Heading to Herm tomorrow :) :) :) :)

I saw my consultant today and she is happy for me to have a holiday.  I have travel insurance.  I still can't believe it!!  Dave has come round to me being fit enough for a few days away.  Martha and Katy are excited to go.

Martha is very sad about the end of my holiday.  She is worried about me being on my own, and she does not want to be left in Herm alone.  I know that when she is there she will settle into Herm life, and she has her cousin Megan to look forward to from 1st to 8th August.  The three days between Dave and cousin Grace leaving and Ben and cousin Megan arriving will be the most challenging, I think.  I am very flattered that she cares so much about me.  I am wishing her the best holiday ever.  It remains that it is better for Martha and Katy to enjoy Herm - the other option is to come home and hang out with friends while I go for treatment at Christies.  The compromise is to stay on Herm and make the most of a beautiful island.

I will try to BLOG from Herm, but there are only a couple of places with wifi on the island, and they may be out of my range - I may not get there.  If I don't keep in touch, have a good holiday too.  Seeya soon.  love you   Sarah xxx

Star Trek X-Ray experience

Star Trek X-ray experience

It was all very star trek.  I was taken to an x-ray room, and a radiographer described what we were about to do.  This being, an x-ray using the points on my mask, to check I am orientated correctly, followed by an x-ray using the consultant’s guidance.  The marks on the mask would then be adjusted.  After this, the new marks would be used to direct the x-rays exactly to the point that they are intended. 

So, I am strapped into the mask and cannot move.  The lights are turned out.  All I have is sound because my eyes are closed by my mask.  It sounds star trek. The machine sounds like the transfer machine, a whirring noise at a reasonably high pitch.  Captain Kirk has landed!  The other sound is a much lower grind. 

I do become troubled by my inability to move.  My mouth is filling with saliva and I have to swallow.  When I swallow, it feels like I have moved the whole mask.  My mouth is full of fluid, and the swallow motion is full and the mask wobbles as I remove the saliva.

I try to imagine walking around Herm.  I walk out of the campsite, down a path to the cliff edge, and decide to turn left towards Belvoir Bay.  I am troubled by the mask so can’t quite map the route correctly.  It is a single path, but I can’t remember what comes next.  I jump to stand on an outcrop and look across an island and the sea.  If I look left, I can see Belvoir Beach and Shell Beach.  I jump again to stand at my rocks.  The rocks are a special place for me; from here I can see Jetou, Jersey, Sark, Guernsey and France when there is a clear view.  I stand here but feel like I should move on. 

Star Trek continues.  Dr Spock has landed.  Eventually, the lights come on and it is all over.  The radiologist releases me. 

Next appointment 1 August 11.10 am

Following this treatment, I am told the time of my appointment for 1 August 11.10am.  At the appointment, I must negotiate a time that works for me and Martha and Katy.  I say that I would like a middle of the day appointment, and frustratingly, the radiologist said, “so does everyone else”.  Fortunately, in the first week, Martha and Katy are away in Herm, so I can accept any appointment, which may help me gain an optimum appointment time.

Appointment with Dr McBain

After the x-ray, I return to the waiting room and then move into an appointment with Dr McBain.  At the next appointment, I will meet Charlotte who will give me my chemotherapy drugs.  I will have radiotherapy.  Once a week, I will have blood tests.  I will meet Dr McBain once a week to review progress.

Risks of radiotherapy:  copied from my copy of the consent form

 I had to sign a consent form, that listed all the potential side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. 

The short term side effects of radiotherapy are tiredness, nausea, headache, hair loss, redness of the scalp, altered taste, occasionally worsening of tumour-related symptoms, seizure*, dryness/soreness of left eye*.

The long term effects of radiotherapy:  short-term memory loss, risk of cataract (left eye)*, dry eye (left)*, possibly some permanent hair loss (where tumour is close to the skull).

Serious or frequently occurring risks of chemotherapy:  risk of infection, bleeding* or bruising* which could be life threatening, nausea and vomiting, infertility*.

Symptoms with asterisk are very unlikely

Dr McBain stressed that all the symptoms marked with an asterisk are very unlikely, but that they have to be listed so that I am aware that they could occur.