Clinic and Treatment

Saturday 1st July - Sunday 2nd July 2017
Had a quiet weekend - did the usual grocery shopping and sleeping! Sunday - went to church in the morning - rested and slept a while during the afternoon then enjoyed a quiet evening with Sam & Reno in front of the TV!

Monday 3rd July 2017
Had an appointment today at 9.15 a.m. in the breast clinic for a wound check and clean-up. The clinic was really busy and so I wasn't called through until around 10.30! This was the first appointment I had been to on my own since my treatment began! Decided it was about time I attended on my own instead of troubling anyone to be with me! However, it turned out that for some reason I was to have a very weepy day! My nurse (Alyson) called me in, asked me how I was and Bingo! tears started to fall, I felt really silly but Alyson assured me that this was perfectly normal and I was bound to be feeling a bit anxious with my results day (Friday 7th) drawing close. Anyway my surgeon was soon with us and he explained that I still have some fragile skin on the operation site and also some swelling which he seemed to think should have reduced by now, but it has only been 12 days since my surgery and I do still have a fair amount of bruising. He was happy for the remainder of the small dressings to be removed and said he would see me again on Friday unless I was overly concerned before then and I could ring the clinic to be seen on Wednesday. Once he had left the room Alyson then asked me how high I could raise my left arm - I thought I was doing quite well with my exercises but once my arm is raised so far I feel pain in my armpit and it feels like something is going to snap! Alyson explained that this is to do with the lymph nodes having some removed and that I need to massage where the pain is in order to raise my arm further - if not I would never be able to raise my left arm as high as I can raise the right arm! She suggested that I increased the number of painkillers I am taking to help me cope with the pain and discomfort whilst exercising. We then had a chat about how I was feeling and she explained once again that although I have been doing really well these last six months, I still have a long way to go on my road to recovery and I should not be disillusioned when I get days when I feel down or tearful. She once again assured me that this was all very 'normal'.
After being seen in clinic I then had to go to oncology for my dose of Herceptin. Once there and settled in one of the big comfy chairs Helen, who would be looking after me, came over and asked how I was Bingo! here we go again more tears. I really did need to pull myself together! We had a chat and Helen told me exactly what would happen with the injection but decided to wait for a few minutes before going ahead as I had a text from Sam saying that she was on her way to be with me as she didn't like the thought of me being on my own! Bless her! Once Sam arrived we moved into a side room for the injection which lasted around 5 minutes and was put into my thigh - there was a stinging sensation at first but then we were chatting and I really didn't feel it any more! I then moved back out to the bay in my comfy chair where Helen said they would monitor me for a while before I would be allowed home. Here I made my apologies to Sam whose hand had been squeezed extremely hard when the injection first began!!! (I had actually left finger marks on her!!) My niece arrived to take us home and once we were home and had lunch .......you guessed it......I had a sleep.
On reflection I had had a bit of a funny day but I persuaded myself that it was probably due to the fact that I am apprehensive about Friday - it's going to be a big day but hopefully it will be a positive one so that I can once again move forward with confidence and just get on with my recovery!!
Tomorrow is another day and I am determined it will be a restful but good one!