Two new friends

Tomorrow I head back to the RAH to have a dose of vincristine and bleomycin.

Vincristine is another interesting drug - it is derived from the periwinkle plant! It prevents cells from dividing by binding to tubulin. The main side effects of this drug are sensory changes. Apparently I may lose sensation in the tips of my fingers and toes. I'm not sure what I think about that one - it'll probably be a bit frustrating but hopefully not too nasty.

Bleomycin messes with cells through degradation of preformed DNA. It can however cause pulmonary fibrosis which is harm to the tissues of the lungs. Excellent.

I am glad to be getting this treatment and to be receiving all these drugs that are killing the cells that are not welcome, but it is hard to cop them all knowing that they hurt the healthy parts of me too. I know cancer treatment has come a long way already but if those clever sciency types could work out how to direct the drugs to the cancer cells that'd be ace. I'm sure they're working on it.....

I have been feeling quite good for the last few days and have been enjoying normal family activities. I use the term 'enjoying' loosely because two of the activities this weekend were Christmas shopping at Lizzy and Maesie's dance break-up party. It's been good to be able to do regular things such as Body Balance on Friday and church this morning. I'm not sure how long it will all last but we shall see. I am pretty tired tonight though.

My dear David is a bit fried. He's tired but not really sleepy tired. He's just worn out and a lot of it is emotional. He showed great restraint in the shops today by not screaming at dim-wits who just stop in the middle of the mall walkway, but it took more effort than it otherwise should. It has been a bit tricky with the girls too because it is harder to muster the patience required, particularly at the end of the day when they are tired too.

Now, no pressure, but some people have offered to provide us with meals and other help. If you were wondering how to go about sorting that out, Jasmyn Nicholls has generously offered to work that out for us. So if you contact her by emailling : jazzynicholls at gmail dot com (except write it out like a real email address - it's just like that here to prevent spam and other dodgy things) she will be able to point you in the right direction.

Other than that, your support in reading this, praying, messages, comments etc mean just as much. I definately feel surrounded by many caring and loving people. It spins me out a bit to think that it probably numbers in the hundreds and not just in Adelaide but in Australia and also far reaching parts of the world.

I'll let you know how I go tomorrow. Maybe I'll get more yoghurt.....