Hi Barry,

The time after diagnosis is like being caught in a whirlwind, so much happening and you get sent to all those appointments that you hardly have time to catch a breath.

I believe they are going to give you a PICC line - percutaneous indwelling central catheter. Personally I think it’s a good idea though John didn’t get one. It makes it a lot easier when they have to give you chemo and to draw blood. So John ended up with a lot of bruises on both arms through treatment. With a PICC line you can avoid all that.

It sounds like to me that you are getting a lot of assistance at the hospital, which is a good thing. Unless things have changed, when you finish radiation, you’ll get a visiting nurse from Community Care Access who will visit you at home and check on your progress every week. John also got a visiting nurse who came in to give him hydration during treatment. They sent the pump, the saline and whatever’s needed to the house.

Do you have a caregiver who will be able to drive you to the hospital for the radiation sessions? Initially you may be able to drive yourself but fatigue eventually takes over and it’s better to have someone to drive you. For the chemo, they kept John at the hospital overnight, so it was a bit of relief. Do take the anti-emetic before you’re really nauseous when you’re getting chemo. I have always been told to make sure the patient gets ahead of the nausea. There’s no gold star for getting so sick from not wanting to take the anti-emetic.