Day 8 - A question of taste

The prognosis for my condition is generally positive, so Vicki and I have taken the view that it is a little like having a bacteria infection. Get through the course of treatment and get on with life. This attitude has helped to keep our lives pretty normal to this point, which we felt was best for us and our kids. We have kept them informed and made sure they were aware of the seriousness of the condition without sugar-coating anything, but it was important to us that it not affect their lives too much and also so they could see how it can be overcome. I was particularly keen to continue my exercise to demonstrate to them that a cancer diagnosis doesn't have to mean sitting around all day if you are capable of activity. At this early stage, I'm not sure if I'll be physically able to keep exercising as the program progresses, but that is my goal for the next 7 weeks.

I woke just after 5am and went to look in the mirror at the redness on my face and chest. The colour had dulled a little, but it felt like I had a pretty bad case of sunburn, especially on my face. I patted my face down with cool water from the tap which was slightly soothing and went to my home office to do some work.

The skin on my face was blotchy and red, and there were tiny blister-like lumps around my nose that resembled acne. My cheeks were not sore to touch, but my nose was. The redness on my chin and neck that was evident after my radiation therapy yesterday had disappeared and the rash on my chest looked like any other rash, with red spots dotted over my chest and shoulders. It didn't appear the same as on my face.

I've been getting up during the night to go to the toilet more frequently the last two nights. This may be a symptom of the treatment or because I'm drinking far more water than normal. Radiation therapy patients consistently report that their saliva glands stop working as a result of the treatment (a well documented side effect), so I was advised to drink lots of water to counter this. I believe this advice was given to me to offset the loss of saliva once this had already occurred, but I figure drinking plenty of water might just help in some small way to protect my saliva glands and the drying out of my skin from the chemo. I may be completely wrong about this, but in my mind I have to try something rather than just accept it as an inevitable outcome. The trade-off is going to the loo more frequently.

I had a shower, breakfast of porridge and a cup of tea followed by smothering my face with Sorbalene cream and my M&T Routine.

I had some grocery shopping to do, so took off to get that done after having done a couple of hours work.

My radiation therapy appointment was at 3.20pm again but I was asked to get there earlier to complete a lifestyle questionnaire for the chemo trial. I arrived at 2.45pm and realised I had left my sign-in card at home. There was no-one on reception so I walked around to the waiting area and advised a Nurse I was there. Clearly I wasn't the first person to forget this card.

The card has your name and contact details on it, and also a sticker with a bar code. The procedure is to scan the bar code at a machine at the reception of the Radiation Oncology unit. This registers that you are there and the Therapists and Nurses come to get you from the waiting area when it is your turn.

A Nurse came to get me not long after my allotted time and advised that the machine was due for a service so they had to alter my program slightly. Instead of having one treatment tomorrow, I was to have two. I mentioned that I was also having my second chemotherapy course tomorrow, but they said it wouldn't be a problem. In fact, they she said it would be helpful because I was already at the hospital for most of the day.

According to the Nurse, radiation therapy can be delivered multiple times as long as there is a 6 hour gap between doses. So now, instead of getting to the chemo unit at 9.30am in the morning, I have to get to the radio unit at 7.20am. My intention is to ride so this is actually beneficial as it will be cooler when I leave at around 5am.

I had an appointment with the Medical Oncologist directly after my radio treatment, in the clinic, which is upstairs from the day centre treatment rooms. I was instructed to take my weight and the printout of the result to my appointment. The weighing room is a self service room behind the reception of the clinic.

I explained to the Oncologist that my only symptom at this time was the rash and the soreness that resembled being sunburnt. He recognised both and prescribed an antibiotic medication normally used to manage acne in teenagers. I was to take 2, twice a day, with food until my treatment finished.

Fortunately, the drive home at this time of year is reasonably sedate due to many people who work in the City and West Perth being on leave. I made it home pretty quickly and smothered my face and neck in Sorbalene cream.

Earlier in the day, Vicki asked what I might like for dinner. I knew that tasting food would gradually deteriorate for me, if all the information I'd read was going to impact me, so I opted for a currie. Together we prepared a Rogan Josh Beef currie, with vegies and rice. Vic said it tasted perfect, especially since we prepared it the proper way and not out of the packet, but to me, initially anyway, it didn't taste quite right. I assumed this was because my taste was changing already. Fortunately, by the time I finished it tasted fine, so I reckon I've got a little time before my taste changes altogether.

I had a Drumstick ice cream for dessert and a cup of tea, while watching a DVD of the second series of the Outlander, a show Vicki has taken too (not really my type of show, but not too bad I suppose). I've read that patient's shouldn't drink too much tea and coffee, so this may be my final cup of tea for a while. Probably not a bad thing - I reckon I drink too much of it anyway.

After this, I prepared my gear for my early start in the morning, completed my M&T Routine and went to bed.