The aftermath

I intended to sleep late this morning, not having to rush out as the sun rose. Of course, I woke at the usual time and, by 05:45, I was desperate to get up! Although I've been having weekends "off", not going out early on a weekday morning is most peculiar, though very welcome. And, of course, I still have the side-effects to contend with. The worst one now is the colicky cramps throughout my abdomen. They arrive without warning and take my breath away! My list of recognised side-effects does not include these, but the radiotherapists warned me that it was a possibility, so it must be fairly common. I suppose there's a fine balance to be struck between providing a list of possible side-effects so that patients don't worry if / when they happen and supplying a comprehensive list that will terrify them into thinking they have everything on the list (whether appropriate to their treatment or not!)

Other hospitals may do things differently, but the list I have been given includes what you may expect after radiotherapy to any part of the body - there is a column that tells you which part of your person each side-effect is related to, and those that may affect you are indicated by checked boxes. However, I do wonder whether it might be more useful to have lists that are individualised according to the type of treatment. Since these letters are all computer-generated, I can't imagine that having different form letters to address different treatments would be any more expensive.

Today, I'm going to do... nothing! It will be wonderful simply to flop about, not worrying about getting to appointments on time or wondering what tomorrow will bring. As yet, I don't feel well enough to start on my daily walks again - they disappeared about two weeks ago - so maybe this afternoon.... I'll watch some daytime TV!