Julie's cancer Journey

Julie’s cancer Journey

After such a large operation, I adopted a careful balance of rest and activity. I was on pain-killers for four weeks. The Cancer Care Centre at Unley provided wonderfu support and I found resources there. A naturopath recommended many expensive supplements and informed the oncologist to avoid conflict. I went back to work five weeks after the operation.

The first of 12 cycles of chemotherapy began In March, six weeks after the operation, deIivered through an “infuser port” which surgically implanted the week before. It can be pierced by a needle indefinitely and has a catheter attached which delivers straight into a large vein to prevent damage to the vein which can occur with multiple injections. It took a few hours to deliver the first drug and other medications. I was given a pump to use at home over the next 36 hours to deliver the remaining 50 mls of chemotherapy at regular intervals. The pump whirred every minute delivering a miniscule 0.02 mls. I returned to the clinic to have the pump and connecting tube removed. Talk about toxic shock! It was a debilitating experience.

I didn’t need the anti-nausea medication which surprised the clinical nurse, but I had other typical side effects – tingling fingertips, sensitivity, jaw discomfort when I ate. I also felt depressed. I had coped with the clinic the first time as a kind of interesting project. It would be hard to return for the second dose.

A fortnight afterwards, I returned and had a blood test before receiving my second dose. However, the oncologist reported that my white blood count was below normal and too low for chemo to proceed. I felt like I had been let off the hook and I went back to work. Another blood test a few days later showed the neutrophils were still too low and many more over two months confirmed my recalcitrant neutrophils refused to return to normal.

This presented the oncologist with a conundrum, which revealed the delicate nature of cancer treatment. He doubted that theoretical benefit of more chemo, based on statistical outcomes, outweighed the risk for me. If my neutrophils recovered, another dose of chemo would probably send them off again, maybe for a longer time. I would be too vulnerable to infection and
less likely to prevent any new cancers. He did discuss my case with colleagues and as expected he recommended that my chemotherapy be discontinued.

I was starting to feel really well almost two months after the first cycle of chemo. Psychological, I felt that if I was going to have chemo, I might have cancer. Once I was told that I might not be having chemo, I felt like the cancer had been removed. Cancer had never made me feel bad, but the operation and the chemo had. So, I am grateful for his “do no harm” approach and that my body said “no thanks”. Thankfully, the infuser port was surgically removed, but my bowels took months to return to normal.

Five months have passed since diagnosis and those dark days seem like a bad dream. I am continuing with gentler, alternative therapies and don’t feel I have eschewed mainstream medical practice.

Be Sociable, Share!