Chemo
We had to be up early to get the train back to Norwich in time to start the first round of chemo. Mel had a cannula inserted into her arm and the first of 6 rounds of chemo started. She started off with 3 rounds of FEC-T and then 3 rounds of Docetaxel. Treatment took place every three weeks.
That first night Mel was pretty sick and had left it a little late to take the anti sickness tablets. But fortunately the next day she managed to keep the tablets down and didn't really seem to be too ill after that. The first week she wasn't sick anymore then the second week after the first treatment her sense of taste went and so did her appetite plus she seemed to have a really sore throat which didn't help with eating.
I could see she was feeling worse and worse over the start of the second week but by the end of the week she did start to pick up and her sense of taste returned so the third week she was more or less feeling good. Her hair didn't really start falling out much over this time. Just a bit here and there. We did think for a bit that maybe she'd get lucky and wouldn't loose much.
Unfortunately after the second lot of chemo her hair fell out rapidly. It also took her longer to get back to normal over the second week. All in all though Mel coped with this fantastically well and we did end up being really busy on the weekends when she was feeling well. We very much had the attitude of making the most of things especially when Mel felt good to we had trips to the Sealife centre at Hunstanton, walks at Sheringham park and trips to the dinosaur park.We probably were far busier than we would have been had Mel not been ill. Also getting out more definitely helped Mel.
By the end of the third round of treatment pretty much all he hair had gone but through Big C she did get a wig which very closely matched her own hair colour and Mel's confidence with her "new" hair was cemented after taking our youngest daughter to a kids birthday party where Mel got nothing but compliments about her new hair. Surprising how few people realised it was a wig.
The hospital have been amazing throughout this and adjusted medication and treatment accordingly and the care she received from the lead consultants was truly first class.
Following the stint in hospital she became very anemic and had to have a blood transfusion as well. So after a normal chemo session she was hooked up to a blood bag and got a couple of pints as well.
The final session started and she hadn't really got back to normal and had no sense of taste so she never really had any interest in food and it was a challenge to eat. She mentioned a horrible after taste as well. These final few treatments seemed to merge into one long one and it took a good six weeks to really be back to feeling normal following the final round of chemo.
That first night Mel was pretty sick and had left it a little late to take the anti sickness tablets. But fortunately the next day she managed to keep the tablets down and didn't really seem to be too ill after that. The first week she wasn't sick anymore then the second week after the first treatment her sense of taste went and so did her appetite plus she seemed to have a really sore throat which didn't help with eating.
I could see she was feeling worse and worse over the start of the second week but by the end of the week she did start to pick up and her sense of taste returned so the third week she was more or less feeling good. Her hair didn't really start falling out much over this time. Just a bit here and there. We did think for a bit that maybe she'd get lucky and wouldn't loose much.
Unfortunately after the second lot of chemo her hair fell out rapidly. It also took her longer to get back to normal over the second week. All in all though Mel coped with this fantastically well and we did end up being really busy on the weekends when she was feeling well. We very much had the attitude of making the most of things especially when Mel felt good to we had trips to the Sealife centre at Hunstanton, walks at Sheringham park and trips to the dinosaur park.We probably were far busier than we would have been had Mel not been ill. Also getting out more definitely helped Mel.
By the end of the third round of treatment pretty much all he hair had gone but through Big C she did get a wig which very closely matched her own hair colour and Mel's confidence with her "new" hair was cemented after taking our youngest daughter to a kids birthday party where Mel got nothing but compliments about her new hair. Surprising how few people realised it was a wig.
Chemo Part 2
So it was very much a case of so far so good. Then she started on the Docetaxel which didn't seem to make her feel sick but she did say all sense of taste was gone to be replaced by a metallic taste and much more loss of appetite. It was during this first week of so of Docetaxel that she must have picked up a cold or something from the kids which really knocked her for six and she ended up in hospital for 4 days as a result. The dose she had been given was slightly too strong and she had a nasty reaction to it. Her hands swelled up and it made her throat so raw making it hard to drink.The hospital have been amazing throughout this and adjusted medication and treatment accordingly and the care she received from the lead consultants was truly first class.
Following the stint in hospital she became very anemic and had to have a blood transfusion as well. So after a normal chemo session she was hooked up to a blood bag and got a couple of pints as well.
The final session started and she hadn't really got back to normal and had no sense of taste so she never really had any interest in food and it was a challenge to eat. She mentioned a horrible after taste as well. These final few treatments seemed to merge into one long one and it took a good six weeks to really be back to feeling normal following the final round of chemo.
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