Hair today............

Just a short update before I go into the second cycle of chemo.
So far, the past three weeks have been very kind to me. With the exception of the first weekend after C1D1, I have been really well, with no real side effects worth commenting on - although to be fair I imagined that I have had all of the possible symptoms for at least one minute each.

And the thing is that I still have my hair! The nurses in the clinic were very emphatic on this: "you will lose your hair!" and their best guess was C1D12-D14. Here we are at C1D19, and no clumps of bottle blond on the pillow in the morning, no excess hair in the hair brush, no hair clogging the drain after the morning shower. Ha! I'll show them! I refuse to bow to traditional chemo reaction. I will NOT lose my hair! And if I do, I'm going to keep my eyebrows.

A small crisis on Saturday, when one of the clamps in the line between the chemo bottle and the hole in my chest came slightly undone, allowing blood and mixed-in chemo to seep through onto my T-shirt and jumper. Problem was, we were at the shopping centre, so it was all a bit obvious. We raced me off to the ER at Canberra Hospital, where they re-attached things, put in a new port, and chucked my clothing into a toxic waste bucket (they're purple!). Bloody hell, that's what I've got coursing through my veins, and its too dangerous to touch? That was an interesting touch.

Oh, and I tried out the compatibility of my chemo pump with airport security checks last week too. The rent-a-cop security types didn't like it, and asked obvious questions, like: " Would you take that off and put it through the x-ray machine, please Sir?" But when they eventually got the idea, they just went over me with a fine-toothed comb (the metal detecting wand, actually). It only took a few minutes, and then I was on my way. I am guessing, tho, that I would need a note from my mother if I was intending to fly internationally - the bottle holds more than 100mls! And I bet I wouldn't get into the States at all. hooked up like I am now. Happy to be proven wrong of course ....

I had a lovely email last week from a stranger who was referred to the blog by a friend (who I also didn't know) who thought she might find it useful in her particular circumstances. She did, and let me know. It made my day. Feel free to pass the address on to anybody you think might be interested or find it useful.

And I am back at work full time, and have been for around six weeks. I've missed a couple of Sydney meetings, but otherwise am fully engaged back in the business of PEPworldwide. I've stepped aside from the top job into a role responsible for marketing and communication.