What an amazing day!

I’ll start with the good news in that my chemotherapy was cancelled forever and I need no more sessions. It’s wonderful news, but it has not exactly been a straightforward day.

It started with a blood test at 10.30, of which all were ok except my liver function test which they were still waiting for. It looked good for chemo so they booked me in and I wrote the very upbeat blog below.

Fortunately I didn’t publish it, as an hour later the nurse came back with the bad news that my liver ALT test results were too high and that chemo was cancelled. I was to have a liver scan instead. What a huge disappointment that was!

I’d had this problem with my first chemo and my liver scan was absolutely fine so no one was worried, just disappointed that the chemo was cancelled yet again, especially after the earlier elation.

Just after that, Neil went to make a coffee in the corridor and bumped into Liz TOY my oncologist. She hadn’t seen the message that my liver function test had failed and immediately said to Neil “GO SKIIING INSTEAD! Skip the chemo!!! “ Then dashed off. No wonder she’s so slim, she’s so busy she’s always dashing. I love her.

So Neil came back into the ward to give me the good news. Fantastic news actually. What a roller coaster morning it had been, from elation to resignation and back to elation.

Liz came back and explained that they weren’t sure about giving me this final dose anyway as I’d struggled so much with the previous sessions. Because I’d had radiotherapy, I was more susceptible to problems with the chemotherapy so they had planned to give me just a 50% dose anyway. In a way I think she was equally relieved for me that it was all over. I gave her such a great big teary hug.

After she left, both Neil and I became quite emotional. This treatment has run our lives since July and suddenly it’s all over. It’s like finishing finals at uni. The relief is immense but what does one do next as it was so unexpected? The nurse even came over and removed my PICC line. It really is over and it’s all rather hard to take in.

Eve popped over too for great big hugs all round. Lots of them! She took the photo of me without the wig and you can see I didn’t loose all my hair. It’s mostly all gone from the back from sleeping, rather like a baby’s new hair but there’s enough at the front to look like I’ve simply got extremely thin hair.

I’ll have an appointment with Liz Toy early next May and a further appointment with the surgeon following that.

It snowed slightly this morning which was lovely, then we drove home from the hospital under blue skies and decided to walk up the beacon. WE DID IT TOO!!!! I felt fine. Wonderful in fact. Maybe the steroids I’ve been taking in preparation for the chemotherapy got me up there. Who knows?

I tasted the wine Neil brought up to celebrate, but I’m not quite ready to enjoy wine properly just yet. I don’t need any more steroids either so my energy will decrease for a while. Actually I’m expecting to feel pretty tired for a while. But now I’m 2 weeks ahead of schedule, I may well be enjoying the Italian wines in the Dolomites. Who knows? I might even ski if I can get fit, but gently as Liz Toy suggested.

I thoroughly enjoy a roast beef Sunday lunch yesterday so my appetite is almost back to normal and no more chemo sessions to knock me back. I still can’t believe it as I type this.

What an amazing day and to end it with a walk up Culmstock beacon was just perfect.

Here are the previous blogs I wrote but didn’t publish earlier today:-

Blog 1:

Last chemo on!!!!

Yay! I’ve just had the news. My blood test passed and Neil and I are waiting together in Cherrybrook ward for my last chemo. I was so tired last week I did wonder whether I’d have the energy to celebrate, but I’m on steroids and almost jumping about! We’ve been watching the winter olympics while waiting so the time has past most enjoyably.

We had a busy Saturday. Jonny and Els and her Dutch sister and brother in law popped over Saturday morning, then we went to watch Exeter Chiefs play Worcester with David and Anita in the photo (Chiefs lost 😟) then dashed home to watch England beat Wales as well 😟. Wales plays Ireland on my birthday on 24th Feb so Neil and I will sit on different sofas that day! Neil spoke Welsh to open his speech at our wedding and the Welsh for ‘sofa’ is ‘sofa‘ which he enunciated with a strong Welsh accent, being the only word he understood. We were all in hysterics. What a happy day that was….. with many many many more to come. I’m soooooo excited!!!

We’re already full of plans. We’ll spend Xmas with Neil’s sons and families in northern NSW, Australia then head of to New Zealand. We’ve got lots more local European trips planned too beforehand. Travel insurance will be my next project. All advice will be most welcome.

Anyway, back to today. After chemo they’ll attach my last set of 24 hour drugs to my PICC line and I’ll return tomorrow to have the pump and the PICC line removed. Finally I can shower and bathe without the limbo gadget to wear on my arm protecting from infection the tube which enters my arm and finishes near my heart.

The long road to recovery will commence. I can’t wait for my hair to grow as that wig is fun but itchy. But once these steroids wear off, my final recovery will start with great tiredness and sickness.

Blog 2:-

Alas no chemo again

Boo hoo 😟. My usual blood tests passed but this time my liver function ALT test failed. Neil and I are waiting together in Cherrybrook ward for a liver scan at 2.20. I’ve had this before and the scan was absolutely fine. The ALT can go up with steroids so it’s all a mystery. But it means definitely no chemo today and we’ll try later in the week. I’ll update this when I know the date for my next blood test.

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THE END

But if you like I’ll update this now and again to let you know how I’m getting on?