T-Minus 14 days and counting !!

What a wonderful time the last 5 days have been. So many family and friends dropping in to say hello and attempting to feed me like they're preparing to fatten up the xmas turkey. Unfortunately,  due to the drugs inside me and the cancer, it's starting to be difficult already to keep the weight on.  I've lost 4 kgs since everything began so my current weight is 63 kgs.

I was given my treatment schedule so I now have an idea of the road that lies ahead. 

Starting from January 12,  I'll be visiting Nepean hospital daily for 7 weeks to undergo 30 minute radiation treatments 5 days a week. Once a week during this period they administer via intravenous cannulation a drug called Cisplatin for 5 hours which is a chemotherapy drug used to treat cancer. This drug causes cells to undergo apoptosis or systematic cell death by damaging the DNA so that their repair mechanisms are activated. Unrepairable DNA cells then perish .  In a nutshell,  it targets the criminal cells like Dirty Harry would and uses a 44 magnum to kill the buggers.  Before and after each of these treatments,  I will require a body IV "flush" to remove the drug from my system to protect my kidneys from damage.

There are many side effects to look forward to during this time which include;  feeling weak / tired, tinnitus (which is the perception of sound in the ear without any corresponding external sound), numbness / tingling in the arms and legs,  a change in taste or loss of taste (really not looking forward to this one the most), mouth ulcers and loss of appetite. 

After the initial seven weeks of treatment are over,  I then have to prepare for the first of 3 cycles of 5 day hospital stays.   During this time I'm administered via intravenous cannulation a drug called Fluorouracil, which is an anti-cancer chemotherapy drug also known as 5FU. I came up with my own acronym for 5FU but won't elaborate on that here in my blog.  To my colleagues at Sita, this drug is classified as cytotoxic waste and ends up in the purple bins. Medicollect for the win!

After each cycle has been completed,  I earn myself a 2 week break to recover from all the nasty stuff then get to do it all over again. Yippee!

When the 3 cycles have been completed,  I'm then reassessed and will most likely continue with more stage 1 treatments until I'm declared free of cancerous cells. 

So there you have it,  for at least the next 4 months I'll be a human pin cushion and doing my best impersonation of Dr Bruce Banner.  Once I'm declared free of cancer, I then face the next task of regaining my health and weight which can take up to 5 months for your body to repair itself and have full strength / immunity. It's a challenge that I'll look forward to completing with great gusto and ambition.