After the surgery, apart from a scare on the early morning after I came home, which turned out to be nothing, I was recovering quite well and with the help of a dietitian, my bible study group providing healthy meals and advice from the hospital physios I was starting to become healthier and in no time lost a fair amount of weight. The recovery went by very quickly and before I knew it the chemo appointment had come.

 

Upon visiting the oncologist, I was given a bunch of information, as well as the protocol I would undergo each treatment cycle (every two weeks). This protocol included a 4 hour visit in the cancer centre, where I received a few medications, one of which would give me cold sensitivity for a few days, as well as a take home bottle they called a pump (basically like a little drip) that would need to be taken off after 48 hrs or so in the same treatment room. The chemo treatment then started two weeks afterwards. Although, I wasn't really nervous, I did feel this was very rushed, mainly due to not asking enough questions to fully understand the whole process before it started. However, in hindsight this was good as it meant that I would be through the whole process within one year.

 

A few days after the first treatment, I had extreme nausea and had to be enrolled into hospital again. I was very shocked with this, as I was under the impression that after the pump had finished and it was taken off that my side effects would go away and I would feel like normal until the next treatment. After talking to the oncologist during my hospital stay I found out that this was just the way my body reacted to the initial shock of the chemo medication, so while I was there he changed my medication regime, which made me feel a lot better. I would have to continue this regime each cycle of chemo. The hospital stay took a fair while longer than predicted, because a pre-existing condition reared its head, for which the nurses told me I could not leave the hospital until the condition stopped. This made me feel very anxious (this anxiety continued on the next few cycles), which increased the nausea and changed the way I managed the medication while I was in hospital. This was made worse due to the doctor that knew about the condition wasn't available until the last day of my stay, thankfully he gave me a clean bill of health and after confirmation with my oncologist I was allowed home that afternoon.

 

First Few Treatment Cycles