Start of a Tough Regime

So, on Wednesday I started another nine weeks of treatment.

The game plan has changed from

• Nine weeks of chemotherapy
• Six weeks break
• Surgery
• Ten weeks break
• Nine weeks of chemotherapy
• Eighteen weeks of just the trial drug

To

• Nine weeks of chemotherapy (completed)
• Five weeks break (completed)
• Nine weeks of chemotherapy including six weeks of radiotherapy (starting after the first three weeks)
• Reassessment to see if surgery is possible

My initial understanding about the latest cycle of treatment was that for the first three weeks I would have intravenous chemotherapy but for the 6 weeks of radiotherapy it would be tablet form only.  This was misunderstood by me and I will be receiving chemotherapy in all 3 of the 3 week cycles but only the carboplatin (no epirubicin) for the period that I will be having radiotherapy.

The heat that we have been experiencing this week (31-32 degrees Celsius) is magnifying the effects of the chemo in both the queasiness of it and the fatigue, so if the weather keeps up then things will be really tough by the time I get to radiotherapy.  I am counting on our British weather not being capable of such momentum and, although many would wish otherwise, I hope that I am right.

The uncertainty of whether I was still in a potentially curable position has been removed and that is of great relief, but it is a bit like "out of the frying pan and into fire".  The first few days of chemotherapy are particularly uncomfortable, so it is always good to try and stay focused on the wider prize, no matter how difficult that seems at the moment.

A couple of days and I will be through this malaise and in truth I would probably feel worse if I had a bad cold, so there isn't much to moan about.  It is good to have a moan now and again though.