Second time lucky

Now I really HAVE finished the radiotherapy, which is good, as that’s another phase to almost cross off (it doesn’t really finish until Wednesday, with my last intrathecal chemo of this phase), though it was actually a bit sad in one way: I’d started to get to know some of the radiographers a bit. But all in all it’s obviously a relief not to have my brain fried anymore, and to have got through the phase with no discomfort. I am tiring very easily (and therefore ought to be in bed), and that will probably continue for a good while, but as long as I rest when I feel I need to, I should be alright.

My hair’s definitely started to fall out again, so I’ll probably shave it all off again soon. Unfortunately it’s not quite at the Eezee-Bald stage it was last time, when a simple grasp of the hair would take out a huge clump with no resistance, but it’s definitely on its way, as a hand through the hair has regularly reminded me this evening. It’s only short anyway, and it’s a bit of a shame, as I do quite like it as this ultra-short baby-soft stage, but hopefully it’ll be back soon enough.

The hair lacking on the top of my head had started to congregate on my chin and upper lip, due to a great display of forgetfulness on my part… In Epsom, I believed I’d left it at home, but got home last weekend and couldn’t find it where I thought it was, so got it into my head I’d actually left it in Epsom, in a place I hadn’t been looking. Yet, back in Epsom, there was no sign of it, and a quick call home revealed that it was at home after all, erm, in its case. D’oh! Fortunately I can blame the radiotherapy (though I prefer to think of the radiotherapy as getting rid of the bad cells, increasing efficiency, a bit like defragging a computer)… The result was some very silly facial hair, which is the only kind of facial hair I can grow, being not at all a hairy man.

Now I’m home, and I expect I’ll just be resting, before heading back up to London on Tuesday for a few days. I’ve come to the conclusion that sitting around at home, though useful when I need lots of rest, isn’t necessarily the best plan when I’m between treatments. With blood counts as healthy as they are at the minute, I’m able to be more adventurous, and I feel so much better when I do. Home comforts are all well and good, but with my dad away at work a lot of the time, almost none of my friends living anywhere nearby, and even Fred not spending all that much time here, it can get a bit dull… It’s so important, I think, to make the most of the times I can be more active and sociable, as without that it’s very easy to get lethargic and down: seeing people this last week cheered me up immeasurably and was well worth the price of feeling a bit more tired yesterday and today.

Anyway, next week should be fun, with lunch on Tuesday with a whole load of other leukaemia sufferers and carers at various stages through treatment, and then a birthday dinner on Thursday. I’m hoping to catch up with a couple of others, too; the only less fun bit will be the IT chemo on Wednesday. I really do look forward to getting back to living in London as soon as I can, and am starting to work out what will be best in terms of earning some money… But I’ll mention more about that some other time.