Treatment Plan

On Monday I am going to have an MRI scan to double check my chest again and the following Thursday I am having an operation to put my line in.

This time I am going to have a Portacath because unlike a Hickman line, it only needs flushing once every month, is less likely to get infected and is waterproof!

However, on Saturday night, my neck pain suddenly became unbearable and I was unable to hold my head up or move at all. In the morning it was no better and I couldn't even get up to go to the toilet! We decided to ring Ward 84 for some advice and they said we are fully eligible to ring an ambulance to help me get to the hospital as there was no way I could have sat up in a car.

They arrived and gave me morphine, gas and air and a neck collar. To be honest, I've always wanted to see what it is like in an ambulance! We were soon in Manchester A&E and I had an MRI scan on my neck to check if anything had changed but luckily, it was the same. We got a bed on Ward 84.

By Thursday, my neck was feeling a lot more mobile and I was ready to have my line in and then start chemo straight away.

This time, I am having different types of chemo (Topotecan, Mum says Toffee Pecan sounds better, and Cyclophosphamide) every three weeks for 5 days and have 6 cycles of it. However, each day it only lasts for about 3 hours so I get to choose whether I stay in for five days or come in each day.

For the first cycle I decided to stay in.