Chemo round 3 complete. 

Yesterday was my third dose of chemo. I was looked after by the most wonderful nurse who restored my confidence in the staff after a few recent bad experiences. She introduced herself, took her time to ask me about my treatment, and then really kept a close eye on me all morning. She was concerned about my previous cannula locations and refused to use the same areas (finally someone who agreed with me!). She gave all medications perfectly and was kind and took time to talk while she was working at my bedside. Overall it was a much nicer experience and my nurse was far better than the last two nurses I had. 

Maybe it’s just me being a fussy nurse and being hard to please, but it seems that a lot of new nurses have forgotten the most basic principles of care and common sense. The simple stuff that doesn’t take long to do but makes a big difference. On admission to hospital for the mastectomy I was quite disappointed with the nursing care. Maybe COVID was placing extra pressure on everyone, but still I think they could have done a better job. There was minimal contact, poor handovers, and no assistance with repositioning or moving. Not one nurse asked me if I was doing ok or if I needed assistance with anything. Nobody wants to be looked after by a non-verbal robot. With the restrictions on visitors, a little extra support really would have helped.

I found this to be the same with my first few exposures to the day oncology nurses. No introduction on arrival (I couldn’t tell you my nurses names), and minimal contact. I paused my own pump several times because air was running through the line. What ever happened to “Hi I’m Kirby, I’m the nursing looking after you today”?

Anyway, this time I was in good hands and I was relieved. Looking around the oncology unit, three things were really obvious. I was the youngest patient by at least 20 years. I was the only person having the ‘Red Devil’ (AC) chemo and I was the only patient without any hair. This type of chemo stops rapidly dividing cells like cancer cells. Unfortunately, hair cells are also rapidly dividing. So the plus side to losing my hair is knowing that the chemo is doing what it should be doing!

The nausea came on quite strongly after yesterday’s treatment. It seems to get a bit worse each time, but can be managed with rest and medication. I’ve found the first week of chemo is the worst, the second week is recovery week. During that time, I’m able to take some walks and enjoy feeling semi normal again. 

I have one more dose of the AC chemo left on the 1st November. Then I move onto weekly chemo, I’m not sure how that will go. Different chemo means different side effects, but I’ll worry about that when it happens. 

At home I’m incredibly well looked after by Chris and Mum….and the girls when they feel like it. We have remained in hard lockdown even though ACT has eased restrictions. It’s too risky to be out and about in the community still because being a ‘close COVID contact’ would delay my treatment. Last week my port-a-cath surgery was cancelled as my surgeon was a close COVID contact and had to isolate. The surgery is re-booked for the 27th October.

Since my last post and chemo my only major change is hair loss. It came out really quickly after the second dose of chemo. I planned on shaving once it started to fall out, but my scalp is so incredibly tender I won’t let Chris touch it…let alone the clippers. Not the has wasn’t an amazing hairdresser last time. For the moment I’m rocking a mostly bald head with a few random wispy hairs and a tender scalp rash which is slowly improving. Nyla has declared that I have the least hair in our household, but apparently, I still have more than Poppy Wayne!

I’ve been wearing a selection of colourful hats and still have my eyelashes and eyebrows so feel reasonably normal despite the hair loss. It’s a small price to pay for treatment against the cancer cells so I’m alright with it. 

Thanks again to all of my beautiful family and friends and constant support. A special shout out to Chris and Mum for being amazing as always.