Here’s a recap on last week’s adventures.

Monday – Oncology Dept Recce

Monday afternoon, Rod and I were booked in for a pre-treatment education session in the Oncology Dept. Initially I wasn’t sure if this was necessary, having worked in said Dept and after having not one, but two Oncologists go over the treatment in detail. I hummed and harred, but Maddi asked the pivotal question: What would Hamish say?  

I’m trying to make a conscious effort to be the patient and not the nurse. I’ve successfully done this with Rod’s treatment, but I’m finding it more challenging to do this for myself. However, we dutifully reported for our education and were able to discuss a few different aspects which was very helpful.

Tuesday – Oncologist Appointment

There is a process with having ongoing cancer treatment:

1. Bloods – these need to be done as close to the appointment as possible to ensure I’m good to go.
2. Oncologist appointment – to discuss blood results, treatment, side effects, dates for scans, general questions and overall monitoring.
3. Oncologist gives the green light for treatment to go ahead (or not)
4. Treatment occurs in the Oncology Dept

I presented to the Oncologist rooms Tuesday with a bit of low-key anxiety about starting the treatment (I think just due to the iteration of side effects at the education session). So much so, that I purchased myself an expensive gift from the comfort of the waiting room (what did we do before Apple Pay?). I talked through this apprehension with my Oncologist, but she set me straight and built me up like my own personal hype man! We talked and laughed and debunked cancer myths. I left the appointment with my mood lifted and a grin on my face ready to take on the world: bring it on melanoma!

Wednesday – Suture Review

Back to Dr Tom for a suture review. Not trusting my leg, we decided to defer until Monday.

Thursday – Treatment Day

I can honestly say I wasn’t worried or nervous about this day. In fact, after Tuesday’s appointment, I’d practically put it out of my head. At a meeting Wednesday, one of my mates said something like, “What time is it tomorrow?” Me thinking I’d forgotten something for work said, “What time is what?” Oh yeah, that…

I was busy all day until my appointment in the afternoon. My colleagues in Oncology were just fab and we chatted and laughed and took photos – I was in and out in under 90 minutes.

Since Thursday, I have felt like ‘my normal self’ with no fatigue or ill effects. Saturday I had my first (very short) bike ride in weeks and Sunday I went on an (also very short) trail walk with Rod, Brad and Hamish. Over the weekend I kept myself busy dusting off the sewing machine, hanging out with Pip, going to Kmart with Pip and just generally having a lovely time at home whilst the guys went to Melbourne to see Paul McCartney.

Monday (today) – Sutures Out

It’s three weeks tomorrow since I was at PMac having surgery, which seems to be just about the correct number of days for my leg to heal. I have been really looking forward to these sutures coming out and being able to shower without a plastic PICC sleeve on my thigh.

Sutures are now out. I’ve cleaned up my leg and applied and reapplied moisturizer. I’ll cover it back up tonight and leave it for a few days; the skin is a bit sensitive so don’t want anything aggravating it.

So what now?

Each month I will have that busy week of bloods, appointment & treatment. On top of that, every 3 months I will have a full skin check by a Dermatologist and scans including a PET scan and either a CT or MRI. I will only need to head to Melbourne for the Dermatologist, but everything else I can have locally, which is really great for those of us who live rurally.

From my heart, thank you for your ongoing support. I have received so many messages, people checking in, sending me funny reels and memes, giving me gifts and flowers – I just love it. I think I’ll push the blog out to monthly updates; just remember you can subscribe to this blog and it’ll be delivered straight to your inbox.

Much love, Bel