Chemotherapy #2

Saturday 3rd March 2012

Well, this is fun!!!

Here I sit for my second night in hospital. I'm typing this entry on my phone so please excuse grammatical and spelling errors!

It all started early yesterday morning with the most excruciating feeling in my left eye. It felt like a hot piece of grit was scratching around in my eye, very strange. I do tend to suffer with mild hayfever so I thought it could just be kicking in early this year, but this felt nasty, could hardly open my eye...but this was to be the least of my worries for the day.

Got to the hospital at 8.30am on Friday for the CT scans on my lungs for anything untoward (picc line blood clot, tumour spread), ended up waiting until 10 to eventually have the scan. A CT scan is a quick and painless process, lie on a bed and move through what looks like a giant polo mint. A lady in the room next door tells you to breathe in, hold it and breathe normally. The most disturbing part of the whole process is when they inject you with the fluid to make the scan clearer. It makes you feel like you've wet yourself, yeah..pleasant!!

Anyway, that was all done and it was just a case of waiting until 1pm for chemo, all this time my eye is still kicking me in the arse. Paul made 4 trips to the pharmacy for me that day, the first being to get me some eye drops to ease the gritty feeling. A few drops later and it was already feeling better.

We went and sat in the Macmillan lounge and a really lovely volunteer chap brought us tea and biscuits, we got chatting. This gent must be in his late 60's I would guess and he told me he is 4 years clear of stage 4 bowel cancer. He spent 40 minutes talking to me about his experiences and we compared our stories. I love hearing about success stories, the fact his cancer was advanced (far more than mine is) and he's still here to tell the tale, despite the odds, living life to the full. It gives me so much hope.

1pm rolled around and it was time to be hooked up to my infusions and start round 2. Again, I felt ok. Sitting there for 3 hours, the time seemed to pass very quickly. Before I knew it the I was being unhooked and sent on my way home.

Walked outside and the cold air hit my eyes and face like hundreds of ice cold pins, such a weird sensation but that's as close as I can describe as to how it feels. Got in the car, Paul whacked the hearing up (he hates hot cars) but what a lamb he is, putting the temp up high to save my twitching face and hands!

Thankfully it only takes 10 minutes to get home, PJ's went straight on, under blanket on the sofa and this is I was intending to spend all weekend.

I should be so lucky!

Two hours later I started to feel bad. Really bad. My temperature was rising steadily, my body was shaking uncontrollably with chills and nausea took over with the eventual vom. Last time I felt this bad I had flu, or when I had glandular fever back when I was 17.

So, as per instructed by the hospital - Paul called the onc ward and told them my symptoms. Paul was already bundling me into the car before the hospital had the chance to tell us to come in.

We got to the hospital 10 minutes later, by this time I was short of breath and my legs were heavy and aching, feeling very poorly indeed.

Once we'd got to the onc ward, we were told to sit in a room whilst they prepared a bed. Pants. That really meant I was going to stay in.

After a hours wait, the on call dr tried to get a cannula in my arm. I'm not joking when I say my right arm is now battered, black and blue from bruises. She must have tried 5 times in that arm and 3 times in my left hand. My veins are shot to pieces, they are so sick of needles. The doctor finally got the cannula in my left hand, only with the help of Paul squeezing the life out my arm to get a vein to show.

Normally, the hospital would use my picc line to take bloods but the pump is attached at the moment. The doctor took blood to test for white and red blood count as well as platelets and to see if there was any infection. Whilst this was happening, I was getting hotter, chills and a rather aggressive rash was developing on my arms, face and chest.

Eventually, I got a bed and laid down ready to just pass out, I was exhausted. The doctor got the blood tests back and my levels were ok, I was pleased that I hadn't developed Neutropenia but it turned out that I was having a rather nasty allergic reaction to part of my chemo regime, so strange as I didn't have any of this last time!? The CT scan results from earlier in the day were also checked due to my breathlessness and happily the results were described as 'beautifully clear'. What a relief. Not only are there no clots, but also no evidence of cancer spread. The lungs is one of the most common places bowel cancer will metastasise.

The treatment plan for a drug rash is anti histamines, so I was injected with some concoction and told to take paracetamol to reduce my rocketing temperature of 39.7. I just wanted to sleep but I was incredibly hot, the rash was burning me so badly.

I had a very restless night, but managed a little sleep.

Morning came and I was already feeling a bit better, but not really looking it. The rash had completely enveloped my body but my temperature had gone back down to a more acceptable level. The day continued uneventfully, my onc is on call this weekend so came to see me. My chemo was safe to continue (thankfully) and anti histamines will be another drug I will have to take throughout my treatment.

So here I am, Saturday night. In hospital again. I'm on a nice ward with three other lovely ladies so it's not terrible. I've been told I should be able to go home tomorrow, fingers crossed!

Hayley x