Chemo break

I finished my second round of Xeloda last Friday, having had minimal side effects apart from tiredness, lack of appetite and the shoulder and hip pain which is still bothering me. I was happy that diarrhea didn't seem to be one of the side effects, but I have had a bit of it in the last few days.

I am feeling the cold really badly, so I am grateful that I live in an area with a mild climate. We have just had the longest cold spell since records began in 18something - ten days with minimums below 5 degrees Celsius, even a couple below zero. Yes, I can hear the sniggers from residents of Europe and North America - but we are NOT used to cold. It never snows here, except perhaps a light fall on the ranges in the very south of the State. Today it is not quite so cold because it is raining, and very welcome the rain is. It has been a very dry winter so far.

I have just been to have a blood test in preparation for tomorrow's visit to the oncologist and an infusion of Avastin if the blood counts are OK. I hope to find out exactly what the last CT scan showed, especially in regard to the lung tumours. The oncologist also said last time that he would like another scan sooner rather than later, so maybe he will put that in motion.