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Monday 24 April 2017

Chemo 2.0

I'm going to be starting some more chemo which will help to attack the small new part in my brain and hopefully will help to kill the one in my spine too. This chemo is different to the last one I had (temozolomide) it's 3 different chemotherapy's together and it's called PCV. I will get my bloods checked on to see what my platelets are like to check if it is okay for me to have the chemotherapy, this is what the chemo is: 

•Procarbizine, CCNU(lomustine) & Vincristine

Each cycle of this is 6 weeks, on the first day I'll have Vincristine (intravenous) & Lomustine(4 tablets that I take on the day with the Lomustine) then the following day I'll start a 10 day course of Procarbizine tablets(which is 3 tablets a day). When that finishes I'll have no more treatment until the 6 weeks is over then I'll start the cycle again. There are obviously side effects to this medication, I'm most worried about the fatigue and losing my hair and also having aches & pains from the drugs as I don't want this to interfere with my physio because what affects me the most is having my independence taken away from me and not being able to walk/use my left arm so I'm determined to get it back, but with tiredness and aching from drugs this can be hard for me  to keep working so hard. Also, my hair is still growing back from my last lot of treatment and I'm concerned that I'll lose it all again after I just started to feel better about my hair because it was growing back. There are many other side effects but I'm not an expert so I've just mentioned a couple that I know already. I hate that these drugs are supposed to make you better but actually they can make you feel worse, although I know I just have to deal with it & get on with it otherwise I'm never going to beat this cruel disease. 

My advice to anyone who is starting cancer treatment  and anyone who is worried about the treatment & its side effects is to make sure although you still want to get on with everything ( like me with my physio) you have to give yourself time to rest and be kind to yourself. Make sure you have plenty of rest & also to keep your spirits up don't let the treatment stop you from doing things that make you happy. For me this is things like singing & seeing my friends; the treatment is rubbish but if you give yourself time to rest then it won't stop you from doing the things that you love and that make you happy. 

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