Chemo Round 3

Monday May 2 to 4 was my third round of chemotherapy.  Again, I have generally felt well throughout the three days with my appetite remaining healthy and having energy.  In fact, my weight has increased by one or two kilograms over the last month.

On Monday at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Cancer Centre, I could not help but notice that some people suffer quite a bit in their treatment.  At one stage, all but one of the twenty odd chairs for those receiving chemotherapy were occupied.  Two people near me had to have catheters inserted for the chemo to be provided.  I do not need this because I have a port-o-cath.  Over time, I understand, it gets harder to find veins to insert the catheters in.  The lady next to me had to have a second attempt to insert a catheter and it was inserted in her lower thumb area.  She winced very noticeably and moaned a bit.  The gentleman opposite me also experienced discomfort when his catheter was inserted.

My Monday at the hospital was the quickest so far due to my being prepared for treatment while the chemo was still being prepared.  This meant that I was at the hospital from 8.30 am to 3.15 pm and I was home by 3.30 pm,  whereas in the first two rounds it was 7.00 pm and 4.45 pm respectively before I arrived home.

On days 2 and 3 at home I did have about six bouts of hiccups each day with two of the bouts lasting a couple of hours.  I also experienced tingling in my fingers – twice on Tuesday, four times on Wednesday and am experiencing one as I draft this entry.  Numbness in the fingers and toes is one of the possible side effects.  At this stage the tingling passes and my fingers feel OK and this is what I want to happen each time.  I am holding to the prayer of the chemotherapy bad effects being minimised and the good effects being maximised.  I entertained myself for part of each day by watching the 12 episodes of John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers.  You can find out about this famous British comedy at http://www.fawltysite.net/ with this site’s linked to others.

Today, Thursday, after a good night’s sleep I am feeling well except for the tingling and a bit of queasiness, which seems to be the most noticeable the day after the chemo treatment.