Bank holiday blues

It's festival season in Nottingham and the city council has laid on free music and entertainment across town throughout the weekend. This afternoon there was blues in the Square and we took in a bit of Dr Feelgood while passing through. Later we stopped to watch an excellent gypsy/jazz/ska fusion band called Baghdaddies - pictured here. They were great fun and if it hadn't been Nottingham in broad daylight I might have danced!

Some people have asked for a progress report on recovery/treatment etc so here goes:

Wednesday will be six weeks post op (recovery takes up to three months) and I'm steadily gaining strength. I can now do most things except run, go to the gym, or hoover. Apart from the odd twinge in the parts that have been operated on, I'm hardly in any pain and am off all medication. I still get more tired than usual and have taken up siestas.

I start chemotherapy on 18 June. Treatment consists of six sessions of a regime called FEC T administered through a drip at three week intervals. Apart from hair loss, immediate side effects are likely to be nausea, tiredness and generally feeling unwell for a few days after treatment. People tend to lose their sense of taste too. More serious is the effect on white blood cells. The critical time comes 7-14 days after treatment when blood count gets so low you can't fight infection. If daily temperature readings go above 38 degrees you have to phone the hospital. You should also phone if you feel 'unwell', and if certain symptoms occur, you phone 999. During this danger period, you should stay away from bugs. If you do get infected, they admit you to hospital and give you intravenous antibiotics. During week three of the cycle you feel more or less normal, then it's time to go back for more. Chemo also makes people much more sensitive to UV so you should stay out of the sun or douse yourself with factor 50. I shall have to catch as many rays as possible before June 18.

Emotionally I'm feeling upbeat. Learning that I needed chemo was a set-back but now I'm over that and back in my bubble. I shall just get on with it and live that old cliche 'a day at a time'. I've spoken to people who had a dreadful time on chemo and kept having to be hospitalised, and others who felt ok throughout. I am doing various holistic mind and body therapies such as yoga, hypnosis and acupuncture, which all help the healing process. Summer is a nice time to be recuperating, and JP and I are planning a winter holiday for when I'm better. Meanwhile he and his brother are doing up the boat. I'm looking forward to it being ship-shape.