I get knocked down.. but i get up again!

Round 2 of BEACOPP nearly completed! This time my nausea kicked in a lot earlier then the first time. I was just coming to the end of the day and I started to feel quite sick, they gave me some Maxalon to help and wanted me to stay another 30 minutes on fluids, I told them I just wanted to go home, so they let me go. We got about 5 minutes from home when the vomiting/dry reaching started, this lasted for the next 4 or so hours until about 9:30pm when I tried to get some sleep. I managed a few hours sleep and then woke up again, laid awake for a while and then fell back asleep, thankfully no more vomiting through the night. Once again it was hard getting back up the next day to go back for more! Sometimes I think back and wish so badly that the ABVD worked so I didn't have to go through this chemo!! With this chemo I seem to have a lot more side effects including:

Vomitting
Sore skin... Yep it hurts haha!
Sore mouth, ulcers, burning etc
Blood noses 
Low platelet count
Low white blood count
Bone pain from the Nuelasta needle i have on day 9
Chest pain after day 8 chemo
Dry skin 

Like the song says... I get knocked down, but I get up again! This is what it feels like with the BEACOPP Chemotherapy regimen, it knocks me down.. but then I still have my "good" days! 

I also thought i would share some photos with you with what an oncology day centre looks like...

The lifts!

The corridor that I walk so many times a week! 

The waiting room! 

One of the bays!

Meet BOB! He makes a great cocktail....

Different bay - I take my Ipad to pass some time!

Nurse setting up to change my PICC dressing!

Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow..

Today is day 21 out of 21 so that means tomorrow (13th March) I start the next round, I am actually dreading it after feeling so horrible last time. 1 down 7 to go!! Bring on August when i will have hopefully my last treatment!! 

I had a meeting with my oncologist on Friday (8th March), this is the first meeting since starting BEACOPP. He was happy with how much the lump has gone down and really had to feel to find the lymph nodes. He said one was the size of a pea and the other a small marble. He also said its the smallest he has seen it since I started seeing him! We wont know how well the treatment is actually working until I have more scans in roughly 6 weeks. But from looking at it and feeling it, i would say its definitely working a lot better then the ABVD was. We went through my levels, he said red blood was good, white blood cells and platelets where both a little low, but he thinks I should be okay to go ahead with chemo on wednesday. I have another blood test today, so he will double check that my levels are all normal.

I wasn't going to put up any photos of me with my head shaved, but I thought I would be brave and do it. After all, it is part of my journey! And i'll put one up of me in my wig too! My hair did start to grow back because I stopped treatment, but the last few days it has started to fall out again.

With my wig on

About 3 weeks after I shaved it. March 2013

Ouch!

Today I have some incredible bone pain!! OUCH! Thursday 28th February I had a needle in my stomach called Nuelasta to help increase my white blood cell count which is produced in your bones. I have had this needle before and they told me it could cause bone pain, until this time i had never experienced it and i'm glad! I hope it doesn't happen every time. It feels like I have been hit by a bus and sometimes when I stand up by legs buckle. The pain is mainly in my legs, arms and back. I hope it doesn't hang around too long. 

I had my IMVS nurse Sheena come and take some blood today. She put the needle in and nothing came out!! Was a little concerning. So she did it higher up in the vein and it worked! Phew!! 

I have a pretty full on week this week, something on every day but today! Tomorrow i am going to a program called "Look good, Feel Better" which is put on for cancer patients. Its a 2 hour workshop where they teach you how to put on wigs, false eyelashes and generally make you feel "good" about yourself again. At the end of the workshop you get about $600 worth of free makeup and skincare :) Cant complain! 

*EDIT* I didn't get to go to the Look good, Feel Better program as it was cancelled!