days down and aren't I happy about that! (It's the closest I'll ever get to having something in common with the Donald!). Today one of those weird time-warp moments where it seems like it's only been a blink since Day 1, when I had my first treatment at the Kinghorn Centre, and also like forever ago. All I know is that I have 26 more days until I'm officially at the end of the last chemo cycle. This timeframe is finally starting to feel manageable, even though I know I've still got a lot to get through between now and then. Today I'm feeling incredibly grateful to have come this far with the loving support of so many people near and far. Grit and endurance are so much a part of this process and I've only managed to tap into both because of this constant support and signs of solidarity via thoughtful messages, phonecalls (even if I've not returned the calls!), earrings, flowers, food, and other gifts.
I'm also so pleased that I've managed to get to this point - and I hope to the end of the treatment - without having had any serious infections or viruses that land so many chemo patients in hospital. Along with so many other things, Rob and the boys are largely responsible for this, ensuring I don't have to wander too far into the world and keeping things clean and calm on the home front.
I'm celebrating this milestone - and feeling spoilt - by wearing a Tiffany's silver mesh set that Rob has bought me piece-by-piece over the years: silver hoop earrings, a matching bangle and ring. We were trying to remember today the sequence of their arrival; we think it was bangle first, earrings second then the ring. I'm pretty sure the bangle was the first gift Rob bought me from Tiffany's - a birthday present, around 2003. I'm certain the ring came last, in 2005: Rob took me to Tiffany's in Hawaii to buy it while we were there for me to attend a conference. I had these earrings on at James' Christmas concert at Boundary Lane, where he was dressed up as a chef when he was 3 years old. I don't often wear these pieces together, but love wearing each of them as separate items. They're classic, and will never date.
At lunch time we headed back to Cancerworld, this time to St Vincent's radio-oncology department where I'll be starting radiotherapy on 5 June. The purpose of today's 'simulation' session was for the staff to demonstrate the procedure and for me to be measured up for treatment. I received my first ever tattoos - 4 tiny dots pinpointing the key treatment areas which will be my lymph nodes under my arm, in the chest wall and my neck. Accuracy and consistency are the name of the game with this treatment. I will need 25 sessions - apparently this is best practice, a protocol apparently not available in the UK where only 15 sessions are the norm - each lasting only a matter of 2-3 minutes. Again I met with the delightful Dr Rowena (Day 52) who explained that the worst side effects of this will be ongoing fatigue and a gradual build up of redness, and eventually a burn around the treatment site, the severity of which varies from patient to patient. Worse case, down the track I may need more surgery to address shrinkage of the skin. Fingers crossed it won't be that bad.
As Rob and I drove back from the hospital, we found ourselves once again reflecting on how extremely fortunate we are to be in the care of such professional, capable and accessible doctors. I'm very conscious that I'm experiencing the gold standard in health care. We know only too well, given the experience of our relatives in regional NSW, this isn't everyone's experience of the Australian health system, even though it should be. Gratitude!
The trip tired me out, so home for a rest and an early night.
A shout out to dear Philip (Day 99) on his birthday today. What a year it's been for him, and how wonderful he's well enough to celebrate his 51st birthday in fine style in Sydney today.
Let the triple figures roll on...
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