It’s Chemo Day. Today is the first new treatment at the Harbour Cancer and Wellness Center. It feels a bit weird to be going somewhere other than the North Shore hospital Breast Clinic for chemo. Unlike the hospital, these private facilities are spacious, spotless and everything looks new. The staff are friendly and welcoming and look way less stressed than at the hospital. I loved the hospital staff and had no complaints so that does not account for the major difference in vibe. It’s not until we are seated inside the unit that I get what it is. At the North Shore Unit it’s just chemo for Breast Cancer, so all women, but here, it’s anything goes, all cancers welcome, so the cross section of people is much broader. Oh, and the coffee and snacks are much better as well.

I am seated at the end in seat 6 and introduced to Stll, a young German nurse. She is lovely and very efficient. We are given date scones and flat whites by a nurse aid and then Stll goes over the medication I will be given. My new cocktail will be Gemcitabine and Carboplatin. The dose is based on my height and body weight and I will receive it in IV form through my port as in the past. Side effects once again are numerous – all fun things like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and of cause my old friend fatigue, who never really left me. Hair thinning is more common than hair loss (fingers crossed here as I’m liking my current silver fox crew cut!). The big one to watch is neutropenia – very low levels of neutrophils in the blood. This increases the risks of infection. The list goes on but these would be the most common.

Stll starts my IV line and we are off. Spital sits on the tray in front of the bed to make sure I’m ok. He is a hit with the nurses. The nurse aid brings chicken sandwiches which, as a non-meat eater I decline so he returns with a grilled cheese. I eat and play a very short lived game of chess – instantly creamed by Susannah as white. No mercy, as usual. I wouldn’t have it any other way. After that I try a cryptic crossword but can’t concentrate or focus. Already the drugs have had an effect.

The whole process takes about 3 hours.

At home Susannah and I chill on the patio for awhile. I feel kind of wasted – tired, but not at all sleepy. Our peace is interrupted by a very noisy bird sitting in the forest yelling his head off. It takes awhile to spot the source off the calamity but it turns out to be a very angry kotare (kingfisher).

I rush upstairs to show Mum. This little bird does not like our cats, and despite his diminutive size he aggressively dive bombs each of them, letting them know that this is his hood! Cats beware. Poor boys, it’s quite hilarious to watch. Our at home nature channel. I just love it.

We watch TV in the evening but I can’t concentrate. I take a zopiclone to try to counteract the steroid induced insomnia that inevitably follows chemo. No nausea so far so I’ll call that a positive start.