Hi everyone!
It’s been a long time since I last posted and I have been mostly pretty good over the last month.
My final chemotherapy session was on 26th April and it was fairly routine – apart from the nurse having trouble accessing a vein; then on the second attempt bursting the vein as she took the needle out. To try and stop the leak of blood she kept rubbing over the area which hurt like mad and left me with a huge bruise. Then it all started again because they then discovered that two vials of blood were needed instead of the usual one!
My Breast Cancer Support Nurse called in to see me during the morning so that gave me a further opportunity to ask numerous questions about the procedure on 3rd June. It will probably take about an hour and a half, three hours including recovery time. I will have a wire and a radioactive fluid inserted in the morning followed by a scan a couple of hours later. The surgeon will put in a blue dye at the start of the procedure which will help him to locate the sentinel nodes in my armpit. I will stay in overnight and recovery will take about two weeks during which time I won’t be able to drive or lift anything heavy (so Colin’s not much looking forward to that!).
Amy arrived in the afternoon with her final card and she stayed until Geoff and Janet arrived with a huge box of chocs and a bottle of Prosecco which was lovely. So the day passed very quickly.
It was a busy weekend as Rob and Camila arrived on Saturday afternoon from Edinburgh and then we had Colin’s 65th birthday lunch at The Onslow Arms, Clandon on Sunday 28th. Eleven family members including our granddaughter Georgie. It was a lovely celebration.
Over that weekend I had my usual bouts of the runs and felt tired but I was still able to enjoy all the events.
I had an ex-work colleagues’ lunch on 1st May which was lovely and then a very early start the following day for our 07.40 flight to Cyprus.
We had a lovely thirteen days in Cyprus catching up with friends and getting the villa ready for the summer. We bought our new outside furniture and ordered new internal blinds for the villa which were fitted before we left for home. We also took a day trip to Limassol to look at external blinds for the pergola followed by lunch and a walk along the promenade. So a very productive (but still restful) time.
I kept well throughout our Cyprus trip although there were a few bouts of the “runs”. I had a nap most afternoons which helped to alleviate the tiredness.
We got home early evening on Wednesday 15th May and the following day, Thursday, I had an antibodies session (Perjeta and Herceptin) at Mount Alvernia Hospital which was routine and took just over four hours.
The next day, Friday, I was feeling well under par. We were having Georgie for the weekend so Colin drove the hundred or so miles round-trip to Hither Green to collect her from pre-school while I had a nap. I was feeling a little better by Saturday so we took Georgie to RHS Wisley for a picnic; however, I got very tired again by the afternoon.
I finally realised that I was still coming down from a steroid “high” after Friday’s treatment.
Thankfully, by Sunday I was feeling a lot better and was able to enjoy lunch with Simon, Tom and Georgie in Hither Green. Then another lunch with David & Jackie on Monday at Côte in Guildford which was lovely.
So many nice lunches, but I’m not putting on any weight. Every cloud has a silver lining as they say!
Yesterday I met with the Consultant Oncoplastic Breast and Skin Cancer Surgeon who examined me again and could still feel no trace of the tumour. He confirmed the date for the procedure, 3rd June, and the pre-surgery assessment on 30th May.
The Consultant drew a diagram showing what he intended to do; where the cuts would be and what the scar would look like. He also said that I may need reconstructive surgery of the other breast to make them both look the same, this would be reviewed much later on though. The result of the breast tissue biopsy will take about two weeks.
Today we are off to Bonnie Scotland to see my Aunt Babs who is 89 years old and lives in Clydebank where I was born and raised. Clydebank is famous for the many ships that were built in the John Brown Shipyard (Lusitania, HMS Hood, HMS Repulse, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth 2) and for its Singer Sewing Machine factory – both sadly now completely flattened. At the weekend we are going to Edinburgh to stay with Rob and Camila.
So I am looking forward to all that and am happy to say I have been feeling very well this week and haven’t had to take any Imodium (the diarrhoea medication) for almost 2 weeks – HOORAY!
I hope you all have a fun Spring/Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend. Colin will post briefly on the blog once my surgery is over.