All Pinked Out

Well, how am I doing today ? My second round of chemo on Sept.24th has left me nauseous, tired, suffering from a never ending gastric challenge, and cranky!

After  two  hours of various nurses trying unsuccessfully to access my port on chemo day, followed by an Xray the next day, and a scheduled meeting with the surgeon the following afternoon in the emergency ( we waited for over two hours and then we were told that he would not be able to attend) He was on call, we get it, but…It was determined last Friday at the “treatment” room in the hospital which is close to our home (which was a refreshing change not to spend all that time driving back and forth to RJH) that the port has to be replaced this coming Thursday. Once again a day surgery with a general anthesea. In the meantime I have a most uncomfortable wound on my upper throat and I have been instructed not to get it wet.  This  prevents having a shower or intense facial care for very dry, but zit free, skin. Bath you say ? Nah, my toe is still under the care of the home nursing staff every third day. Senor Poodela and I have discussed numerous options for cleanliness and our solution is just to send me upstairs until I can shower tomorrow. I handle the not getting the foot wet with my special saran wrap, face cloth, large freezer bag and double elastic band device. You see, I am here to give you tips !

Now, the other outstanding problem is the neutropenia.  Did you know that almost half of chemo patients have this problem ? I have no idea where this statistic comes from, but I found it on the internet so it must be right. “My” oncologist has reduced my chemo dose by 20% and I was advised that I would have to inject myself for five days following chemo. Now, at first I thought that the oncologist meant that I had to find a vein and tie myself up like in the movies, and then inject myself. I mean, if the nurses and doctors cannot access my veins without a battle, how could I possibly be asked to do that ? Anyway, that got straightened out when I was informed that I  would have to inject myself like a diabetic. Well, not so fast. Senor Poodela and I failed injection school as he has shaking hands at the best of times and I was bending the needles and crying and generally acting up. So the fabulous homecare nurses came here to inject me for my first round of five days and that worked out very well. Here is another tip. If you are not rich, or have extended medical don’t suffer from neutropenia. The government health care does not cover the one thousand dollars, you heard me right, one thousand dollars for the five injections after each session of chemo. The moment you figure out how that absurdity works, please let me know. They were more than happy ? to have someone in isolation in the Brenda Ingram Suite, but will not cover this preventative step to ensure I do not wind up back where I was after round one. Lucky for me, we had a nice piece of extended health coverage.

So, that is my post for today. But do stay tuned for more light hearted topics such as Poodela Buys Some Hair, Why I No Longer Like The Colour Pink, and The Rewards Of Nausea.