laugh

I can't get into a lift where someone is wearing Vanilla based perfume. And I wasn't even the one that suffered the treatment! I also never knew how many room deodorisers have a vanilla base in them.

Whilst I think there is either a heightened or changed sense of smell associated with the treatment, I also think we start associating smells we never noticed before with the whole miserable experience.

The aversion to vanilla is common to both Alex and I and I believe it is because we associate it with the worst of Alex's treatment when he was undergoing overnight pump feeds. We could only get "vanilla flavoured" feeds (why do the companies put such strong smells into feeds you can't taste and when appetite doesn't matter?). Occasionally the pump would disconnect, spilling the formula into the bed. The cat was very appreciative and it was often the sound of her lapping that actually woke us up before the smell and the "wet patch" did.

Great news about your reaction to treatment so far! That's 3 less weeks you have to worry about side effects.


Karen
Love of Life to Alex T4N2M0 SCC Tonsil, BOT, R lymph nodes
Dx March 2010 51yrs. Unresectable. HPV+ve
Tx Chemo x 3+1 cycles(cisplatin,docetaxel,5FU)- complete May 31
Chemoradiation (IMRTx35 + weekly cisplatin)
Finish Aug 27
Return to work 2 years on
3 years out Aug 27 2013 NED smile
Still underweight