Not Dead Yet !: more of the same

Okay, a bit more information on the last visit to the cancer doc:

I may have said that the chemo drugs don't kill cancer cells, they just allow the body itself to kill those nasties. Wrong! Since then I've been told, "they work by stopping cells from dividing or disrupting the way they multiply, which kills the cancer cells because they are identified the ones that are trying to grow the fastest."

So there's a major effect of the drugs that they stop the cancer cells from multiplying. That also allows my body's immune system to more easily deal with the cancer cells.

I actually find that to be very reassuring. I'm glad that my own immune system will be able to work better. I'm even more pleased that the drugs will be in there and fighting for me :-)

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The cancer doc mentions a few of the possible side-effects. The tips of your fingers and toes may tingle or go numb, she says. That has already happened, I reply. When? she asks. From the first days of the first lot of chemo treatment, I reply. Oh, she says.

Oh dear, did I roll my eyes out loud ? I've mentioned the tingle three or four times to this doc. Plus a couple of times to the radiation doc. Did either of them hear me ? Obviously not.

I have no problems with the medical skills of the various cancer docs. these two in particular just have very poor listening skills. (And just average explanation skills.)

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The doc does provide a typed list of possible side-effects. Comprehensive & clear. Much better that the shoddy notes for the first lot of chemo... Because the first lot were many years old & created by the doctor who (I believe) trained my doc. Messy, hard to follow.

This lot of notes has a "NSW Govt" logo. Still not written by my doc but from a far better source !

I may have mentioned, I don't really want to read about the side-effects :-( All very nasty stuff. Now I've had time to think about it...

All the side-effects are "possible". Well, some are highly probable but the likely severity is variable. They are also much the same as for my previous chemo treatment. Soooo... Though I dislike the expression, I've "been there, done that." Sure, this time it may be worse. But it's nothing new.

As I now understand it, "Yeah they mostly all work in a very similar way but the underlying mechanism is different. It's obviously actually super complex but ultimately they just affect different pathways of cell division or activity and so have similar end effects and thus similar side effects." I can understand "very similar" and "super complex". So been there, done that. Nothing worse to worry about. Unless it happens :-)

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First round of treatment I used Wikipedia to help understand what the cancer docs were saying. This time it's my son. He's a paediatrician so is used to speaking at my simple level.

I also visit my GP after each set of scans. It's nice to talk with a doctor who listens sympathetically yet is not focussed on cancer. Who has successfully removed a wart from my leg and wax from my ear :-)

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Meanwhile, friends and family are caring. And they understand that my cancer is not the entire conversation, for either of us. Which does help. Thank you :-)

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Can't say that I'm looking forward to the weeks of drug drip-feed. At least I'm less worried -- less scared -- that I was at first. Is that good or bad ? Time will tell...

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Oh, and today I finished a "long" orienteering course. Okay, five minutes outside the cut-off time. Last by many minutes. But recorded as finished :-)