Post-Chemo

Had my intra-thecal chemotherapy on Tuesday. I arrived in the hospital at 09:00am. The procedure didn't start until 14:00 and I was discharged from the hospital at 16:30. Been feeling really sick since the chemo and I am suffering from really bad back ache which pain killers don't seem to be helping. Some of my blood counts indicated raised liver functions, so I have to go back on Tuesday to have more blood tests. The consultant thinks it's probably just some toxicity from the chemotherapy.

Chemo tomorrow

I have my next dose of intra-thecal chemotherapy tomorrow at Hammersmith hospital. If things go to plan, I will drop my two youngest kids off at school and then make my way to the hospital. The procedure only takes about 30 minutes, but it always take at least 6 or 7 hours waiting around for the pharmacy (which is now a private company) to dispense the Cytarabine and another long length of time for a qualified doctor to administer the chemotherapy. After it has been done I have to lie flat for at least two hours to try and prevent headaches and back ache. I am currently at work until 23:00 hours tonight so I should hopefully get home around midnight. It's pretty quiet at work which is unusual for a Monday evening peak rush hours so fingers crossed it stays that way.

Day off

Just finished working eight consecutive early shifts yesterday when I have to get up at 04:30 every day to get ready for work. It has been a very busy week, loads of tourists on my station getting confused and lots of asset equipment failures that I had to deal with. I am off today which will probably be spent catching up on the housework and cooking for the kids. My wife has been invited to a friends wedding so it's just me and the kids. Back at work tomorrow on a late shift (15:00 - 23:00) for the next two days, then back to hospital for more chemotherapy.

Hi again

Just recovering from my last bout of chemo which was administered last Tuesday. My white blood counts are still very low so I am still prone to catching infections but my cancer is still in remission although I haven't had a biopsy for some time. Since my chemo my beard has slowly started to fall out again which is a quite a bit quicker than previous episodes. My next chemo is on 21 May for intra-thecal where they have to inject the chemo into my spine to reduce the chance of the cancer coming into my brain.

Bored

On my last night shift and I am so bored. No contractors, finsihed all my paperwork and reports for the week. Have to try and get my sleeping cycle back to normal by tomorrow when I get home at about 08:00 as I have more chemotherapy at Hammersmith hospital.

Back to work

I resumed to full duties about 4 months ago after being given the all clear by our occupational health department. Sometimes, I don't think I was fully ready to resume full duties due to how easily tired I get by never mind. I am on night shifts this week, my first nights for nearly 2 years as I normally swap them with a colleague who prefers nights but he is out of the country so I'm stuck with them. Loads of contractors on site pestering me every 5 minutes for keys, water, directions and various other annoying things ;) My next hospital visit for more chemo is on Monday so hopefully all will go well.

CNS Therapy

Four days into the cranial radiotherapy, 8 doses to go. Also on weekly intrathecal chemotherapy wherein they inject cytarabin into my spine. Unfortunately, the cytarabin causes me lots of nausea and vomiting. Nothing much else happening aside from having some kind of panic attack in my local Tescos but the staff there looked after me until I calmed down so kudos to them.