Sorry for another delay, still not feeling 100%.
We went to meet the Oncologist a week later, I felt rested and relaxed and without sounding too ‘airy fairy’ I felt revitalised following our mini-moon!!
Craig, my parents and my sister Claire came with me. I felt sorry for the Oncologist she seemed a bit overwhelmed as we all trooped in! I attempted to lighten the atmosphere by saying ‘we travel in packs’ but in fact what I said was ‘we hunt in packs’ Q.... eyes raised from the Oncologist….oops….!!
She took a history from me, asked me how I found the lump, the timeframe, my medical history and also any relevant family history. With the obligatory thorough boob groping that I have become accustomed to!
We all agreed it seemed logical changing the sequence to Chemotherapy initially then mastectomy to follow. It was decided I would commence Chemotherapy in 10 days time….
They gave us a whistle stop tour of Chemotherapy treatment, briefly discussing side effects, drug regime’s, time frames. A lot of information was given to us in that appointment, hence 10 ears are better than two.
Craig and I were to attend a Chemotherapy education session the day before the process started. This was to give us a more thorough understanding of what the treatment involved (definitely very worth while, I urge you to attend should you need to).
It is surprising how exhausting driving up and down to the various appointments can be, and how draining all the waiting can be at appointments. However, Craig and I are experts at people watching and can often find our own entertainment…lots to see in hospitals…especially as a Physiotherapist. It’s incredible to see the number of people using crutches or walking sticks and carrying them like handbags….rant over lol!
I started back to work following the Oncology appointment. I had taken some annual leave in order to go away for a few days, but also just to rest in between all the various appointments. Getting back into work was great, the routine and structure gave me a feeling that I was actually able to be productive and useful!
Ironically my Physiotherapy job is in a programme that works with people who are having difficulties staying in employment, this is due to their health condition, so I know the importance of being in work for your mental and physical health. My Manager was incredibly supportive of me returning to work. This was with the plan to try to work throughout my treatment with some tweaks to my responsibilities due to the risk of infection!!
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