Round Four Complete

My bloods were fine today, so the fatigue must be the cumulative effect of the treatment. Amazing, when I feltc OK I needed a transfusion, when I felt knacked I don't! Had the final dose of round 4 chemo today with no problems, took less than an hour. Hoping to get my week off this time, as the DVT put pay to that after the last round. Looking forward to the recovery period. I'm definitely walking better now, getting further than I was and taking less pain killers, so it's looking good.

Speak soon.
Sheila x

Leg is improving

My right leg is improving, it's a lot smaller than it was and the colouring looks better, so it looks like the injections are doing their bit. I'm still using a stick and the wheelchair is in reserve, we used it yesterday for a stroll along the prom at Weston, and the tide was in!
This week I've been very tired, I spent most of Monday asleep, so I suspect my red count is down. My blood is being tested today for the Chemo, so we wil see what happens later.

Sheila x

Round Four underway

I had the first lot of Round 4 chemo yesterday. The dosage has been dropped by 20% because of my low platelet counts. It's not unusual for Carboplatin to hit platelets, so rather than delay treatment they have cut the dose, apparently this will not effect the end result. I have continued to have the daily Clexane injection for the clot and since the Chemo my leg has felt and looked a lot better, more mobile, able to walk greater distance and less painful. However this may be due to those magical steroids they give me for three days at the start of each round of Chemo, so I will have a better idea on Monday or Tuesday whether the improvement is for real. Currently trying to sort out who will fund the daily Clexane injections, it's all budgets and politics, just like everywhere else!

Enjoy the weekend, it's going to be a good one.
Sheila x

Learner Driver Pictures

As you can see I need to concentrate very hard and even then nearly ended up having an early bath! There is quite a skill in steering a wheelchair. I'm now a little better, but it's much easier to be pushed. It's also amazing how bad the pavements and general access can be, a real eye-opener.

Yo-Yo

The resumption of the Rat Poison happened as reported previously but by Saturday my blood counts for platelets and red cells were down and I was bruising dramatically. So on Saturday I was called in to hospital for 2 pints of blood and 2 bags of platelets. It was gone midnight when we got home but at least I didn't have to stay in hospital, and guess what, the rat poison has been stopped again! They have now decided that I will continue with the daily injections but no more Warfarin until further notice. The good news is the Chemotherapy will go ahead this Thursday but using a slightly reduced dosage because my platelets keep dropping so low, which needs to be kept under control, so blood tests will be more frequent between treatments in future. At this rate we might have to move back to Bristol!

I now have knee high Nora Battys which are a bit hot in this weather but seem to help me with walking. My advice is to avoid a DVT if you possibly can, they are extremely painful, buy the flight socks and don't sit or lie still for too long. They are nasty little bu***rs and cause more trouble than the cancer!

Hope you're all enjoying the sunshine, summer at last.
Sheila x

We're on the Road Again!

Saw the Consultant this morning and we had some good news, the tumours are shrinking and have reduced by nearly a half since Chemo began. This means the Chemo will continue for Rounds 4-6 starting next week and the DVT treatment can restart immediately. So we went straight round to the BRI to get it started again and the finger prick machine worked for the first time too. It must be my lucky day! Celebratory lunch at new Bottelinos in Bedminster went down very well.

Borrowed a wheelchair from the Red Cross yesterday for a few weeks to help me get around further, photos to follow, I'm having trouble self-steering, got a bit of a right hand lean at the moment., but getting better. For short distances I use a stick, as it's important to keep as mobile as possible.

All in all a good day :-)
Sheila x

All stopped

The Warfarin has been stopped because my red cells are down due to the Chemo. I'm in a catch 22 and I don't know what the answer is yet. I have an MRI later today and a Specialist appointment tomorrow, so more news later.

Sheila x

RATS!

It's confirmed I have a DVT in my leg and all veins/arteries above the knee are blocked. I am now embarking on a course of Warfarin (Rat Poison to you and me) to thin my blood to break the clots down. The course of treatment will last at least 6 months. Initially I have to be stabilised on the Warfarin at the right dose, this will take about two weeks with daily visits to the BRI for blood tests, so yes I had another 3 needles today! My blood was so thick they couldn't get a reading! Might explain why it's clotting so well me thinks. So my dosage will be high until they can get the clotting levels down.

Learn something new everyday.
Sheila x

Private V. NHS

The private chemotherapy treatment went fine at home this morning. The NHS scan didn't happen on my leg, there were no appointments available today, although we still had to go to the BRI for drugs. Booked in for 10am tomorrow, so we're none the wiser until then. The results are immediate, the treatment if positive will be up for debate due to the simultaneous chemo. I have now been given a daily injection to self-administer to thin my blood for the interim, and Frank to his credit did the honours just now, told him it was a black ski run and he needed to just go for it, rather than hesitate. I am a bit squeamish so didn't fancy trying myself, I've just counted I've had 8 needles in a week, I'll start leaking soon :-).

More tomorrow (but don't hold your breath). By the way apart form my leg I feel pretty good.
Sheila x

My Leg is under investigation

Yesterday proved eventful. The GP referred me directly to the BRI and so we spent until about 11pm in the MAU (Medical Assessment Unit) at A&E. For those that have never heard of it, it's an off-shoot of A&E and where they put people who need tests and observation prior to either being sent home or admitted to another ward. Thankfully I was let out, with some painkillers, but the chief suspect is a DVT due to the poor blood flow in my leg and we are going back in today for a doppler scan, which I'm told is like a baby scan and it will be able to check the blood flow in my leg. Meanwhile my chemo goes ahead at 9.30 this morning! Having had my bloods taken at the Chesterfield (private hospital) earlier in the day I am certainly seeing all aspects of the health service.

More later.
Sheila x