Today I met my oncologist, the lovely Dr B.
Dr B was lovely and kind, just like everyone else I had met at Poole Hospital these last few weeks, so I was always made to feel comfortable. I came to this appointment on my own as Laura was working, and I had already been given the worst news, so didn’t think I would need any support this time.
Nurse D, the research nurse, was also in the room with Dr B, and she started by explaining that unfortunately, the blood results haven’t come back from the genetics lab, so I still didn’t know if I was BRCA positive, and therefore I couldn’t be on the trail. I could have waited for the results, but Dr B did not want to delay the chemotherapy anymore.
Dr B said that she had gone through all of my information with Dr E and agreed with her course of treatment. Chemotherapy, Surgery then radiotherapy. Now normally, people who have cancer have a 3-week cycle of chemotherapy. i.e, they have all the drugs needed in 1 hit, and then they come back 3 weeks later and have it again for 6 cycles. However, even though I was not able to be part of the trial, the way they have been doing the chemotherapy with their patients has been showing really good results. Some results have been so good that when they finish chemo, the tumour can no longer be found! Great news!
She explained that I would have:
- Chemotherapy – I will have this every Friday for 21 weeks! I will have Paclitaxel every Friday, and every 3rd Friday I also have Carboplatin. After 9 weeks I will then have an ultrasound/mammogram to see if the chemotherapy is shrinking the tumour.
- Surgery – Surgery will depend on the outcome of the scans, but also if I have the BRCA gene. She explained that if I do have the BRCA gene, it would most likely be recommended for a full mastectomy to reduce the risk of cancer coming back. If I do not have the BRCA gene, then they will remove the tumour, and a margin around the tumour, and also remove some of my lymph nodes and biopsy them to check if cancer has spread or not.
- Radiotherapy – I really cannot remember what she said at this point regarding radiotherapy. I think just dealing with the chemo first, and surgery, and then I will come back to that when I need to!
I asked Dr B if this type of way of chemotherapy doing is working so well, why is it not done with everyone, and she explained that because the chemo is every Friday, it is aggressive on the body, and people who may be a little bit older, or not in good health, just wouldn’t be able to tolerate the amount of chemotherapy being had. Hopefully, I am healthy enough to take it too!!
Dr B then explained to me that she wanted to start treatment ASAP and that I can have a place starting on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve! She said I could have the option to delay it, but why? In my mind, let’s just get it started, get it done, so I can start getting on with the rest of my life! She then explained that because I will be having chemo every Friday, I also need to go to the hospital every Thursday for blood tests (these are to check that my immune system is well enough to take chemo) and then also Covid Tests every Thursday! So, pretty much, going to hospital 3 x a week! I, however, am very lucky, that I live a 5-minute drive from the hospital.
After going through some more bits about the drugs, I had to ask a few questions of my own. How diminished is my immune system going to be? Was I allowed out? Can I have people around my house? She explained that I need to be sensible, especially with Covid. I don’t need to isolate completely, but I need to stay away from sick people as when I am going through chemo, my immune system will be pretty crap, so it won’t be able to fight off normal colds or infections. She also mentioned that isolating while going through chemotherapy is bad for your mental health, so she encourages seeing people if possible and safe to do so. The reason for my concern is that Laura has a 6-year-old son, and I want to make sure that she does not have to stop seeing him whilst I am going through treatment. She explained that it was okay to see him, but as kids are super-spreaders of everything, it is probably best if he doesn’t stay the night or get too close to me for long periods.
After this session, at least I now know, when I am starting, how long for, and what I need to do! The next step is to organise to see all my friends and family for Christmas before I start! 😊
After I meet with Dr B to give me the next steps, I started to feel pretty unwell and realised (as I had forgotten) that I had been suffering from a sore throat for most of the day. It kept getting worse and worse, and as I looked in the mirror, I could see that my tonsils were covered in white. Brilliant! I had tonsilitis! Knowing that I had chemotherapy starting in 10 days, I called the Doctors straight away who prescribed me penicillin for the next 10 days. For the next 2 days, I was bedridden. I slept all day and sweated out the infection. Disgusting, and exactly what I need just before starting chemotherapy! Not!
UPDATE: Luckily the penicillin helped, and by the last day of taking it – on my chemo day (24th) a95% of the white on my tonsils had gone, my blood was normal, and I was able to carry on with Chemo.