Yesterday was treatment chemo #3. And for some reason I was very anxious about it, even knowing how easy and simple the first times were and how nice the people are that work there, the nurses and of course my doctor. But I got myself ready, which doesn’t take much, just my thermos of tea and a couple of snacks because I am there for four or five hours. As with Covid rules, they can’t provide food.

Adele was kind enough to take me there and of course, like doctors everywhere, Dr. McCleave was late, not because he wasn’t there but he had a patient and as I was prepared for that, I wasn’t concerned. He’s such a caring doctor, never in a rush to get anyone out of there, so was happy to sit and wait for my turn.

When it was my turn, he already had my blood results, as I had the test the day before and the results come through very quickly. As he scanned them he went straight to the cancer marker and he was amazed. The original marker when they posted the first test was in the 8000‘s, three weeks ago it was in the 7000s, yesterday it was 715! So that obviously alleviated some of my anxiety because it shows how well the medication is working. I felt totally elated and couldn’t stop smiling. And then he looked at all the other results and they all are going in the right direction, depending what they are it’s either up or down and they were doing what they were supposed to do.

And then he did a quick physical and checked my lungs which are perfect now and off I went into the Chemo lounge to get hooked up.

So that’s my biggest news. And I am feeling very relieved and as I got some answers as well from him about what happens next, I am feeling that I can actually do this. What he told me is that generally at treatment #6 they, the doctors involved, look at the numbers and decide which direction to go, whether there are more treatments or whether they go to the hysterectomy treatment which apparently is more than just a simple hysterectomy, as they take out the tissue surrounding the organs. It’s not something they do very often. The doctor who would actually perform the operation is the only one in this area and apparently he is very good. But maybe we won’t have to go that route, it’s a wait and see and I am happy with the direction things are going now.

Oh, and the other big news is that I can have a drink! You’d think I was an alcoholic as excited as I got about that news! Looking forward to my first G&T!

In the meantime, I’ve been without a fridge for a week! I knew the old one was dying and sure enough it kicked the bucket and collapsed. A new one is apparently being delivered this afternoon after a different company fell through on its promise of delivery today. So in the meantime, I’ve been keeping my stuff in Adele‘s fridge but it’s a real nuisance. So that’s the big news at the moment.

The holidays here are pretty much over, which means that the beaches will open up, the hordes will have left and I’ll be able to go down and go for a walk along the promenade. Unfortunately, the water and surf are currently off limits due to a sewage spill from our very poorly, or even shall we say, unmaintained sewage treatment plants, and are indicative of the decay of the infrastructure in this country. I won’t be putting my feet in the water! Although maybe by the time I get down there it will have cleaned up, we have such strong currents running down this coast that it’s probably all been washed away.

I haven’t seen many people, we still have Covid cases popping up around and I am trying to be very careful about who I see and where I see them, so I’m staying home a lot, reading. And I’ve picked up posting my photos onto the stock photo sites, which I haven’t done for a couple of years, and have accumulated thousands of pics! It’s tedious but it keeps me busy at the moment.

I’m hoping I’ll be able to get out a little more as everyone seems to be getting over what ails them and the numbers here are going down quite rapidly, but I will wait a couple of days to make sure I don’t have any side effects from the last treatment.

In the meantime, I will continue to do battle with the resident monkeys who seem to be getting bolder - and sneakier!