As per usual, I gave a blood sample in the week just before the scheduled chemotherapy session and that was followed by an oncology consultation the next day to discuss the impact and any anomalies thrown up in the blood test. All was okay so onwards with the next session.
The PSA result wasn't known but the oncologist did say that as it had dropped significantly last time, I'd probably be booked in for a scan sometime in the next month or so to see how things are.
I again raised the issue of the bladder and it was put to me that it should improve with the passage of time, that even though the chemotherapy appears to be taking effect, it will take some time for such things to show signs of improvement. If in due course there is no significant change for the better, further investigation and possible treatment will be investigated.
Owing to the Bank Holiday weekend there was a backlog of chemo patients requiring the limited resources of the Oncology/Macmillan Unit so my session was shifted to another unit in the main part of the hospital.
I discovered that it was slightly disconcerting to be somewhere different, odd that in such a short time the familiarity of the Oncology Unit had become important to me. The fact that the staff were also transferred helped and the explanation that those of us shifted were chosen because we were "old hands" showing good responses to treatment. My next session will be in the same place.
After what was said about dehydration making things difficult regarding the cannula, I took in plenty of fluids in the preceding twenty-four hours and it seemed to pay off because it only took two attempts to find a suitable vein this time.
The PSA result was available by Friday and it has fallen again, now it's down to 98.
I'm not feeling too seedy twenty-four hours after the event. The taste bud issue has returned with a vengeance, not that they fully recovered from the last session. It's really quite odd the way that certain ranges of my ability to taste sweet, sour, savoury etc. alters. Sometimes the most bland of foods are the only ones that register, at others it's another taste sensation altogether. Sucking ice cubes helps a bit.
I've gone back through previous entries and cannot find the source of some confusion over the number of chemo sessions that seems to have arisen. Just to confirm, the scheduled number is eight spread over six months and I should make it clear that however unpleasant the treatment might be it's nowhere near as unpleasant as the main symptoms were.
'Were' is the operative word. I've not had to use any pain killers since the second session and the sensation of sitting on a golf ball hasn't been present for a similar period. Yes, the side effects are unpleasant but there is an end to them in sight and the important thing is that trade-off is that despite feeling rough at times it seems to be having a beneficial effect.
The bottom line is that in more than one respect I fee better than I have for quite some time. The side effects are a nuisance, no more than that.
No comments:
Post a Comment