Hearts and lines

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Castell Coch
I had my MUGA heart scan today, at the Velindre Cancer Centre.    It's a long time since I've been there, just off Junction 32 of the M4, in the shadow of Castell Coch, but as soon as I arrived it all came back to me.   It's actually a great centre, modern, clean and the staff are fab.

The scan is preceded by a couple of injections.   I think the first one is a 'carrier' fluid, and the second is the radioactive one.   There's a 20 minute wait between them, and then straight into the scanner.    The technician had to have two attempts to get my vein at first. More on that in a bit. 

The scan itself is very easy.   Lie on the bed, blanket tucked over you, 3 sticky pads and connectors on your shoulders and rib. Your arms are wrapped up for comfort, and a pillow popped under your knees.  The radio is on.   Then the scanner (a big flat square) is aligned on your left, and stays there for 20 minutes or so. Then it is moved directly above your chest for another 20 minutes.   I simply close my eyes and nod off while all this is going on.   The results will be sent to oncologist Teresa, to confirm I'm well enough to begin the herceptin.

Vein
After the scan, I saw specialist nurse Min.   I hadn't been expecting that, but apparently Teresa had requested it.    She just wanted to look at my veins and see whether I would need a picc line.   She agreed my veins weren't great, but after saying that the picc line needs a district nurse visit once a week to flush it, and i'd have to wait in for that visit, and she did find some veins in my left hand that could be used, we agreed that we would give it a go without a picc line first, and if the chemo nurses deem it is needed, we can get one later.   If it's only 4 treatments, it should be OK I reckon.

The thought of having to stay at home one day a week to wait for a nurse was my main concern.   I'm planning on continuing to work throughout all of this, and it is already tough trying to juggle things, so having even more time off would just be too much.  Trust me, I am trying to ensure I delegate work and will call on colleagues as needed, or just say no, but it is really hard.   With the academic year, you get one chance a year to put things in place.   If you miss a window, you have to wait another year before anything can be done.   And we need to keep everything moving forward.  There are lots of great opportunities and engagement from our Faculty at the moment, it would be a crime not to make the most of it. 

My job isn't to do it all, but I do need to lead it, to make it happen.   I have a fantastic team by my side, working hard.  Today, they helped by us having our team meeting via Skype.  My laptop froze twice, but they persevered.   Their payback was getting to see Sydney - who I had to wake from a deep sleep and bribe with a bonio!  He was very confused, bless him!

Vain
On another topic, I cancelled my hair appointment today, as I didn't want to be radioactive and then find myself next to a pregnant lady.   So we've rearranged for next Tuesday, and just a cut and blow dry.    I've been researching a few wigs and have a short list.
These are my favourites, but I'll discuss it with Belle, my hairdresser (who I've known longer than I've known Greg!) before making any decisions.

I'll update again when I get the pre-chemo clinic appointment through.  xxx






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