7 March 2019

First day of treatment, for real this time.

OK kids, I've been diagnosed with cancer at the base of the tongue in my throat. Not a good thing, but every medico I've spoken to has been extremely positive and told me it is totally curable with treatment. 

I'm not shopping for sympathy, but I'm not much of a talker about private stuff (much to Suzanne's dismay) so I'm writing this the keep family and friends up to date, and save you all a bunch of phone calls and emails. Maybe this will also help out someone who might go through the same thing somewhere down the track. It's always good to get the story from the horse's mouth, even if his tongue is a bit munted. 😃


We kicked off with Chemo number one of seven this morning. Once again I can't say enough about the girls who work here. Suzanne and I both said it was like a bee hive, with nurses rushing in and out and around all over the place. They just do not stop. But each and everyone of them had a smile on her face and always had time to check if I was OK, or explain something to me, without making me feel she was in a hurry. 

So on with the Chemo. First my nurse gave me a tablet to calm me for my first Chemo session. I don't believe I needed it, but after the effect setting in, I'd like a carton to take home please. Relaxed? I was off the planet, and it lasted til about 9 O'Clock when I went to bed. Obviously I'm not a good drug person.

Then came the IV which went for an hour, followed by the black bag of death (Chemo for the cancer cells I hope) followed by another IV to keep the fluids up. One of the nasty side effects of this treatment is it can damage your kidneys, because they collect all the poison. The idea is to flush them out as much as possible. After drinking a litre and a half of water before we got to hospital, then having two litres of IV, I can tell you, my kidneys are well and truly flushed. :) 

Pumping in the fluids.

The black bag of death.

Look out cancer cells, here I come.

This stuff has my name written all over it.

With that out of the way it was off to Radiotherapy for treatment one of thirty five, and where I had to face the mask of terror. My happy pill made me think this really wouldn't be an issue today.

The process was the same today. lay me on the cold, hard , steel table (yes, I'm a woose) attach the mask of terror, then zap me. 

The mask of terror. 
Hmmm, a little paint and I could be a Cyberman.

Head and shoulders bolted into place.

This is really tight, and I can't move.

The machine warming up.
Ripped off, I didn't even get the machine that goes "BING"

After the PET scan the other day, this was a breeze. The whole process only took about fifteen minutes. I was a little uncomfortable, but after a few more goes I reckon I'll be fine.

Tomorrow is an easy day, just popping in for a quick session of Radiotherapy, then off.

See ya soon.