2nd Chemo done and dusted

I completed my second Chemotherapy this Wednesday just past....what a day!  After my first, I was feeling quite apprehensive and nervous about how my body would react to the drug which I'd had a reaction to on the first go....the infusion went ok for the first 5-10 minutes and I was feeling positive, however, then my body decided that it still didn't like the drug....so once again, they stopped it, pumped me full of drugs and and then came back and said they were going to try it again... needless to say, I was concerned and apparently my pulse rate was showing my concern as well...anyway, thankfully because I was so full of drugs, the second time went without incident.  I then had the second drug and then a third drug...which was a complete surprise and news to me.  It sent me off on another little worry trail...why were they adding drugs, it the other stuff not working and so on.  I realized that I just needed to trust the doctors that they know what they are doing...and to remember to ask the oncologist for more explanation when I see her next.  It was an extremely long day with the additional,drug and I was quite exhausted in the evening.  The day after I felt relatively well, though did feel slightly nauseous afterward, but nothing too concerning.  The second and third day's after the chemo have been something else completely and totally unexpected.  I have been feeling so many muscle aches and joint pains, along with tingling in my fingers and toes and these are just relentless...I don't seem to be able get much relief from them even with taking panadol!  I certainly hope these effects don't last for days on end as they are certainly draining me.  Thankfully I have friends praying for me and I know that the Lord is in complete control over my body....as a friend recently said to me, cancer is not in control of your body, the Lord Is....oh how I am having on to this promise at present.  I'm not sure if anyone is even reading this blog, but if you are and you are the praying type, I would certainly appreciate your prayers and uplifting.

My First Chemotherapy

So this Tuesday just past, I fronted up for my first Chemotherapy treatment.  I was feeling apprehensive about how it would go, but also very positive that I would respond well and hopefully not feel too tired or unwell afterwards.  Because I was unable to be seen before Christmas at Box Hill hospital, I was able to attend a Centre near to my home which was actually great for me!  So up I rocked up at 9.30am.  Initially there were several other patients waiting to have their treatments set up, so one of the nurses came and chatted to me about side effects and what preparation I had completed the day before, to which I responded none...she was somewhat shocked at apparently there were drugs I was meant to take orally in prep for the big day.  So she then had to administer some other things before I could get underway.  This all proceeded without a hitch.  The. She was ready to start me in the first main drug, something called Taxol...she advised me that she would be starting the dose low, and then after seeing my response after 15 minutes, would increase the infusion to its full strength.  All the time she was saying to let her know if I felt strange or odd throughout the process.  Well!  Basically as soon as those drugs hit my system, I felt the strangest EVER!  Intitially I was seeing stars and sparkly things above my head, I felt a tightening in my throat and chest, increasing temperature and then the most excruciating pain in my lower lumbar region of my spine.  I said straight away I was feeling unwell and immediately the treatment was ceased and I was then pumped with Phenergan to reverse the whole thing.  So that was the end of that drug for the day.  After I had recovered from this...and believe me, thankfully it didn't take too long for all of those symptoms OT dissipate, the nurse suggested that because I would be quite drowsy for sometime after the antihistamine, would I be willing to try the next drug, as she reassured me that I was unlikely to experience such a reaction.  I felt confident in her reassurance and agreed.  Thankfully this infusion went without incident and once it had been through my system and then flushed, I was ready to go home.  Thankfully I had a friend who was able to come and drive me home in my own car.  I was mentally prepared to feel unwell potentially overnight, however I actually felt really well and when I woke ont he Wednesday morning, I felt even better.  In fact, I felt better than I had for the previous 6 weeks since my surgery!  Thanks be to God for that.  So, my next chemo with be a challenge as I submit to the Lord my fears and apprehensions fro my first experience.  I do know however, that I will be able to pray specifically for the next treatment and hopefully be better prepared practically as well.  The other good thing is that the next treatment is after Christmas.
So that is my lengthy update.  Thanks for reading and coming on this journey with me.

A New Journey

Well, again it has been many months since I posted anything on this blog....primarily because there hasn't been much to say.  I have however decided to record a journey on which I am about to embark and which I may find therapeutic...hopefully!  For a bit of background, back in early September I was experiencing very sharp abdominal pains and also discovered a hard mass in this region.  A trip to the GP saw me sent for an ultrasound, Gynecologist appointment, CT scan.  The result from this was an appointment with a gynecologist oncologist who gave me the news that I had a massive growth on my ovaries.  Fast forward a few weeks and this saw me have a hysterectomy which removed the bulk of the mass, along with all my other reproductive organs.  I was quite at peace about this as I had never had children  and wasn't expecting to do so at the age of 53.  I was very relieved not to be too concerned as I know this can be a particularly difficult thing for many.  The surgery went well and they removed everything as planned.  Thankfully they didn't need to remove any lymph nodes or bowel.  This I saw as a good sign.  I will however need to have chemotherapy, which I was hoping and praying would not be the case.  In fact, all along, I had been hopeful that the mass was not cancerous, I kept saying that our family does not have a history of cancer and so on.  However this was not to be...and so I have been diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer...there, I have said it!  Despite this, I continue to experience the peace which passes all understanding.  I hope this narrative of my journey will be a testament to the faithfulness of the Lord.  I have felt so uplifted through this journey so far and pray that I will continue to trust in the Lord that he has my whole life in his hands.

Sadly a week after I came home from hospital, my Mum had a fall and broke her hip.  She was operated on, however a week following her surgery, she died peacefully from kidney failure....which she had been diagnosed with over 12 months ago.  Mum had been worried about me, and her health had been deteriorating slowly and she had said many times that she was ready to go...so this week we said our farewells to Mum.  Another challenge has since presented itself to our family, where my Dad, who has dementia landed in hospital having spent a night on the kitchen floor after trying to clean up some water he had spilled, but he couldn't get himself up.  Anyway, he is on the mend, however whether or not he'll be able to go home is another thing...but I am just taking one day at a time at the moment.
Well, I think I have said enough for the time being...next week I have an appointment about when the chemotherapy is to start, so I will be praying that this all goes smoothly.  Will post again soon...thanks for reading.

New work

Wow, I can't believe it's over 6 months since I posted on this blog.....I really think I need to shut it down as I tend to post more on Instagram these days...there isn't the pressure to write a novel!  Anyway, here is a photo of some recent napkins I dyed with my Indigo....I used chopsticks tied with rubber bands to get the sharp white lines and really love the effect....and it is so easy to do too!