So apart from comprising Boxing Day, the last two days have been fairly similar with regards to my treatment. After the usual blood tests and pre-meds there hasn’t been a huge amount to report:

The chemicals:

each day at about 10:00am I am hooked up to a bag of cyclophosphamide which lasts about an hour. I read today that it leads to a high risk of infertility. Noting that this is the most common treatment in my regime, I’m glad I was able to bank some of my potential self on Monday!

How do I feel?

Yesterday, I felt a little uncomfortable after the treatment. I felt a little short of breath and light headed. I’ve experienced this before, and noting that I’m basically being poisoned, I expect to feel a little strange. Nevertheless, I mentioned it to the nurse. They were less concerned, but as a precaution performed some additional blood tests (to check for heart function) and hooked me up to an ECG machine (which I know from watching Holby City means Echo Cardiogram!) it was a little strange having sticky patches (about 8 in total) stuck all over my body, and cables linked up to a machine which ultimately produced an old style dot matrix print out! (Presumably of my heart rhythm). All was well though.

Each nurse and doctor I’ve spoken to, has reiterated the importance of drinking plenty of fluids. I appear to have fairly low blood pressure which they seem to attribute to me not drinking. As a middle distance runner, I’m fairly used to drinking water and I think with the ‘sloppy diet’ that I’m struggling through, I’m pretty confident of my hydration level.

This was further enforced when I was asked to sample 24hrs Urine for testing- I was given a jug and a 5 litre bottle, the nurse said I was unlikely to fill it, but to ask if I needed more!

After a good night’s sleep (with the aid of a tablet) I felt refreshed this morning. Although after having my shower, I felt really weak. Perhaps I’m a competitive bloke who doesn’t like loss of control, but having been pretty fit and healthy a couple of months ago and now being too weak to climb a flight of stairs without breaking a sweat is a little difficult to swallow.

On top of this, with annoying acid reflux aside, I think I’m starting to experience my first real symptom of treatment. Until now, although the food I’ve been eating has been strange and at times revolting to look at in a puréed form, it’s familiar and at times comforting taste has generally aided consumption. Now everything seems to have a kind of metallic taste, and without my sense of smell it’s difficult to distinguish from a cup of tea, a glass of water or the hideous ‘natural’ flavoured mouthwash I have to rinse with 3 times a day!

Some good news, however, I get a 2 day break from treatment and as my Haemoglobin levels seem to have restored slightly, I’ve been told that I can return to the comfort of my home until Monday when I’m due to start a 23hour course of Methotrexate (for which I as yet don’t have any information, I’m lead to believe is unlikely to be an enjoyable experience)