Friday 3 June 2011

Six has to be my lucky number

Took things easy yesterday after having a sleepless night on Wednesday. I can only think that this is down to the 2 anti sickness pills I take on the afternoon after my infusion. Dexamethasone which are a steroid so they can keep you awake. I think two are a bit strong for me as last night I took one tablet and slept until 6 am - so feeling a bit more alert this morning..... or so I thought but I was back in bed at 7.30 for another hour!

The good news is that there are no more infusions for me!!! I had a long discussion with my oncologist before my treatment on Wednesday and he has decided and I have agreed that 6 will be last infusion of Oxaliplatin. My white blood cell count was the lowest since I started the treatment back in February, even with a four week break between treatments. There are signs that the skin around my fingernails is beginning to crack deeply which can take some time to heal and  is a symptom that my body is beginning to struggle with the levels of chemo in my system. It was a bit painful but some savlon normally stopped any pain.

I will continue to take the capecitabine tablets for the next ten days and the for two more cycles following my appointments on 29 June and 20 July. So all being well August 3rd the cycle will be complete!

I am happy that the cycle of infusions have ended. While compared to lots of people I have come through fairly unscathed  the oncologist commented that while this may be the case not to forget that inside there is  a battle  being fought. Good cells as well as the bad ones have been battered and there are signs that my body is saying enough.

I asked him why we were initially trying for 8 sessions of Oxaliplatin? His response was interesting as he said that Oncology can be a crude science in terms of dosage and treatment. 8 was the maximum dose based on the strongest person able to endure that dosage. The reality was very different as it is rare that people get to the 8th session. The stats do not take into account what the average dosage patients are able to sustain or any other factors such as allergic reaction to the drug, complications or even death. Most patients get to 4 sessions which he was hoping we would get to with me and the fact that we have got to 75% is better than average and he was happy with this.

There are currently clinical trials running that are comparing the effects of treatment for three months and 6 months and the results for the three months are very good. Just have to hope that 6 is my lucky number! I am happy to stop the infusions as they have wiped me out for more than a few days each time.

I must have had some intuition that this might be the case as before I went to the hospital I bought the chemo nurses a box of chocolates as a thank you - just as well as I will not be seeing them again - hopefully.

This time side effects are not as bad so far - wondering if it is there is a rush of adrenaline pumping around my body at the thought the infusions are done? The warm weather? My positive mind? So no tingling in my hands so far and tiredness no worse that before Wed. Just the red face but as it was sunny yesterday I just had a healthy glow rather than I had been drinking excessive alcohol the night before.

Another sunny day ..... Colin has had a bath so smells lovely today to share the house with - thanks to Ruth for bathing him after he sat in the smelly pool of water. Gillian is visiting this afternoon before her 2 weeks holiday to Maderia and Portugal! Lucky girl!

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