Dreary

We experienced a very dreary start to 2015... and we love it!

After a much hotter and dryer 'build up' than usual the monsoonal rain seems to have finally arrived. After some showers yesterday, we woke up to 2015 with a dull, dreary and WET morning. The hot and humid of 2014 was replaced overnight with the (relatively) cool and wet of 2015. The daytime temperature hovered around 25-28 degrees and the rain was persistent, and at times 'heavy' in the way that only a monsoonal rain can be.

If you have lived in the Top End or other tropical area you will appreciate just how wonderful and relieving 'dull and dreary' can be. The positive impact on Sue was immediate and beautiful to watch.

It has been an interesting week. Sue went in for her second round of chemotherapy on Monday. She invited Tessa to accompany us so she could better appreciate this aspect of her Mum's experience. As it turned out, Tessa had a demonstration of how unpredictable this journey can be.

Things started well with the successful use of the implanted port to take a blood sample - though the taking of blood samples at this time was unusual. The pre-chemo blood samples are usually taken at a local centre and tested a couple of days before the chemo treatment. This time we learned that in Darwin there is no way to get a blood sample taken and tested anytime between Christmas Eve and the weekend, even at the public hospital. As a result, the blood sample needed to be taken by the chemo nurse and then sent off for 'urgent' analysis (60-90 mins) before chemo could proceed. We settled in for a wait.

The wheels began to wobble when the nurse took Sue's blood pressure. It has been 'a bit high' for a while now but this time the systolic pressure was 164. Systolic pressure is the 'top number' (always the higher of the two numbers) and measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats (when the heart muscle contracts). The nurse informed us that the highest permitted systolic pressure when receiving an Avastin infusion is 150. She left to seek advice from the oncologist. We waited. Eventually she returned and advised that the oncologist had prescribed a 'one off' shot of an anti-hypertensive so the infusion could proceed. The nurse then repeated the blood pressure test and got a systolic reading of 155 which, she then informed us, meant that the anti-hypertensive was not required after all. All good.

The nurse then proceeded to ask the standard 'pre-chemo' questions about side-effects, pain, breathing, sleeping, bruising, bowel motions, bleeding....  At his point the wheels fell off!  Sue had experienced some (one off) bleeding from the bowel on Christmas Day. The nurse left to speak to the oncologist again. We waited. After a prolonged wait she returned and reported that the oncologist had now ordered that the infusion not proceed this time (and likely never again we suspect).

End result? Tablets only this round - which has the upside that Sue wasn't knocked around by the (not) infused drug. 

Where to from here? Tablets for two weeks then a fresh CT scan and visit to the oncologist for a review (13 January). In the meantime, it seems to be 'steady as she goes' for Sue with life pretty well managed by moderation of activities, rest and some pain relief.

So ended 2014. So starts 2015.

Here's to a further dull and dreary period for us. May your New Year be 'dull and dreary' too (in a good way)!