The supposingly start of a sore throat or the lump in my throat that I felt in Week 3 vanished! Alhamdulillah. But I maintained the same diet. My taste bud started to get affected. I could only catch the dominant taste in the food/meal I took. If I had steamed fish with boiled veggies then I could only taste the fish and it would leave a strong aftertaste. Some food with mild taste like bread, crackers or fruits would be tasteless. My mouth got dryer too, so a lot of water was definitely necessary. I also developed acid reflux/heartburn due to Chemo. Even after taking Prevacid, there were times that it felt really uncomfortable and I would only feel better after I coughed out some of the food I had. Food and even water needed more time to settle than usual. I could take about 1 hour to finish a meal and 30 minutes for a glass of water. But at the same time I needed to eat frequently to beat the nausea. How about that? Eat and drink felt even more like work!
Oral Care
Since the throat got better, I stopped gargling with Difflam-C but continued with Normal Saline. Having the acid reflux/heartburn didn't make swallowing the UMF 15 Manuka Honey easier. There were times that I was forced to cough it out,disappointing indeed. But I would still took another teaspoon to ensure it was swallowed and kept inside!
Skin Care
Still on cold water, wet towel and Bio-Oil!
Oral Exercise
Did I still talk loudly? Not really. During this week, my physical condition was pretty stable but my mind sort of took over my body. I preferred to talk only when necessary. My mouth started to feel tight especially when I needed to open it wide like yawning. In addition, my sinusitis came back, phlegm started to build up and my nose would get stuffy especially while sleeping. But when the latter happened, I couldn't let myself breath through the mouth because it would get even more dryer! So how do I stay alive?! :) I would sleep without air-con and with the pillow upright, sometimes almost like I was sitting.
Energy
Getting weaker and I only left home for treatments. Being in the car would even tire me off.
TheEmoBit
Eventhough I was physically OK and halfway through the treatment, I complained and wished that it was Week 7. How ungrateful eh? Unnecessarily I thought too much about what may come in the coming weeks. I was overwhelmed by the changes to my body and the ritual I needed to take up as well as get used to it quickly, with the hope that my condition would not worsen. I tried to stay positive and distracted myself with funny tv shows/movies and entertaining my kid because she didn't treat me like I was sick. Praying and zikir helped a lot too but you got to believe it.
Hi Dear,
ReplyDeleteHow are you getting on? I really enjoy reading your blog. We all miss you and hope you're ok.
Can we print out your blog and share it with our patients?
SELAMAT HARI RAYA and Take Care!
Zuraidah, Radiotherapy PCMC
Hi! Thank you for reading and I hope it will help someone in need. Really miss all of you too that have been great help and supporters to me. Thanks!
DeleteAlhamdulillah, I've slowly regained my energy but of course yet to reach 100%. I doubt I will ever regain that much but as long as I can get back to routine, I'll be grateful.I still need to refuel every 2 hours kalau tak lembik :) But I can drive now and do light house work but not for 1-2 hours straight, need to take breaks in between. Throat is better, i can already take solid and food with oil sikit2 but still prefer soupy food sbb dry mouth kan. My right ear is still blocked but most days are better. My shoulder and arms can get achy sometimes, kalau penat or salah tidur, it's the chemo effects on the nerves i think.
Sure, you can print my blog. And I'll try to update as frequent as I can :)
Selamat Hari Raya to everyone, Maaf Zahir Batin especially for those days that I came with a sour face hehe Hope to see all of you on 30 August after my appointment with Dr Azrif.