Chemo #2

Yesterday I was back at St Bart's for round 2 of chemo, after a lovely, relaxed weekend of fun, making the most of my last few days of relatively good energy levels. I did a few hours of work on Monday morning and then headed to the hospital for my 3pm appointment. One of the ladies I met at Saturday's meet-up lunch joked that the chemo ward at St Bart's is a little like a day spa, as it's on the 7th floor of the hospital with some pretty spectacular panoramic views of the city. Everyone gets their own plush chair, their own dedicated nurse, in smaller rooms of about 5-6 per room. Almost as if to confirm this fantasy, yesterday there was a lovely Italian masseuse who was offering complementary therapies, so I had a relaxing shiatsu foot massage while my drip sent the chemo drugs through my cannula. It really helped me relax and lowered my anxiety levels, what a fabulous idea. She started out as a volunteer one day a week outside of her own practice, but now she's employed by a charity to come to St Bart's every Monday to give out treatments. Unfortunately, from my next session I'm back on the Wednesday cycle, but it was a real treat.

I had the same treatments as last time, including the Doxorubicin, which the nurse, J___, administered by hand. This one is nicknamed 'The Red Devil', due to its extensive side-effects. It can also cause heart failure, which is why I had my heart checked out before starting. It's pretty nasty. It also turns my pee pink!

I chatted with a few other patients on the ward, including one cheery girl who was on her third batch of chemo! Her cancer spread from her breast to her lung, and it's just spread to her brain. But she was remarkably upbeat, chatting familiarly with all the nurses and sending me her facebook page. I love how resilient people are in the face of adversity. It's so inspiring.

The computer systems are still down at St Bart's and apparently the back-up has also been attacked, so everything is still being written out by hand, and triple checked with the consultants. However, the nurses are expected to get through the same number of patients in a day, leaving many of them somewhat frazzled. It's quite distressing seeing first hand the negative impact on the NHS which has been brought about by the Tory government. Although the care I am receiving is exceptional, the staff are all overworked, and yesterday the nurses were even joking about leaving the NHS and getting a job in Asda, as it pays better and is less stressful! It's maddening for me, someone who is currently having their life saved by the NHS, to know that in 10-20 years time it might not exist and I would have a very different prognosis.

So after three hours, I was all done, and this time my mum popped by the ward, having taken the train from Lancaster to stay with us for a few days. Tanai went back to work today and mum has been looking after me, making delicious food and keeping me company. Thus far, I have responded much better than the first time, in terms of side-effects. I slept fitfully last night but didn't suffer as much as last time with the nausea. On the day after chemo #1, I didn't leave my PJs, but today I got dressed and we went for a little walk round the Barbican. I even baked a batch of ginger biscuits to help combat the nausea! So I'm hoping I stay this way, and don't crash later instead. I'll keep you posted.

Mum doing some batch cooking!