Last Thursday I made the train/tram/tram journey to Melbourne and visited my daughter and little grandkids and most important with this visit - my little one day old grandson Oliver! I had a very special cuddle and took photos on my new little smart phone ... only to delete them by accident when I got home! Whoops!! By the time I boarded my last train to come home I was totally exhausted and it took the next 2 days to get my strength back.
Yesterday Tuesday we fronted up at the day chemo/hospital for my weekly PICC dressing, bloods taken and across to see my oncologist for the okay to have chemo. No luck as I was anemic and my white blood cells way down so NO CHEMO HOWEVER A BLOOD TRANSFUSION WAS ORDERED IMMEDIATELY. So 4.5 hrs of sitting there having 2 lots of blood, we arrived at day chemo 11am and left at 6pm - a long day for both of us. A good friend who also has peritoneal meso came for a visit - part of Lou's team! Keith and him sit there while I have my PICC cleaned and chat away then we all go over to wait in my oncologist's rooms.
All week I have been experiencing bile taste/extreme breathing difficulty and tightness of the chest. Tonight I seem to have turned the corner thanks to the blood transfusion - no bile taste and the breathing has eased. The next side effect is my hair is falling out today - maybe by tomorrow it will have stopped.
Chemo back on the agenda next Tuesday for gemzar/day chemo, then the following day overnight in the hospital for cisplatin/24 hour flush.
http://www.fibreaware.org.nz/louise.htm The above link is a story of my dad and myself on Deidre's website in New Zealand.
http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/gary/daughters-of-the-dust-the-changing-face-of-mesothelioma.htm
“Daughters of the Dust: The Changing Face of Mesothelioma” by Gary Cohn is a powerful true story. For more than 100 years, asbestos has been known to cause deadly diseases, and more than 10,000 Americans die every year. As a mesothelioma
widow and co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an independent non-profit, we thank Heather, Lou, Debbie, and Janelle for using their voice to raise asbestos and mesothelioma awareness. While researchers and clinicians work on new treatments - Prevention remains the only cure. It’s time for the USA to ban asbestos to protect public health and our environment. We certainly don't need to import 1,000 tons of asbestos each year! Posted by Linda Reinstein
Both links are very powerful stories.
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