When I was about 13 my sister and I had a weekly paper round. Apparently, we had the biggest round in Crewe and it took us at least two to three afternoons to complete as we broke our backs lugging huge satchels around the streets.
I used to deliver to the houses that we knew had dogs as my sister was afraid of them, and I guess it was only a matter of time before one afternoon a protective collie escaped from a house on Broughton Lane, chased me up the garden path and bit me on the backside.
The pain of the nip and the subsequent tetanus shot however was nothing compared to the owner shouting: “Are you alright laddie?” as I ran up the street clutching my sore bum trying not to cry.
I grew my very short pixie cut out not long after that incident and the blondish bob I’ve sported for years (bar a disastrous ‘candy floss’ perm a few years later and a ‘purdy’ haircut in my early 20s) has remained fairly consistent.
Until chemo caused it to fall out that is.
For some cancer sufferers, hair loss is a really traumatic side effect. For me it was difficult but the least of my worries. Maybe because in many ways it made life easier not worrying about ‘doing’ my hair on days I felt too sick to care, whilst not having hair elsewhere was quite frankly a fringe benefit to cancer.
Also I knew it would grow back. And growing back it is. Four months after chemo stopped it is now at the tufty stage of regrowth. It is also grey! With an odd little Cruella de Vil white patch at the front.
My Christmas cracker gift this year was very apt (see photo).
Anyway hair re-growth aside I am still alive and kicking. Just returned home from the hospital today after my third dose of immunotherapy and consultation with the lovely Dr Kildare – probably the only thing I shall miss once the appointments are all done and dusted.
Immunotherapy is a boring drug compared to chemo so not much to report. Not that I am complaining!
I have had numerous appointments over the last few weeks to keep me busy, including a radiotherapy follow-up to check all is ok post-treatment with my skin plus a few physio appointments thanks to slight lymphedema (swelling) in my breast.
It’s like my right breast is missing all the attention it has had over the last nine months and has developed attention-seeking tendencies like an impatient toddler pulling at your jacket repeatedly saying “mummy, mummy, mummy” whilst you try and have a conversation with a friend.
So the baps have been out again in a bid to reduce the fluid build-up via MLD (Manual Lymphatic Drainage) massages with the physiotherapists.
Lymphedema is my nemesis in all of this. No matter how much exercise, stretching, or lymphatic stimulation routines you do, it makes its own rules up whilst giving you the finger in the process.
I’ve read articles and books, and listened to numerous podcasts about lymphedema – but basically it is just a rubbish possible side effect of lymph node removal.
The lymphatic system is a fascinating and extremely undervalued part of the body. It is twice the size of the blood circulation system and manages twice the volume of fluid on a daily basis and typically dumps between two and four litres of lymph fluid in the subclavian vein every 24 hours. We have between 400 and 800 lymph nodes that constantly filter this fluid to remove toxins and waste before moving it into the kidneys.
The biggies are in the neck area so often this is why our glands swell when we are fighting an infection. It is now found that the appendix is even part of the lymphatic system (not the useless organ we once thought it was).
Aside from my newfound obsessive interest in the inner workings of our bodies, it has been so nice to get some semblance of normality back and a return to routine, work and activities has been welcomed after the last year of feeling utterly crap and out of sync.
I am swimming again, rebuilding my strength and fitness levels at the gym and I’m walking as much as I can when time permits.
Remaining cancer-free has become my life’s goal. That, and working my way through 24 seasons of GoggleBox, which I’ve just discovered.
two steps freelance 