's Candide to my Kindle. By coincidence I had previously heard a review of this book on Radio four's book programme.

This coming week we are going down to Croyde for the half term, I had hoped to get some surfing in myself but have had to shelve that plan for now (Bogus!). However, like any other over bearing Dad I am going to try and indoctrinate the kids with lessons and bribes to get them on a board (they're not keen and the water will be cold). We intend to have a very relaxed time and we are all looking forward to it.