So here we are, my first chemo session starts in a few hours time. I'm both scared and looking forward to it, it will be nice to feel like I'm doing something towards getting better - even though I know it will make me feel worse. It's quite an odd feeling.
Bone scan last week went well - I won't get the results from that for probably another few days, but to a geek like me was a fascinating experience. First you're injected with a radioactive isotope (gamma ray emitter), you wait 3 hours (I went shopping as it was done at the hospital in the centre of Reading - bought myself a Kindle, which I'm already inseparable from). Then you go back and lie under a detector that picks up (and polarises using a lead mesh) the gamma rays, and counts how many are detected. In a similar way to X-Rays, the isotope is absorbed more or less by certain types of tissue - more by bone than flesh, and most of all by cancer cells. So they're looking for hot spots of gamma decay. It also gives you a semi live picture of your whole skeleton, which is very cool.
I've not been sleeping too well of late, but I did get a decent nights sleep last night thanks to having spent the day in London. The standard process for getting a wig through my hospital trust is overly complicated, so I decided to cut out the middleman and head to the supplier directly (sadly no cost reduction was forthcoming however). That meant a trip to Paddington, and I was accompanied by my good friend Haydn, who had the good grace to only laugh at me in one of the wigs I tried on. I've got a picture of me in a long wig - but not the one I chose. If I can figure out how, I'll post it up here.
The wig I've chosen is short and dark, and looks like one of the many haircuts I've had in the past. And unlike some others I tried on it didn't itch too much.
I also headed over to Covent Garden to meet another old friend, so all in all it was a good day. Especially as I had 2 ice creams bought for me ;).
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