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I am home again after the Cisplatinum chemo one night stay.

During the administration of the Cisplatinum I had cramp in my hand for around 3 hours which was not very pleasant.

The night time was the usual busy schedule of going to the toilet every hour because of all the fluids they give me to flush out the chemo.

It is pretty gruelling and tiring but I am home now so I am going to bed soon for a little sleep so that I can enjoy the evening.

The battle goes

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The second round chemo has been confirmed a go and the one night stay Wednesday for the big one.

Not sure what lifted my blood levels could have been the overload of fruit and vegetables I have been eating this last week.

Pomegranates are known to be a powerful antioxidant and body booster and I have had loads of this juiced this week. 

The battle goes

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My Urologist would like to take a look at my neo bladder to check out the 2cm mass.

He does not know for sure what exactly it is and needs to take a look and repair any damage. The opening to my new bladder is also too small and needs enlarging as when I urinate it just trickles out.

Today he tried to insert a catheter and it just refused to go inside the neo bladder. 

I have to wait now to be called up for the operation within the next three weeks.

It will be just a one night stay if all goes well but may need to come home with a catheter for a few days.

The chemo can continue it just means

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The echo scan has left me worried as a 2cm mass was found inside my new bladder, the radiologist was unsure of what it could be. He was a very nice man and tried to calm me with his gentle voice.

To get a clearer picture he also took a standard x-ray but this did not make it any clearer for him as to the makeup of the mass. He would like the Urologist to have a look at it tomorrow also.

So when I call at 10:00 in the morning I will hear what the next steps are going to be if any.

Of course I feel downhearted about this but will try not to worry too much.

The battle goes on…..

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Second cycle:

My white blood cells are remaining low and if I have no improvement overnight then the second round of chemo will be delayed for one week. 

Tomorrow I have my blood taken once more early in the morning and at 10:00 I can call for the results of the blood work. They will also confirm if the chemo will go ahead at 13:00 or delay it for a week.

Later today I have an echo scan to check my abdomen and hopefully get to the bottom of the back pain which I have been experiencing lately.

The battle goes on…..             

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So that is the first month of chemo out the way and now I have a rest period for nearly two weeks.

I received three quarters of the usual amount of chemo today because of the low blood platelets.

The chemo nurse explained that the low blood platelets are for clotting purposes, and I just have to take care not to cut or bash my body. Bruising of the skin is much easier with low platelet counts so I will be a fragile sensitive boy for a few weeks…..lol

Hopefully with this rest period my platelets can return back to normal levels before I start the next cycle of chemo. Otherwise it will be

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I am amazed at how quickly the laboratory works in forwarding the results of my blood tests. Just 40 minutes after I got home and I receive a call with the results.

My blood platelets are low but they will continue to offer the 15th day chemo tomorrow although with a smaller dose.I feel perfectly fine although I am not sure if having low blood platelets would have any special feeling.

Apparently it has something to do with the bloods clotting system and too low levels can cause bleeding. It makes me feel comfortable to know that they are watching the levels careful and taking appropriate

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Day 8 of the chemo has just finished and I am so thankful for no drama’s this last week.

The last couple of days have been harder on my body as I have been feeling tired and weaker and I am sleeping longer and longer.

My mouth is a little sore and dry although I have kept up with the regime of using a soft brush and rinsing four times a day with salt water.  I have the feeling I am clenching down in my mouth more which is probably also due to the stress of the first week of the unknown.

My bodies natural instinct to wake to urinate has disappeared and I have resorted to setting the alarm every

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I checked into the Oncology ward for the second round of chemo.  Firstly they hydrated my system with IV fluids for four hours.

Then I had the IV anti sickness medicine Emend 80mg and Dexamethason 6mg for another 15 minutes also followed up with a 15 minute IV cleanse.

The Cisplatinum chemo was administered over 3 hours through the IV also finishing with a 15 minutes cleanse.

Then I had IV fluid once more for two hours and then the anti sickness meds were repeated for 15 minutes followed by the cleanse.

After this process had been completed my system was flushed with IV fluids the whole night

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Home alone:

Now that the operation is all over I have no regrets for choosing to have the neo bladder. I would be lying if I said it was easy it certainly was not.

At times during my first few days I did have lots of regrets and thought I had made a big mistake for choosing the neo bladder. The other operation for the stoma bag would have been easier on my body and the recovery time much quicker. However I came through it all and I am alive and I am so very thankful and appreciative. I take my hat off to all of the people involved in helping and supporting me for getting through the last 6

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