That’s a lot - I didn’t realise chemo could go on that long, you must be thoroughly fed up with it by now.
I had the choice a few weeks ago, whether to stop or carry on the treatment. I chose to continue. Now I’ll see what my choices are on Tuesday.
Hello Val and Dreamy.
I see there has been ups and downs.
I hope you have a choice tomorrow Val.
Val J - only you can decide what is right for you, it’s your health. I hope things go well for you.
Had my blood taken this morning and am looking forward to Wednesday as it should be my last chemo apart from my hospital stay on the 11th.
As much as i like the staff in Ward 1 and appreciate all they’ve done for me, I won’t miss the place.
Will they still monitor you though Ffosse? If I choose to come off the chemo for a while, I hope I will still have scans just to see how things are going.
Yes, I’ve got another MRI and another CT scan to get through. I’ll also have to keep on taking my temperature every day.
There is a haemotology hotline I can phone anytime - I’ve used it a few times. I assume I’ll get checkups every 3 months like the first time I had cancer.
They will continue to monitor you, they won’t just forget.
I just got a phone call from my G.P. saying that my neutrophil (white blood cell) count was very low at 0.27.
I phoned the haemotology hotline and they are going to speak to my clinical nurse and maybe the Consultant tomorrow but it looks like my chemo might not be going ahead on Wednesday.
They asked me if I feel OK. I do, no problems really, but this has worried me a bit.
Nothing to be done about it until tomorrow, though, unless I feel suddenly unwell during the night - they stressed how important it was that I keep on taking my temperature. I’ve to stay away from anyone with a cold which shouldn’t be difficult as I never go out (well I did today) but I’m hardly ever in a confined space with lots of other people.
So I’m to go into Ward 1 today for an injection in order for my neutrophil count to be raised so I can have my chemo like normal tomorrow.
Really annoyed at this, I could do without the hassle and expense of taxis.
Today I went into Ward1 for a stomach injection, I’ve to go back tomorrow for my chemo.
But first they must check my blood (this will take 90 minutes), and I may not be able to get my chemo tomorrow if my blood white cell count is still too low. In that case, I would have my chemo a week later, on the 11th.
This would mean that my methotrexate stay in hospital will also be postponed. I wish they could just get things right; they messed up by not giving me that injection when it was due a couple of weeks ago. Plus it’s the cost of the taxis that gets me down. I’m trying to save money, not pay for £18 round trips to the hospital.
At this rate I’ll never get my methotrexate treatment done as I have encroaching appointments coming up: a CT scan, an MRI, and a psychiatrist visit all in July.
Just popped in to check on you both.
Dreamy don’t let it get to you.
Both yourself and Val are coping well.x
It’s just a bit galling when avoidable mistakes have been made; if I had gotten that injection at the right time, my white blood cell count wouldn’t have been so low.
Ffosse, I had an unexpected repeat trip today. There was a mix up with my bloods so I had to go and let them take them again. I cannot blame the staff, they are under a lot of pressure, we just had a laugh about it. They are lovely ladies and have done such a lot for me. Keep your chin up, your treatment will soon be over, my next scan is end August.
This has shifted my whole treatment backwards though. I doubt that my white bod cell count will be high enough for chemo tomorrow so it’ll have to be next week, and I don’t know when I’ll get my twice-postponed methotrexate treatment now.
I should have got that injection 2 weeks ago, not something I can have a laugh about.
In at the hospital awaiting the results of the blood they took. They say it takes 90 minutes so I’m hopeful but doubt that they will be able to go ahead with today’s chemo. All because I didn’t get an injection two weeks ago.
My chemo is going ahead, yesterday’s jag seems to have done the trick. This should be my last chemo in Ward 1. When I was here in 2016 I didn’t think I’d be coming back.
Good news then Ffosse, pleased to hear you got your treatment today. I’ve also had my chemo today, home now and apart from being tired am not feeling too bad. Hope you’re ok too. I’m looking forward to my fish and chip supper, always our treat on chemo day.
I hope you enjoy your fish and chips - I’m having a vegetable lasagne.
That’s all my chemo done and dusted and should be my last visit to Ward 1. I got on really well with all the staff there, but it’s never an enjoyable procedure. Strange to think that one jag into my stomach yesterday could have boosted those neutrophil levels and I was well enough to receive chemo.
Next up is my nurse on Tuesday for blood then my 4 day hospital stay, third time’s a charm as it’s been postponed twice already. I just hope that I don’t catch any infections before then.
My clinical haemotologist gave me a leaflet today about patient transport; it seems I qualify by having cancer and by being unable to use buses. So I’ll be giving them a go as it’s free. My taxi home was £10.40 today so that’s almost £40 I’ve spent just since yesterday on taxis.
After that, I’ve got one more MRI scan, one CT scan then see the Consultant on the 9th of August. So I can see the end of treatment coming but anticipate further checkups after August. I just hope the terrible fatigue leaves me as the cancer poisons come out of my body.
I’ve got a dosette box filled with steroids and anti-sickness drugs for the next 4 days.
I am so pleased to hear all went well today Ffosse.
Taxi fares can seem excessive but be prepared to wait around quite a bit with patient transport. Unless it’s a taxi, you could be waiting for a minibus to fill up and then dropping folk off on the way. I’ve no experience of this but have read reports locally.
Anyway, in a week or two you will be feeling better and your life should be getting back to normal, I bet you can’t wait, it’s been a difficult few months for you.
The worst at present is a sore back. It’s fine once I go to bed and am lying flat; and it’s fine in the mornings. But in the afternoons and at night it gets really sore and I don’t know what could be causing it. I’ve got one of those lidocaine patches on at the moment but it’s not helping. And if I take my Oxycontin I feel drowsy but the pain persists.
My whole posture has changed a bit since I’ve not been getting out for anything but the shortest walks. I had hoped that my new, firmer sofa would help a bit but it doesn’t seem to. I hope it’s simply a temporary symptom - back pain could be anything.
I woke up with what felt like a slight hangover this morning, not feeling good at all. When I got to the hospital and mentioned this to the clinical haemotology nurse she said that it was yesterday’s injection. Strange, I hadn’t even considered that that could be the culprit. These are some pretty powerful drugs, though, I was amazed that it got my white blood cell count back to normal so quickly.
My last cancer (the Hodgkins Lymphoma) lasted from May 2016 to the last chemo session on the 21st of December. Part of that time, a good 3 months, I was in hospital I was so ill with delirium which was worse than the cancer because at least the cancer pain could be controlled with drugs; it took them ages to diagnose the delirium but I had nightmares, hallucinations, delusions et. I was basically psychotic for a large part of the time until they found a drug that helped. Once they did, I sailed through the chemo with few if any side effects. This chemo has been much tougher and now I know that I have a life-long illness but at least it is treatable.
This time I haven’t had any mental symptoms on that scale. I’ve had a bit of anxiety and impatience but nothing out of the ordinary. I do hope that I can stay well and get back to the things I enjoy in life, especially going for long walks with my music and taking photos of interesting places. This thread, and your and others input has helped me greatly. I’m 52 in a couple of weeks and want to carry on living.
Woke up at 4am on Thursday vomiting, shivering, cold abd utterly exhausted. I then went from cold to hot very quickly. Haf hardly any srenghth and just staying upright was very hard.
I phoned their hotline and was taken in immediately. Tested all day yesterday, they know I’ve got a bug but don’t know what type.
I feel resigned to my fate, but believe i should not have had my chemo this week.