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yetbeung's avatar
yetbeung
Member
12 years ago

The big day...!

So l've been awake since 5:31 thanks to hayfever & the St Kilda Birdsong Chorus... :-p Apologies for typos or weird formatting, l'm typing this out on my phone. Laying here in bed wide awake, listening to Zac snoring away beside me...l'm half inclined to wake him up because if l'm awake, everyone else should be too! I go in for my first chemo today at 12:30, along with multiple blood tests, a surprise heart scan thing they only told me about on Thurs (because, surprise! This chemo can damage heart function...! Last time l checked, l might need that...) and the Nulastin injection tomorrow...errrk! I have my giant tube of Emla to take, funny, it's the only thing l've packed! I'm worried about them accessing the port as it's still very sore, l thought l was more worried about that than anything else, but now "shit's getting real"...(oh bless, Zac just asked me why l'm awake) and now the "what ifs" are emerging - what if l forget something in my super long list of dos & donts...what if something goes wrong...what if l'm not in that happy percentile that goes on to be "cured"....aaarrrgh! I had the worst phonecall from my nan last night - she's trying so hard to be brave (like me...ha!) but it's so hard to convince her that l'll be giving it my best crack...l think it scares her that a grandchild could go before she does, it goes against the natural order of things! I've been trying so hard to convince her & everyone else that l'm not dying, & there's pretty good odds l'll be ok, that l haven't had the chance to REALLY think about it all...! Anyway...because there's still about 6 hrs til anything really starts to happen, l'm going to try to sleep a bit more...God, l hope today ( and the next 16 weeks, actually!) goes smoothly.

17 Replies

  • Cherylek's avatar
    Cherylek
    Member
    12 years ago
    Hi Bobbie, hope everything went well with chemo. The port always comes out a lot easier than going in. I'm still a bit of a wuss (even after Herceptin 12 on Monday), I'll close my eyes when the nurses are putting it in. Definitely use the cream it makes a huge difference and minimises the pain of the catheter being inserted. Regards, Cheryle :)
  • Cherylek's avatar
    Cherylek
    Member
    12 years ago
    Hi Bobbie, hope everything went well with chemo. The port always comes out a lot easier than going in. I'm still a bit of a wuss (even after Herceptin 12 on Monday), I'll close my eyes when the nurses are putting it in. Definitely use the cream it makes a huge difference and minimises the pain of the catheter being inserted. Regards, Cheryle :)
  • Janey235's avatar
    Janey235
    Member
    12 years ago
    Well done girl! The worst one is always that unknown first one. And it's done :) Yep, one day at a time is the key now. Plenty of water to flush the drug through your system but this always means lots of trips to the loo. Oh well, I used to look at it as helping me get off my backside and I would do some walking on my treadmill afterwards for a few minutes. Any little bit of exercise is good. Keeps everything moving too. Good luck with the side effect. Fingers crossed they won't be too bad. Look after you Bobby. Love Janey xxx
  • yetbeung's avatar
    yetbeung
    Member
    12 years ago
    Thanks so much :-) I really was "expecting the worst, but hoping fo the best" & it seems to have worked out ok. I did have to get up 5 times through the night to pee, so l need to wrk out a fliud schedule! I still have the injection to get through, & de-accessing the port, so l'm a bit nervous about that, but hey, if that's the worst of it over, l'm happy! Fingers crossed when l get home!
  • Deanne's avatar
    Deanne
    Member
    12 years ago
    The hardest one is over! The nurses are right the next one will be so much easier. Just get through them one at a time. Remember to drink plenty of fluids and just go with it. Rest when tired, eat when and what you feel like, and get some gentle exercise in when you feel up to it. Hope the next few days go well. Deanne xxxooo
  • yetbeung's avatar
    yetbeung
    Member
    12 years ago
    Hi all, Just a quickie as its 1:41am, was just woken up by some piece of equipment beeping. My day was, on the whole, very long yet uneventful! :-) The worst part by far was accessing the still swollen & bruised port - it took 3 nurses to find it, eventually the head of oncology just stuck it where she thought was right - thank god she got it as l was in tears & nearly passed out on he bed. I underestimated how hard they would have to press. Anyway, they have assured me that next session in 2 wks will be a million times better as the swelling & bruising will be gone and they will find it just by lightly pressing . Fingers crossed! I will give it credit though, l didn't feel any blood being drawn at all! I had the heart scan - painless, just like a looooooong xray...took 3 hrs in total with waiting for the dye & 3 different images. Heart in tip top shape (thank god) so no worries there. I was able to eat a late lunch, & was starving because l was too stressed for breakfast! The chemo itself was the quickest part of the day - lots of pre meds but it only took about 1.5 hrs. The only side effects l have had til now (2:07am) is feeling quite hot, but they have assured me thats ok as you can have like a "hot flush" straight after chemo. Lots of temperature checking. I also had a mild headache but they put it down to me being dehydrated, an extra bag of fluid seems to have sorted that. I can't wait to get back home, hopefully my side effects will stay mild! Must away now as l need to pee (AGAIN!!) it's the extra fluid, you see! I was going to upload a photo but l don't think it likes phone photos or something. I'll try again later. But l did it!!! One down, 7 to go!!! Wooooooooo!!! :-) From Bobbie
  • Janey235's avatar
    Janey235
    Member
    12 years ago
    I hope today went well for you. I've been thinking of you. Love Janey xxx
  • Janey235's avatar
    Janey235
    Member
    12 years ago
    I hope today went well for you. I've been thinking of you. Love Janey xxx
  • Hazel_M's avatar
    Hazel_M
    Member
    12 years ago

    The first one is pretty nerve wracking, hope all goes well for you today. I've only had one treatment so far and it wasn't as bad as i imagined it would be. And I had pictured the worse case scenario. Once you start means you are on the road to recovery, one step at a time. All the best,

    Hazel xx

  • Robyn_W's avatar
    Robyn_W
    Member
    12 years ago
    I took a sick bag in the car with me Jill! I waited for something to happen,and nothing did!!!Try not to worry today.When you read lots of other posts about first chemo,most of them will say later that it was not what they expected.I reckon you will be fine.Take something to do,as it gets pretty boring if your chemo is a long one. All the best.xoxoRobyn