One of the not so nice things about chemotherapy is that it never quite goes away. They give you a break of a few days between sessions but it's not quite long enough for the nasties to clear out of your body. So what happens is the side effects of treatment get worse the further in you go.
Last session, number five of twelve, was where my body decided it had quite enough platinum* and decided that it wanted rid of it and no amount of anti-emetics was going to stop it honking up until it was all gone. Unfortunately that doesn't really work with IV medication but my body doesn't know that. The other fun side effect which I've mentioned before is the peripheral neuropathy, the main part of which is hypersensitivity to cold. This used to just last a couple of days but it's now sticking around for the whole cycle.
So it's a bit of a balancing act the oncologist has; give you enough medicine to work against the cancer but not enough so the treatment makes you feel worse than the disease.
He's tweaked the drugs down by 20% in today's clinic session. I'll know by the end of the week if that worked or if I need to redecorate the bathroom.
*one of the drugs they give you, oxaliplatin, has platinum in it
I would say that, with hypersensitivity to cold, at least you are having this in summer. But then, I look out of the window...
ReplyDeleteI know you are not having a great time right now, and I know this treatment may or will become difficult. Nevertheless, I would like to offer you a place to stay in Zurich, Switzerland (because I am reading you from here), from a wheelchair accessible building in Zrurich Seebach. If you think you would like to make a "tourist trip" and come to Switzerland please let me know. I'd be most happy to welcome you.
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