Jog on banana!

I had my first of six chemotherapy treatments yesterday.  One down and five to go (ok but you might be rubbish at math`s!).  I am just beginning to get a glimpse of how things may not always run smoothly in an incredibly busy ward like the one I visit.  For example, when I arrived my nurse said, “so you had your steroids yesterday and this morning right?”  I said, “what steroids?”  I noted an incredulous expression on his face as he repeated, “you weren`t given your steroids yesterday.”  It was a statement, not a question.  “Well, that’s no problem,” he said sighing quietly, “we can give them to you now…..”

I was at the hospital about two hours as first they flushed the steroids through and then the chemo. To me it seemed very innocuous.  I didn`t experience anything untoward other than the site where the medicine goes in through the canula in the vein in my hand, it feels really cold. I read a magazine, had a doze, played upsy – downsy with my electric chair until I got told off. I talked to the lady next to me about alternative treatments, gin and tonic being the favoured one. I ate a hospital provided lunch (cheese and tomato, or tuna sandwiches, strawberry jelly and cake with tea or coffee) and piled high with various anti-sickness pills, a self-administered injection to encourage my body to make lots of white platelets, anti – indigestion tablets to be taken over the next few days  I drove home.  I felt good, I felt happy to be here on earth, I felt joyous after a wait that seemed ages to me, at last I`m doing something.

When I got home I took Alfie out for a drizzly walk down by the canal and met a few other dog walkers and some nice dogs. Went home, pretended to fall down with anaphylactic shock for Binman, oh how we laughed!  For tea I ate two slices of ciabatta with what I thought were olives. Turned out to be jalapeno and they were so delicious I ate them anyways, slathered in butter. Helpful hint number one: do not eat jalapeno following chemotherapy, repeat – DO NOT  etc etc….. 

Woke up at half past midnight with rather alarming stomach cramps but to be expected and nothing that a nice cuppa (caffeine is good for cramps) and a visit to the fleur de loo cannot sort out. So all in all, not a hugely horrible experience, nothing at all like I was expecting so if you are about to embark on this treatment or need it at any time up ahead then rest assured, there`s nothing to be gained by worry, honestly, worry ye not!  I`m treating it like a massive journey of life transformation for the better, one day at a time sweet Jesus.  I haven`t had a fag, I haven`t had any alcohol since last weekend and I am slowly losing weight which is good, because I was four stone too heavy and that`s the alcohol let me tell you!  GOODBYE FOUL LIQUID!

And jog on banana.