This week started okay, on the Monday, but that was the only ‘normal’ day. The cold that had begun the week before, arrived full force on the Tuesday and carried on for the rest of the week and beyond. Although it felt like a normal cold, It is not easy to determine if this is another side effect, which is listed in the documentation. On Wednesday, I phoned the helpline to inquire as to whether normal cold and flu tablets could be taken alongside the cancer related medication I am already on. Thankfully, the answer was a yes, as long as I checked my temperature and ensured it was between 36.0 and 37.5 (not a wide range!). It did vary throughout that week and at one stage went to 38.9, with the electronic thermometer bleeping like it was about to explode! I avoided phoning the helpline and decided to self monitor; less than 1-hour later, it had normalised.

That made for a challenging overall week, which was then soon followed by some more side effects, which included light nose bleeds, with some clotting (another listed side effect), then on the Saturday, my hands got swollen and irritable. A rapid removal of my wedding ring and one other ring, became a challenging priority. Another call to the helpline on the Monday, led to buying some hand cream, which has helped and the irritation has died down notably. I am left with some light red blotches, which also moved on to my feet. As you can imagine, having irritable palms of your hands and soles of your feet, is a bit troublesome, as they are in almost constant use.

When time permits, I am toying with the idea of creating, ‘Side-Effect Bingo’ as a light hearted psychological way of working through this battery of affects, which are a horrible realisation that I reside in a body that I no longer control.

In summary, a hard week, with virtually no respite in pain and discomfort.