Hi,

It seems quite a while since I last wrote and a lot has happened.

On the day of the 4th July – Tom’s Swimming Gala at School, where he received the Best Swimmer Trophy, and that reminds me we need to get it inscribed – I was rather ill; sore throat, achy and nauseous. I thought it was the drugs as they could induce the same symptoms. I tried to sleep and recover, or rather let it happen as I couldn’t do anything. On Wednesday 6th Tom had his Sports Day – he was ill in the morning, but endeavoured to get to school to partake and he did well, having already won the high jump for year 4 with a school record – it was blowy, but I felt okay. On our return home I took a temperature, 38.8C. Off we went to hospital again – this time to Guildford.

After two nights in hospital, IV antibiotics, more drugs, swelling and bloatedness my white blood cell count was good enough to come home. I came home Friday 8th and Tom and Ian went on holiday to the Scilly Isles that evening for a week. I was too ill to go. They had a fab time, but I wasn’t well as I was still taking drugs, the chemotherapy was still working and I was becoming down with the situation and the effects of the drugs. It was a long week. My brain only started to clear and feel a little more like me three days before my next chemotherapy session. I was shattered.

So round 5 is complete. Apparently the number 5 is about changes in numerology so here’s to the changes. The changes that have taken place are that they have reduced my dosage of chemotherapy drugs as they don’t want or need me to be as ill as have been, it isn’t helpful to me. They think I have possibly been over-dosing me; they said they either miscalculated my weight / height and / or my metabolism was too fast and I dropped my blood count too low and to fast and / or my metabolism was too sensitive to the dosage I was given. Either way number 5 was a smaller dose.

And the result of this reduced dosage? My head has been clearer, my sickness has not been as intense, my tummy has not been as sore or bloated, I am tired, but not as tired for as long. I seem to be coping as others have said they coped on chemotherapy; nauseous, tired, ill, but not desperate, as down or for as long. Hence I am on self imposed lock down so I reduce the risk of catching anything and re-visiting hospital. Hopefully I will then have a longer time of feeling ‘okay’ before my last chemotherapy session.

For all of you who have booked or got tickets for the fashion show in support of the Fountain Centre, thank you. For anyone who has missed the information please email me or speak to Hilary as she has all the details and may even have some tickets left over. Thank you again.

This has been and is a difficult road to travel and the journey has been a rough one in more ways than I wish to bore you with, but I am extremely grateful for your kind thoughts, best wishes and lovely words. I need to be past chemotherapy to be able to understand and work through whatever happens in the next step of getting over breast cancer.

Thank you. Loads of love and hugs Helen x