Round 2 Report

Second round of chemo is done, as my white blood cell test came back looking "very good". Appointment was at 9:15am, so with it being the first day back to school and a conference in the centre on Windsor, it was a bit of a slog getting to the hospital.

Still, I think everyone was running a bit late, so it didn't cause a problem. I sat myself down in one of the comfy chairs and started to adjust it, but got told off by one of the nurses, as the chair got tangled with the IV stand... After getting settled in, blood pressure taken, side effects from the last treatment noted and speaking to the pharmacist it was time for the needle to go in. My veins have never been particularly robust, and this time round it was much more difficult to get the cannula in, not helped by the fact that the newbie nurse was doing it. He's very nice, but not particularly skilled unfortunately. It was quite painful, I may have cried a little, but I'm good at that at the moment.

Still once it was in it was only a little bit sore, mostly when the cannula was inspected to change drugs, or check that it was still in the vein. Steroids went in without any problems though, and from the side effects they give you (one makes you a bit dizzy, the other gives you ants in your pants for a minute or so), it was obvious that the needle was in OK. It took a bit longer than last time to get all the drugs in, and as it was colder yesterday, the cold cap was more uncomfortable than last time. The drugs are also refrigerated before they go in so I ended up with a cold arm as well as a cold head - I was glad I'd brought a blanket with me.

I was all finished by about 12:30, and feeling OK, so Simon and I headed into Windsor to get some lunch and run a few errands. By the time we'd done this though, I was starting to feel a bit ill, so we headed home and I had a nice nap.

As the treatment was in the morning I was able to spread my drugs out well, so didn't feel as sick overnight as I did last time. Today I'm suffering a little with a headache, but I have the nausea under control. Again, I'll be taking it as it comes, but so far, I'm feeling no worse than last time out. I think keeping pretty active has helped, even if I did overdo it a little last week. I'm actually less tired than I was before the treatment, as the steroids boost your energy levels. I think I'll probably still treat myself to a nap later though.

Also, just a quick note to say thanks again to everyone who has sent me messages,I know I've been rubbish at replying, but it's been lovely to hear from so many people, it really does cheer me up. I've also opened up the comments on here - the default was set to people with Gmail IDs, but they're now open to anyone.