FEC-T, FEC cycle 2, day 12
(Kent Oncology Centre - treatment at both Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals)
Evening Valentines,
This will be a bit of a long post …. seem to have kept it all in for a few days. Time to let it out! Apologies in advance for ramble.
So pleased to hear Linda that you have a date at last. I’m sure it’s something you would have wished not to be having, but maybe a relief now that it’s actually happening.
To Sandra and Jo – make sure you keep fighting those germs and keep out of hospital. On that front, I too was wondering what had happened to Alison (bottom still sore on Friday) and Jackie (last heard of on Friday in hospital). Are you both OK?
I had a bit of a meltdown last week. Wept buckets. Decided I had to do something about it so signed up for the BCC Peer Support service. They are a very lovely team who match you with someone who has been through BC, taking account of your own individual circumstances or particular concerns. So I have had my first chat with a lovely lady on Saturday, like me widowed young (-ish) a few months before diagnosis. Feeling very isolated, it was good to talk to someone who understands why. It’s not counselling, just a friendly, caring person on the end of a phone. We will talk again in a few days. So – if you feel you need someone other than family or friends to talk to – whatever your age, background or worries, it might be worth a try. I’ve certainly shed far fewer tears since.
Decided today to take back control of this part of my life by shaving what was left of the hair on my head. The matted mess on the pillow / in the shower / in my food etc. was getting to me in a very negative way. I had hoped that the Ladyshave purchased after ANC would do the trick. Useless, of course. So had to face the demons and use the clippers that I last used to cut my husband’s hair days before he became ill.
Been there, done that. It’s bloody cold and I look vaguely like my older brother. Soft cotton caps coming into their own. Shampoo relegated to back of cupboard. Hoover having a rest.
Some friends were “advising” me not to do it. I now think that this might have been more for their own benefit. I was distressed by the process of losing the hair – and p*ssed off by continually clearing up the fall-out and am now glad I did it. Just need the weather to warm up a bit. Had hoped to tart up the bandanas etc. with a selection of whacky earrings, but like Mandy found that first attempt (Xmas gift from niece) a couple of weeks ago left a scabby earlobe … so will proceed with caution once out of low immune period.
Now to chase up the copies of all my path reports, scan results etc…. My emails to the BCN have been ignored (you are passed on from their care here following surgery). I may be hair-less, but I still have my guts!
Love to all, take care,
Gill
Kath xx