h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

senior specialist cancer nurse, from my chemo dept, phoned me, this evening.

doctors, they've looked at my scan from today.

chemo tomorrow is canceled.

chemo, may be, finished.

radiation here we come.

2 cycles seems to have been sufficient, not the 6 they thought they'd need; I did try to tell them I'm 2legs, and I wouldn't stand for Mr Hodgkins being inside my body, but they woudln't listen.

I. err. gosh.

will get details, know plan, for certain, etc, a week today, after doctors meet doctor, meet radiologist doct, on weds.

I think I'm going to burst into tears.

Sounds like progress!

I may join you in the tears. Well, maybe not quite tears, but my eyes certainly misted up when I read that.





Deb

What deb said

*Brings in a basket of mufflewhumps*

Stopped crying, whiped away tears, long enough to throw a pizza in to cook, with some chips; gave up on earlier plan.... for food... my mind wasn't on it... had that with all the remaining salad, as I'll get more tomorrow.

Soaked in a bath of about eight quids worth .... err, more like ten quids worth of Lush 'product' for an hour
applied sufficient coconut oil moisturisation to probably run a domestic oil heater, for a week
danced, badly, sung terably, too Prince, whilst moisturising. and... then the damn dacarbazine mouth kicked in somewhat ruining plans of Guinness, I might have had... - hot flushes now too.... - chemo drugs just letting me know they're still there
Not entirely sure I got my head round the whole diagnosis thing; not helped that I can't remember being diagnosed... heck I can't even recall visiting the GP in the first place, to get the lymphoma lump examined and... so. very. odd... hmm. which is, well, just rahter me, afterall.... so perhaps only to be expected

pah. the celibratory drink should wait anyhow. Until tomorrow, when William's here (he doesn't drink mind)... gona take him out for a meal.... and he can be ther ewhen I have a celibratory beer, of some kind
bit early for celibrations mind.... Its probably not over... until.... Hildaguard removes my port and that'll be...... months and months away I think... - I'm guessing there's quite a few 'moments' from this point on, which seem like the celibrating ones...

well.

what's a girl to do... cept celibrate them all I guess..

hmm. but... for tonight... I think I'll just settle for more tears... they don't seem quite finished yet

I am so happy to hear it!

slight detour in the plan today
woke..... feeling so grotty.... checked temp; running high; been at hospital six hours plus prodded, pokesd, bloods, etc...

my bloods are so cool though; n neuts up to 3.4, and WBC cool too; small infection, have oral antibiotics, and some antibiotic eyedrops, as it looks like my right eye might have a bit of an infection got to see our ... my delightful consultant.... wearing a very poor choice of dress

off out soon I think, with W for meal, and probably then to pub.... (my neuts were .25, after cirst chemo, and 1.6, from memory, after the last, on teh 26 march, so ) I need...... a beer

Meal was gorgeous.... decided we were both too tired to go to pub, and , anyhow, its Friday... not sure I fancy that* level of busy
just had a bottle of Guinness though and no dacarbazine mouth to get in the way of tasting it... pah... screw it... think I'll ahve a second... Sir's here... so... I can't* be being disobedient... honest...

William's gone to bed.... this... bottled Guinness is loverly.... oops; I didn't realise ts 7.6% though... Oops well.... I'll not drink any more... this is the forth and final bottle in the fridge ,blush> <slg I am celibrating. afterall.

Not entirely sure its safe to be celibrating the end of Mr Hodgkin's quite yet; not sure one can ever truely really do that, when it comes to cancer anyhow... - in which case, I'm celibrating lover. William's love for me, and mine for him. If anything.... its.... if not moreso, then more.... obvious.... since the whole current nonsense started.... (err, this cancer nonsense/interuption) I just.... Hmmm. sort of hard to describe... like earlier, wehn I was in the chemo/cancer ward, laying on the bed... baored stiff. waiting for 'stuff' to happen... and just so tedious... and sir just... touched my arm... and.... hmmm. I'm not sure I can blame some* things on chemo side-effects but... I'm sure my entire body isn't ment to ... react... respond in quite that way, to just being touched on the arm/hand

right... nuff of that ... poncy wishy washy nonse... I've beer to drink... it might be the last bottle... I know for certain there's two more cans too - if tea, bleocin, vineblastin dacarbazine, and adrenocine haven't finished Mr Hodginkins', off... I'm sure I can finish the job, with tea, and Guinness - screw sanity. its over rated. as is, come to think of t=it.... normality... I reject both... vermantly - gona get more ribbon for my ... deminishing hair tomorrow -- still baffled... or just annoyed, I've a fabulus bakini line for the summer... and haven't had to shave my pits for ages... so why on do I still have to shave my beard/moustache, every day and.... ya know... I might just* about hold on to my head hair, until the bitter end of treatment, at this rate; damnit; I must have had thick hair to start with judging by the bin in my bedroom; it only* contains hair... and there is so* much right. more beer.... - You only die never, afteall. apparently...

Ok. so I drunk the four 330 ML bottles of teh 7. whatever it was, expoort guinness, last night... then discovered two cans of the regular stuff, in the fridge, and quaffed them too before bed.... at which point I had a bananna and soem grapes for supper.... and, then circa 4 AM... decided it was long enough after the first antibiotic tablet, for me to be able to speed up the 5 day course, to ... 5 days, and so took an antibiotic before bed... and so today became day 2 of 5 on teh antibiotics...

felt fine... ish... on waking... well; stiff all over (stop sniggering, no* not there!), aching muscles all over, arthritic joints, and pain, but, nothign unuseual; I wonder how long before the chemo drugs work out of my system....
thick, chemo brain/brain fog... but nothing more than useual, despite the beer
got up... about 10 made and had coffee, tidied up in kitchen, steralised worktops etc
Sir woke and got up about 11...
then... by 12.30... <sleepY. I felt.... pretty damn dredful; worse than I have done, after actual chemo
so Sir and I went to bed... until like 4 PM though I barely slept, I just whimpered and hugged/cuddled a teddy whilst Sir cuddled me and ... sort of dozed....
felt fine, though on waking... well, sort of ; useual ching, arthritus, pain, muscles brain fog, etc, but fine like innit...
port a bit hurty too, from the needles, the other day... err... friday innit...
went out for a walk...

took in:

habidashari!- got pink ribbon; 1 yard... well, OK one meter

so... now ahve 1 meter ribbon tied in bow, on hairband; one in pink, and the same length, in purple - more ribbon than pony tail
then...

we hit Lush

spent even more than I did, last Sunday... hmm.... damnit... so that purchase sunday didn't even quite last a week.
then. ---

we went to Boots; and I got rubber ducks! - to complete, the bath experience

pizza, salad, and chips, etc., for dinner; I was too to make real food

then... I spent most of the evenign, curled up, half on sofa, half on Sir's lap, being a cat... or, at least, trying to convince Sir I was a cat - he insists I've the wrong number o fnipples to be a cat... but I'm adament... If I say I'm a cat... and when I am cat... I'm a ing cat so... laid on teh sofa/Sir's lap, for like two hours... err... actually more like four and a bit... purring.... and meowing unconvincingly.... whilst being... petted and having my (remaining) hair stroked and stuff - really must get a little bell I can clip onto the collar for when...

sort of tired.... but not tired... as useual but... bed is kinda appealing right now.... - combination I guess, of chemo side affects still; pains, aching joints, muscles, thick chemo head/brain fog, headhacy thinggy, feeling of disconnect from my own body sort of thinggy... and aching and stuff, and the hot/cold flushes and sweating combined with my poor dekrepid immune system, (well, the neuts and WBC weren't too low), fighting the infection, plus teh antibiotics draining more energy from me, plus maybe a wee bit of affect of the booze last night, plus tiredness, plus the chemo fatigue, plus... stuff... and... yeh... innit
Housework and things tomorrow; must do laundry, I've barely anything to wear no... seriously.... ; the new teddy (underwear variety), I was sent, is like... really about the only clean item of ... clothing I have Hmmmf...... if I don't do laundry tomorrow, I'lll have to waer that, or/and the purple dress I have... and ... I think my lodger will think I've really lost the plot if I start wearing them about the house; and I might get odd looks tomorrow, in town when we go shopping with Sir... hmm. yeh, like I really care anymore actually ...

Oyh#!!!! Oh!!!!!!!]


one of teh gorgeous, helpful girls in Lush!!!!! - she showed me her hair!

want. so want... I so so so wanna have my hair like that! braided!- so long! so... awww... she let me feel it... |Nd I said how I'd love tfgo have my hair like that, once its all fallen out adn grown back again!

- Think I heard her right... she said she'd do it for me but... blimey... that'll take a whiel, I'll need to get my hair ... like I'm guessing down to my waist for it work like her's - I was so* envious

think I may go to bed soon. partake in some of this sleeping thing I've heard so much about... apparently ill people are ment to do it although.... although..... I may ahve.... accidentially..... bought another eight cans of Guinness ealrier from nextdoor... no. no. no. that woudl be a stupid. silly thing to do. and. bad... and disobedient.... I told Sir I'd be up .... soon ... ish... and not* stay up too... silly late yes. to bed. ... in a moment... or two...

It's not over yet, but that is *very* good news. I'm very happy!

I'm not quite sure I understood what you were saying about the antibiotics. Drinking on antibiotics isn't the major nono American doctors lead us to believe for so many years, but don't cut your regimen short if that's what you were suggesting. Once prescribed antibiotics you have to complete the series or you end up making stronger bacteria. But you probably knew that so I suspect that's not what you meant. You probably just meant it was late enough in the day to consider it the next day. As long as you still end up with 5 full days, then...


Nevermind.

I think he meant that 5 days' worth will cover 5 days instead of 5-and-a-bit days Like how I managed to juggle times to make my 10 day course (strep throat) last month come out to an even 10 days.

yep, that's it; rahter than finisheing half way through wed, I'll finish thuesday evening - not sure how long the eye drops will last tnough... but they don't really make me feel in the way I think the antibiotics may be doing - depending on news thursday wihen we see consultant, and how I'm feeling, I've a cunning plan to maybe dash Sir and I away, for a long weekend (not far away mind), fgor a break, whislt we've a cahnce; it'll be the longest since chemo infusion, at about three weeks or so, so guessing my bloods will be sutiably high on WBC neuts etc and can risk eating out etc, just see how I'm feeling up for travelling far or not and likelyhood of having energy to actuall do anythign whilst there - afterall, my maternity bag which is contantly packed and on standby, is basically all I'll need... hmm.... well, I'll throw the flogger and a few other items in it, natch; I didn't think I'd be needing those at teh hospital (and yes, I do call it my maternity bag; just a bag of essential items, packed ready, for when/if I need it; coco butter moisturiser, almond oil cuticle pen, nail files, razor, chey butter soap, shaving stick thing, flannel, etc, plus a few lightweight shirts, and a pair of trousers and ... oddly... enough for me... some ... kinda 'male' style undergarments ) and.... a supprisngly lack of 'toys' now I come to think of it

well, I think the weekend away would be a coll idea if we can do it... - if the hospti8al wanna move fast, and can do so, and its gona do what I think, I might be sitting getting my first dose radiation within a few days after the weekend

went to a pet shop today.

I bought a pack of tiny little bells.... for a cat collar.... and so now I've got one on Sir's/Ma'ams collar so I can properly be a cat ..

I so can't do sneaking about abnymore.... what with the cat bell on my collar, and the anklet of chainmail with bells on too

utterly knackered myself having walked out to the big pet store, and looked round a few other places en route and got a few things from teh cheap food place there; I have get my tea there, as I'm drinking so much now
right. tim eto go lay and curl up... and pretend I'm a cat again One advantage to being a cat... for some of the day; cat doesn't have lymphoma, or chemo drugs in it, or indeed an infection or antibiotics, or aching muscles... so... its kinda nice being cat <blackacat.

things.... still seem to be getting weirder and werider..... long may it continue we could be having mushy peas by the weekend