A pre-assessment meeting took place with Prof. Tahir on the 17th April and on the 24th my first chemotherapy treatment was administered. A blood test had been taken some days before and the worrying trend of the shy veins continued. I have never had a problem with needles and during my life I had given over 100 blood donations. I can only assume that my age was a factor.
I arrived at “Queen’s” at the appointed time and took my place in the short queue at the reception desk. I didn’t know what to expect and trepidation is the only word to describe the way I felt at that moment. I watched the lady receptionist and noted how efficient she was and the professional but friendly way she dealt with the people soon to have, like me, their chemotherapy treatment. Having been ticked off the list I was asked to wait in the waiting room until my nurse became available. As I walked from the reception counter I thought to myself that if the rest of my experience that day was going to be as good and professional as this I really had nothing to worry about. I later learned that the receptionist’s name was Tracy and I don’t believe you could find a better person for that position than her. I described her as the shop window to the chemotherapy unit and have never forgotten her calming effect on me.
Let me say straight away that chemotherapy is an essential part of many cancer sufferers treatment despite its well-known side effects. I had been given a list of those side effects most experienced by patients but it was far from a comprehensive list. Each person however responds to the treatment in their own unique way. Everybody’s experience differs. Even patients being given the same treatment react differently. Don’t think that you know what a person is going through if you know they are having chemotherapy treatment. You don’t and you can’t. Only that person knows and rarely do they have the words to articulate how they feel.
Chemotherapy doesn’t target cancers directly, it is indiscriminate and attacks every part of your body and organs including your brain. I described it later to Prof. Tahir as being medieval and he agreed but rightly pointed out it was the best we had and it works.
The chemotherapy course was to last for 9 weeks and was divided into 3 replica segments. On day one the cocktail of drugs was administered intravenously which took some hours. Every day after that in the 21-day cycle I had to take two tablets at home, twelve hours apart, and to use gloves when doing so. Toxic.
The treatment on that first day went without a hitch and I felt fine. Pat had arrived at the hospital some time during the treatment and sat with me as we watched the nurses constantly on the move setting up drips and making sure that all the patients there, maybe 20 or possibly more, were alright. No loitering in that department that’s for sure. The treatment over, under Pat’s watchful eye and with her support, we made our way home on the bus.
“How are you feeling?” Pat asked when we got home “Okay, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be” I replied. Famous last words.
I went to bed that night expecting to sleep like a baby and I did, at first. The events of the day had drained me of energy and I felt so tired but at some point during the night I sneezed and, for what seemed like an eternity although it was probably no more than five seconds, I had flashing lights and siren noises going off in my head. The same thing happened each time I coughed. That wasn’t on the list of side effects I had been given and was so unexpected it was frightening. This only happened on the three nights that I had been fed the Chemotherapy cocktail intravenously.
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