My ever present friend and other health issues:

Spoke to Ian at the MDCU to change my appointment for 9th November; now 2pm to match up with Peter B-D's outpatient appointment at 3.45pm. Ian gave me his colleagues contact details who deals with chemotherapy patients. Side-effects  Roughness in mouth. poor sleep neuropathy mild constipation dark urine some breathlessness Medications calcium anti acid reflux Blood pressure ok tempurature ok blood oxyen 98 pulse ok

 Recovery and rest days after the fourth treatment cycle. Medications Day 4 steroids Day 4 Anti nausea B6 B12 Calciam Anti reflux Side-effects mild constipation neuropathy dark urine sleep difficulties Breathlessness No major ongoing challenges Conversation with Mark about the effects of treatment. He found the post operative period quite alarming with no opportunity to really thing through what had happened and how the future treatment was going to change life and what the effects would do.

Peter took me to the fourth visit to the Worthing Hospital chemotherapy suite.  Again at 9:45am went by without event. The  irinotecan  was infused over 90 minutes with some feelings nausea but less than the previous time. Nurse Cynthia managed my treatment in suite 2. Was discharged at 12:10 pm. side-effect Constipation - mild Sweating - Excessive Erratic temperature between 37.5c to 35.1 - coolest when sweating Raided blood pressure. Blood oxygen erratic Acid reflux Poor sleeping  Nausea Peripheral neuropathy - ongoing Slight Hair loss - evidenced when showering and on hair brush. Medications Steroids Anti-nausea Ant-acid reflux Calcuim B6 B12 LimbO working well in shower protecting PICC Line site from getting wet. Day three included a trip to Shoreham Health Centre for a PICC Line service, removal of the 5FU pump and line, line flush and redress. Again, the service was undertaken by Nurse Catherine. Nicely done again.

  The CEA marker from the blood test taken on 22nd August shows a count of 33 and the 26th September result will be available on Monday.

 Had a nosebleed, most unusual and flowed well for several minutes. It occurred at about 9:30, starting when I blew my nose.  Side-effects Neuropathy Tablets Calcium B12 An easy day after a busy week. Blood pressure, pulse, blood oxygen and temperature all normal.

Consultation with Consultant Oncologist Dr Webb as the first chemotherapy course progress check and report. He asked if I had noticed any difference to the cancer issues since the previous appointment. I have noticed that the abdominal discomforts have disappeared.  He said that the baseline CT scan undertaken before the PICC line procedure in September showed that the cancers had grown. He said that the blood test taken after the second cycle showed a slightly lower CEA score. A good sign, but too early to take it as a permanent improvement. Further talked about lifestyle and diet to ensure a healthy ongoing recovery.  Added in the side-effects, neuropathy, and breathlessness. He indicated that the neuropathy is a hangover from the first chemotherapy course and the breathlessness is one of the common issues. The higher blood pressure is caused by the steroids. Overall, a good consultation. Side-effects feet Some irregular heartbeat indicated in blood pressure test some days including

Enjoyed lunch with 8 former WHS colleagues at the Pelican Inn in Froxfield. A round trip of 160 miles achieved comfortably with two stops on the outward journey, McDonalds at Petersfield and the services on the A34 at Sutton Scotney. The return journey was equally uneventful with another stop at the same services. Driving time hours in total. Side effects of treatment. Neuropathy of feet and occasionally in fingers. Tablets Calcium Anti-nausea Anti-acid reflux

Side effects Neuropathy Tablets B6 B12 Anti-nausea Anti-acid reflux Calcium Blood pressure, pulse, blood oxygen and temperature in the normal range.

Side effects Some breathlessness Mild constipation Dark urine Neuropathy raised blood pressure Blood Oxygen with a reading of 93 Waking temperature at 37.3c Tablets B12 B6 Anti-nausea Anti-acid reflux Calcium

Temperature, Blood pressure, pulse and oxygen level, all reasonable. Side-effects feet acid reflux slight breathlessness slight constipation dark urine Medication Steroids Antacid Anti Acid Reflux Calcium

A trip to Shoreham Health Centre to have the Pump removed after the end of the infusion. Nurse Catherine was on duty and the removal, flushing of the line and redressing. There is another red line above the dressing from Monday, but no soreness. The redressing was undertaken differently and is more comfortable with both Lumens taped together and the bundle also taped across the dressing. Blood pressure, temperature, oxygen level and pulse was taken; all normal. The appointment took just 20 minutes. The quickest yet. The pump weight at the end of the infusion was 49.5 grams.

Side effects Poor sleep only 90 minutes. Raised blood pressure. Raised pulse Acid reflux Hiccoughs Constipation and neuropathy of the feet. Medication  4 steroids 3 Anti nausea 1 antacid and 5FU infusion. Had a chat with John Coke who is recovering from Covid-19. He has multiple cancers spread through his limph nodes.   

A 9:45 am appointment for the MDCU infusion this morning. The irinotecan was infused over 60 minutes on this occasion with more feelings of nausea than during the previous 2 infusions.  Read the "A novel view on an old drug, 5-fluorouracil: an unexpected RNA modifier with intriguing impact on cancer cell fate" academic paper while being treated. Fascinating to read that 5FU, a drug first used 60 years ago works at both a DNA and RNA level of tumor cell disruption.  My blood calcium count has become low so have been prescribed with calcium tablets to improve this.

Covid-10 and flu vaccination day. Having spoken to the chemotherapy helpline about being vaccinated and gaining a positive reaction having both, the safety of having a jab in my PICC Line arm, and the timing before the next infusion I was told by the chemotherapy helpline was perfect. The side effects 24 hours after the jabs was a temperature that was raised to 38.1c at the highest taken and 35.4c at the lowest. Also pain in both vaccination sites, headache and feeling less than well. A phone call to the chemotherapy helpline as per the protocol gave comfort that drinking plenty of fluids and observing temperature was adequate and a further call if my temperature remained above 37.5c. 48 hours on from the jabs and the side effects had subsided significantly.

The side effects that the Folfiri treatment is causing have mostly faded. The lead effect is neuropathy of the feet. The major issue on this cycle was breathlessness that developed from day 2, Thursday and peaked at day 6, Monday.  Constipation was milder during cycle 2 and passed by day 7, Tuesday. The several nighttime trips to the bathroom continues. A roughness of the palette started on day 7 similar to the first cycle. Heightened blood pressure continues with some readings a showing irregular heartbeat. The PICC Line and its dressing remains uncomfortable. Appetite continues to be normal. Only taking anti acid reflux capsuls. Phone call from Sid Jones.

 Side effects and challenges Phone the Worthing Hospital Chemotherapy Helpline about having the Covid-19 and flu vaccinations this coming Saturday. A very positive yes about this. Injection in my right arm with the PICC Line raises no issues and timing is good for the next cycle starting on the following Wednesday. Breathlessness.  My level of breathlessness has been higher for the first 5 days of this cycle compared to the first. Anaemia is a cause of this with some patients undergoing chemotherapy, but my blood results continue to be very good. Folfiri does cause breathlessness in some patients, I am likely to be in that group. Frequent Urination and its dark colour. Another known side effect. Something to mention during the next infusion appointment. Potential concern would be if the is any burning sensation or pain during urination. A urine test may be done. Other issues include constipation, unpleasant oral taste, raised blood pressure during first few days of cycle and an irregul

My side effects are: Constipation for first few days - Figs! Neuropathy particularly of the feet, small toes - raised the issue with the chemotherapy nurse - some concern about my tolerance to the toxicity of the treatment. Darker urine Breathlessness Some days of raised blood pressure Some days of irregular blood flow At least two hourly need to urinate, day and night. Acid reflux Irinotecan Side Effects: Common, Severe, Long Term - Drugs.com Fluorouracil (5FU) | Cancer information | Cancer Research UK