Tuesday 19th May
Thank you to those who have made such kind comments on my last post.
People often say to me how brave they think I have been, but in reality, braveness does not really come into it. I did what the doctors told me to do, and tried to be sensible, have the treatment and that was it really. The last six months have been extremely hard, but the alternative to going through the treatment was not something I wanted to contemplate! I think that most people who find themselves in this sort of position would do whatever they could to get back to health again and take the doctor’s advice.
I am very tired this week. I spent the weekend in bed mostly or lying on the sofa and did not go out for two days, the weather was awful so it was not worth going out anyway. I went to work yesterday but was exhausted by the afternoon so came home at about 4.00. I am having a “rest day” today, just sleeping, reading the paper and watching the tv etc.
I was just reading quite an interesting article in the paper about something called “chemobrain” where people’s cognitive skills are affected long term by chemo drugs. I have not heard of this before, and the article is saying that people are not warned about it before they have chemotherapy. People apparently feel the effects of the tiredness and the forgetfulness months and even years after their treatment has finished. The recommendation is that you keep the brain active with puzzles and things and this helps. Even though many people thought I was bonkers to keep going to work throughout my treatment, I am so glad I did because I really felt that it was helping to put my mind to other things. I do forget things sometimes and get in a muddle, but generally, I think my brain has been ok. I found it is easy to become very lazy and not do a thing, but even though physically you may be a bit of a wreck, the mental side still needs stimulating.
So, I start my injections today to boost the bone marrow. I have come off the steroids today for the last time. I am constantly hungry and have been waking up in the night again, but am drinking plenty of water to try and help flush them out of my system!