Chemo No 5

My lovely neighbour Sara drove me to Windsor  and we chatted all the way which took my mind off where we were going. Sara also kindly offered to buy me some bright red geraniums for the garden as she was going to the garden centre. I am thinking that the patio pots and window boxes should be bright and Mediterranean this summer so hence a start with the red geraniums. Need to think about some more hot coloured plants.

Colin was not very happy about being home alone but Ruth came in to collect him and took him for a walk at lunchtime so he was not  on his own for long just enough time for a doggie nap. To our relief he was well behaved - wish he had been when Neil took him out this evening - refusing to come back and then sitting in some muddy water. This starts off being funny but then becomes frustrating. He knows if he comes back and his lead is put on and he will be going home - he obviously wasn't ready!

I decided to utilise my waiting time at the hospital more fully as I did when I went to Reading back last year - so today's challenge was to write a letter to my friend Susie in Australia - I managed 4 pages which I was really pleased about and quite enjoyed. I was almost sorry when I was called to see my oncologist.

He said that I could have Chemo no 5. My blood test from the day before showed the white blood cell count to be about 1.5. I asked how it could have gone down since last week and he had no answer, it could be the chemo or my immune system fighting something off. I need to see if I can find an explanation on the Internet. I did make him laugh at how I got quite excited by having a count that was 2.4. When I asked why? he said that compared to a normal count it was still low - to which I replied that it was exciting to be out of the 1.0 somethings! A normal count would be between 2 and  7.5 so I was heading there I thought!. I now have a 4 week break to give my body a chance to really recover and then we are going for sessions 6&7. While I will be glad to get this over with I am beginning to think that if we can get to 7 then we should have the last one and make it 8 and tick the box that I completed the full course and have given this my best shot. It will mean that the treatment would not end until late July but we have been doing this since February so what is another month in the scheme of things.

Neil picked me up and it was good to have a warm sunny day to come out of hospital to as there was no need for gloves or a hat. I have felt the best to date after Chemo No 5. I did have a rest this afternoon but I did not feel like a sleep. Caught up with some phone calls which was great especially as I very often do not feel like chatting on the phone and have to make the most of it when I do. I even managed to cook some supper.Preparation was interesting - cutting veg with the aid of wooden tongs and a knife was a new experience. But it worked surprisingly well - and no tingly hands and nicely chopped veggies.

The energy lasted into the evening and am now surprised at why I am awake at 2.45 a.m. typing my blog entry ready for the editor to look at tomorrow. I think I will try and get some sleep or today could be a tough one!