12 July - A Rest Day

Given all of the possibilities, that adage about so "far so good" still applies.

Still it is a long way to go before we get to the end of this cycle of therapy and given that the dose of residual radiation effects inside the corpus (presumably) increases with each treatment the question really is whether or not the predicted worst case scenarios simply have not yet arrived.

Apart from the sense of being really unwell that usually accompanies the chemo therapy and lasts for days after the treatment session is over, this round of treatment so far has produced fewer major problems. ('so far' - he adds with a sigh!).

For example, I have not had the "metal mouth" that seems to accompany the chemo.

If you can imagine that every mouthful of anything, tastes like you are trying to eat it through steel wool, then you have a small taste (pardon the pun) of what it really is like. Apparently something to do with liver function it is possibly the nastiest side effect of chemo therapy that I have ever experienced.

If you LIKE eating and enjoy cooking and preparing mouthwatering meals the most horrific thing that happens is that you can see the food, smell the food, but quite unable to eat the food. Now THAT is what I call torture! So thank goodness that this has not ('so far' - he says with yet another sigh) happened

The side effects or related issues that I have had (so far) are mainly:

The bleeding from the nose and the consequent blocked up sinus cavity that of course then results in breathing difficulty etc. and a second and possibly related issue seems to be the fact that I am obviously not adjusting the way I try to speak to the new reality that only one vocal chord works.

Now when I try to talk or croak or whisper (depending on how effective I am being) the very act of trying to talk seems to result in a further blockage of the sinus cavity.

Without access to a speech therapist, or an ENT specialist I suspect that what is happening is that I am somehow breathing the wrong way and/or the way I use expelled air to vibrate the once vocal chord that I have left is wrong for the current situation and actually makes the nasal congestion worse.

I was rung by a friend the other day and after a few minutes of conversation I found it difficult to breathe and when my nose started to bleed I needed to get off the line to do something about the mopping operation and to try and restore breathing.

I will of course report this to the people at the hospital and see if there is something that a speech therapist or someone else can suggest. I just hope against hope that the reason for this situation is simple and has something to do with the fact that it is winter and the air is dry. I do NOT want to hear that it is because there is yet another cancerous polyp or something in the head!

Last but my no means least there is a need for continuing and constant vigilance against mucositis

Be careful if you visit the site that is embedded in the link, the pictures are horrible! The real thing is worse than it looks!

This condition is something I experienced in the last round of treatment. It is totally debilitating and frankly, dangerous. So at present oral hygiene is paramount in this household I can tell you. Having had the offending condition in the past means that you do everything to try and ensure that it does not happen again.

Apart from that there is of course the tiredness and the broken sleep patterns that seem to accompany this process. The only GOOD thing about my former life as a workaholic is that I KNOW how to cope with individual REM cycles and only four hour per night sleep patterns.

Woe betide the person who is 'normal' and needs his/her 8+ hours of 'beauty' sleep.

Having learnt to cat nap is possibly one of the most useful lessons I have picked up over the working life it seems.

Today is a rest day!

No, not for me, for the Linac 2 machine.

Thank goodness it also seems to need its restorative sleep otherwise referred to as 'maintenance' in this case.

I have to say though that it is a toss up between being glad not to have to go for another round of treatment and annoyance that it merely delays the process by yet another day. Still I am glad they are maintaining and recalibrating the machine - just imagine if they did not do this regularly. Would YOU want to be the one who gets the wrong dose?

Not this little black duck!