I had my 6th cycle of the Cetuximab on Tuesday 11th February. The treatment went very well and Wendy and I got away soon after my treatment ended around noon and we made our way to Pret a Manger for soup and a roll. This seems to be developing into a habit now as they do some terrific soups that we can't resist.
Friday 14 February I was booked in for a CT scan at 10.30 am so I could not eat any food after 8.30 am but needed to drink plenty of fluids, I left home to catch the bus at 9.30 am allowing plenty of time to get to the Hospital. As there was a backlog of urgent patients my scan was delayed but I did manage to get home around 12.30 pm ready for a good early lunch with Wendy. Soon after we had finished I had a phone call from the registrar of the radiography department to say that my scan that I had earlier was showing that I had a blood clot on my lung!! They had already made an appointment for me at the Kingston A and E department and advised me to get down to A and E as soon as possible. So we dropped everything and caught the buses to the Hospital. We had to wait for about an hour before we could see the triage nurse but once we saw her we went through pretty quickly, whilst others were being kept waiting for up to 3 hours. I had a thorough examination by the doctor who said that it was policy to put chemotherapy patients on a drug called Fragmin which had to be self injected daily for 6 months. They don't use Warfarin as it takes too long to establish the right dose, plus it may affect the chemotherapy treatment. Fortunately for me I have Alison at home and she is giving me my injections, however when she goes away I guess I shall have to do it myself.
Week beginning 17 February. On Tuesday I had my left ear syringed at Teddington Hospital, at last I have no wax in that ear. On Wednesday I had my PICC line cleaned at Kingston, Thursday I saw the doctor in the anticoagulation department and Friday I went into Kingston Hospital again to collect my Fragmin prescription. What a week no wonder I sometimes feel so tired.
Monday 24 February. What a beautiful winters day, the sun is shining and the thermometer is rising. Today I have to go in to give bloods between 1.30 and 3 pm so that they can check my performance is up to scratch. Tomorrow is the big day when I get the results of my scan, hopefully the results will show that the drug is working and the treatment can carry on. Otherwise the situation is uncertain as they are intimating that they are running out of drug options for me. Hopefully and God willing I will be able to continue with my treatment.
