Cycle 1, Week 4

Just a quick update, as there's not much to report. The week has gone quite smoothly. Still feeling a fair bit of fatigue but it's manageable and probably a little less than I was feeling a week ago. Dizziness is having less of an impact as well. I am having weekly blood tests to monitor mitotane level (the pill I take), as well as cortisol levels (which are still slightly high) and other hormones (all normal). Results take a week to get back so I've only had one result which was from day 8. Mitotane level was at 5.9, well below the 14 it needs to be at to be at the therapeutic level, but my oncologist said this is expected due to having only just started. Hopefully on Thursday the result from last week will be much higher. The idea is that it reaches 14 by the time I start the next cycle of chemo next Tuesday.

I've been keeping myself pretty busy. I went to a gig Friday night, Lambeth County Fayre Saturday, Hampstead Heath outdoor lake on Monday and having a nice (half) day trip to Oxford today. I guess that's a relatively busy schedule for every) anyone and in this heat I shouldn't be surprised to be feeling tired. Air con is a life saver.

Shaving my head last Thursday was a bit of a shock and I'm still not used to seeing myself when I look in the mirror. I haven't noticed that people are staring at me on the tube though (any more than usual) so I guess I don't look too weird. I'm very glad I put a post on Facebook as it's raised a hell of a lot of money for Macmillan, even if the downside is that it's increased my admin duties about 500%. A huge shout out to Tom, Vinh, Dex, Mark and Edd as well for joining me in the skinhead look and raising even more money, really means a lot to have your support!

I honestly don't know where the time has gone in the last 4 weeks. My plan to read, watch netflix, do yoga and write just hasn't happened. There have been so many visitors, along with the World Cup and Wimbledon, that it's all blurred together, which I guess is better than sitting around bored and stewing in the flat by myself. But it's quite daunting that I'm back in hospital next week though - hopefully next cycle won't be too much worse than this one.
The Script

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