Chemotherapy - 4 down...2 to go

4 down! Wow it feels good to write that. I'm over the halfway point now and I can just about see the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

On Monday I had my first Herceptin injection. I was really anxious about it but it wasn't too bad. I had it on the chemo ward but in a private room. A private room sounds glam doesn't it?! But I think they only put me in there because the injection goes in to my thigh so I had to take my tights off. I don't want to frighten the gents on the ward.

The injection felt a little bit like a local anesthetic. It stung a little and the stinging sensation came and went every few seconds until it was done. Then I had to wait on the ward for 6 hours in case I had an allergic reaction. 

While I was waiting they decided to give me another blood test before my chemo on Tuesday. My right arm is not in the best shape at the moment so getting blood from me is a struggle. They managed to get blood from the side of my thumb in the end. Nice.

As I was starting a new dose of chemo on Tuesday one of the nurses thought it was a good idea to weigh me to check they have the correct dose. 

'Have I put weight on?' I asked the nurse. 

'Yep.'

'Oh. I thought my clothes felt a bit tighter'.

'Don't worry most ladies put on about a stone during chemo'.

Great. Chemotherapy really is the gift that keeps on giving.

On Tuesday I had my fourth cycle of chemo. My first dose of Docetaxel. Docetaxel is administered via a drip so it's a bit less intimate than when I had EC chemo through jumbo syringes. 

As docetaxel is a much stronger chemo they have upped my steroid dose to eight a day before chemo and then down to two a day after chemo. I'm also having to have GCSF injections. 

GCSF injections make my bone marrow produce more white blood cells as the Docetaxel makes my white blood cells dangerously low. I have these daily from day three to day ten. I can have them at home so I was going to get a district nurse to do them for me. But for convenience Doctor Micheles going to give them a go! 

Unfortunately a side effect of the GCSF injections is bone pain. This is also a side effect of Docetaxel. So that means double the bone pain. 

Bone pain hurts...it hurts a lot.