Second Cycle of Chemo Starts

My second two week cycle of twelve started last Wednesday and I was hooked up to my pump again for 48 hours.

The first cycle went well with only minor side effects of slight nausea early in the cycle, diarrhoea for two days mid-cycle, a bit of numbness in the lips and tingling in the finger tips when handling frozen food. There were no problems with fatigue and I kept up all golf/fitness activities.

Yesterday we had an appointment with the oncologist to review progress. He said that "I have had a good launch" and as the side effects were minimal there was no need to change the drug regime. We asked a number of questions:

Swine Flu - He said that the drug regime would only marginally reduce my immune system and therefore I should not be unduly worried. If I did contract the flu then I would be OK taking "tammi-flu" and also I would be offered the vaccine in the Autumn when it came out. Otherwise just act normally and take precautions like the rest of the populace.

Diarrhoea - I asked him whether it would be wise to take the tablets to reduce the problem. He asked what colour carpets we had at home. I said light beige. He said that I should take the tablets.

Tingling fingers when handling frozen food - He said that I should wear gloves and give up the part-time job at Iceland! (This is a UK frozen food supermarket for US followers)

What about the end of the 6 months - He said that if all went well then my last cycle would end just before Christmas and then it would be OK to go out to Florida in January. Yippee!!

Golf - I played golf on Thursday with my pump attached. It was a lovely day and I wore tee-shirt and shorts. It was quite a posh club and they have "dress rules" one of which is that shorts must always be tucked into shorts. However I had to have my shirt loose to accommodate the line from my pump to my upper chest. When I went to pay the man politely asked me to tuck my shirt in - but I explained that I couldn't - and he was OK about it. Anyway, a mixed game of golf 103 but good fun.

CT Scan- On Monday I go back to the hospital for a follow up CT scan. I should know the results by Friday of next week and I will update the blog with the result.

Another busy week ahead - Playing golf, going for walks, and keep fit classes.