Done with having to travel an hour each way to the hospital every weekday. Done with laying on the machine and having my insides melted. Done with weekly blood tests and, thankfully, done with daily chemotherapy tablets. That should mean in a couple of weeks, as the side effects peak and begin to diminish, I should be done with the nausea and tiredness.
I have been given some exercises to do (that will be familiar to anyone who has had a baby) and also some other instructions regarding stopping my insides sticking together. I am by no means out of the woods, but as to how effective the radiotherapy has been, I will be scanned again in three months.
Three months seems like a long time to wait and see if Gertrude has been eliminated or at least shrunk, but given everything my insides have been through, they need the three months to recover and feel a bit more normal. There will have been damage to organs other than the targeted cancer which is inevitable.
But the last day - going in for the last time and seeing my chatty blood nurse, the helpful and always kind and pleasant therapeutic radiographers, and also bumping into Jan from the Wolverstone ward that we got to know when Sheena was having her chemo.
When I'd had my final chat with the support nurse, had my final treatment and blood test, I was ready to call Sheena - she was allowed in for the final visit. With Sheena, Jan, and several of the staff with me, I rang the bell! It's a significant thing, and marks the end of my radiotherapy treatment.
What next? A telephone appointment on 7 July with my oncologist to discuss what happens next. I would think that not much can be decided until after my scan in 12 weeks' time, but until then, I'm seeing this as an opportunity to get fit and be prepared for surgery. The healthier I am, the better the outcome.
Thank you Sheena for supporting me so amazingly. Thank you to our friends who have shown such support and encouragement, and thank you to the amazing staff at Ipswich hospital.
A quick reminder - despite covid and the restrictions in place, if you have anything unusual going on, such as blood in your poop, and unusual consistent pain, a lump or something that worries you, please do see your GP. Early diagnosis improves your outcomes if it should be something nasty, and if it's nothing to worry about, then even better.
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2 comments:
Fantastic news, Carolyn! Hopefully the bells have truly tolled for Gertrude!
C
Well done :)
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