It does one good to have a minor rantette every now and then. But I must come back down to earth, because my wife Annie had her first chemotherapy session on Wednesday (yesterday).
In Annie's case, the good news is that she only has to have four cycles (sessions) spaced three weeks apart, followed by radiation treatment. And it seems that her bone scan and blood work were normal, and that the cancer has not spread.
Now, you hear all sorts of horror stories about chemotherapy. Yes, it does make you sick as a parrot. Yes, it does suppress the appetite. Yes, it does make your hair fall out. Does it hurt? Not so far, according to Annie. The only pain she felt was the needle going into her vein to establish the intravenous feed for the drugs.
If any of you out there are anticipating with dread the possibility of chemotherapy, here is our story so far. I will update you every now and then, with pictures where possible. So yesterday, then, Annie went into the Oncology Department of the Sarawak General Hospital for her first chemo session.
After a blood test and an interview with the oncologist, she was issued with a little prescription that she took to the pharmacy counter, and was led into a small but pleasant room full of fellow-cancer patients, all sitting in comfortable chairs accompanied by their very own personal intravenous drip feeds hooked up to metal poles on wheels.
The windows had stained glass, like a church, and there were pictures on the walls, and air conditioning. The atmosphere was somewhere between a dentist's waiting room, an airport departure lounge and a ladies hairdressing salon, with patients constantly fussed over by a couple of nurses, who checked their charges before every now and then administering the drugs.
Chemotherapy is delivered to the patient intravenously, and it's usually an outpatient procedure, so you can go home the same day. Depending on how many doses you have, and how bad your prognosis, the process usually takes about two or three hours.
Annie made friends with a pretty little nurse who, it so happened, came from her home state of Sabah. Other patients chatted with her and reassured her that everything was OK. As you can see from the picture, the atmosphere was generally positive:
The chemotherapy drugs Annie has to take look somewhat fearsome, and come in several theatrically huge syringes, some the colour of water, and others just like cherryade:
But once these drugs were fed through to her system, she was able to get up and walk out, with a slight pins and needles feeling in her head and a raging thirst and desire to go to the toilet (luckily the ladies was right next door to the therapy room). Annie reported that when she went to the toilet, her urine was red - must have been all that cherryade!
Since coming home, Annie has been drinking water like a fish on amphetamines, and has to take some pills to reduce the effects of the drugs. She has vomited a couple of times, but otherwise she is just as chirpy and tough as she has always been! However, when I came home from work this evening, she told me that her hair was starting to fall out a little bit. Nine grey hairs were removed! This is an omen!!
I will keep you posted as soon as there is something to post about. In the meantime, you will be treated to the usual doses of banal drivel that I have been accustomed to trot out on this blog!!
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