On the morning of Friday, July 13th I arrived at St Vincents Hospital over an hour early for my 9am appointment. I had no idea what to expect but I didn’t feel as nervous as I thought I would. There was nothing I could really do to prepare myself, I just had to trust I was in good hands. I didn’t see the point in worrying about how it as going to go or what it might be like.
I just wanted to get on with it, it was happening either way and I would deal with it as best I could. My bloods had been taken two days beforehand so once I was weighed and measured I was ready to get fitted for my cold cap (see my post on my cold cap experience).
As it turned out there really wasn’t anything to stress about. Besides being prodded a bit with needles (and I hate needles) and trying to keep warm there was nothing unpleasant about the experience. I didn’t know how I would feel when receiving the chemo but I didn’t notice anything. The nurses were amazing.
They explained everything as we went along and started me off with an anti-nausea drug administered through the drip. They were so attentive and continued to check how I was getting on. My first chemo drug was Taxotere, this normally takes an hour but some people can have a reaction to it so they slowed down the administration of it for my first session until they knew I was getting on fine with it.
After that, I had my second chemo drug Cyclo which takes just half an hour. I got a prescription for a list of drugs/mouthwashes to help me with possible symptoms afterwards and was reassured the days of vomiting over a toilet bowl were over. I was told not to suffer in silence, there was plenty more they could do for different side effects so if I was feeling unwell I was just to pick up the phone and call them and they would look after me.
Adrian mentioned on the way home that he actually had a nice day (easy for him to say!). That shows how badly we’re overdue a few date nights – that a day chatting in a chemo ward is considered a nice date! But we did have a nice day, I wasn’t in any pain throughout the day, there was nothing particularly unpleasant about it and we had some good laughs (mainly at the state of me in my “scrum cap”). One down, now to wait for the real fun to start as the lovely side effects kick in.
Well done Mads, you’re amazing xx
Inspirational blog Madeleine, wishing you the best of luck with your treatment x
Hi Madeleine, 1st one over and well done u!! Mum felt fine until the 5 day when she picked up an infection. I have hand sanitizer all over my house but with young kids running about it’s not always easy to have everything sterile. Anyhow I’m not sure how it works in the south but up here, any sign of infection must be dealt with straight away oh and Mum never had a temperature, so don’t be misled if ur temperature is ok, it’s always better to be on the safe side and see your GP or consultant. By day 10 after chemo u will start to feel a little better. McMillan up north run an amazing event called look good feel good with a a free bag of cosmetics worth £200 and a 2 hour course run by a make up artist, I would suggest looking into it and find out if they run ones in the south. Xx
Hi Louise,
Thanks so much for your message. I hope your mum is doing well. I have signed up for a Look good feel good course down here so looking forward to that in a couple of weeks. I think evening of day 3 was when the fatigue started hitting me most and up to day 7 were probably my worst this time round, although the fatigue lasted a few days longer. I know each one will get tougher but each one is also a step closer to the finish line! All the support is amazing and really helps!xx
Hi Madeleine, This blog is amazing to read, your strength and attitude through this tough time is something you should be extremely proud of, Adrian always speaks so highly of you and the boys, best of luck with the rest of your journey. G xx
Hi Gillian,
I’m glad to hear Adrian isn’t giving out about me behind my back (lol)!!! He’s been a great support! Thanks for taking the time to send a message, it was lovely to get xx