I had my final interview with the DA Selection Panel for our constituency to determine whether or not I was a suitable candidate to stand as a Councillor for the upcoming Local Government Elections in May on Wednesday.  The following day we had Annie’s birthday party and I attended a dinner party for a friend’s birthday.  On Friday morning I went to Aberdeen Hospital for my blood test in preparation for my next chemo session this Friday, following which we spent the balance of the day at the kids’ school where Josh and Annie participated in the Founders’ Day Triathlon.

As part of Annie’s birthday, she had invited 3 friends home for the weekend and Josh also brought a friend, so, with 6 kids in the house, I spent much of the weekend cooking, doing dishes and washing clothes.  We then spent most of Monday at the school for the Inter-House Athletics, where despite my wearing a scarf, my entire head got sunburnt!!

On Tuesday, I spent a fraught day trying to get everything ready for the IEC Registration Weekend this weekend, part of which I would miss due to my chemo.  By Tuesday night, I was quite looking forward to the trip to Cape Town – at least I would get some rest in the car!!

Wednesday was Annie’s birthday, so we left home at 06h00 and drove through to Graaff-Reinet (55kms in the opposite direction to Cape Town) to take Annie out for breakfast.  At 09h30 we were on the road to Cape Town, stopping briefly at the hospital to pick up my blood test results.

As I started reading the results, my heart leapt into my throat.  I had failed!  My white and red blood cell counts were too low and my neutrophils were way below the requisite number to receive chemotherapy.  I told Nik to pull into a lay-by at the side of the road while I contacted Groote Schuur.  On hearing my results, they advised me that I would not be able to have my chemo treatment this Friday and that I would have to redo my tests and wait until next week to see if there was an improvement in my results.  8kms outside Aberdeen, we turned the car around and headed for home.

I was pretty devastated.  Despite dreading the thought of the next round of chemo and it’s vile side-effects, I was mentally prepared to have my treatment this week.  Due to where we live, so much planning goes into each trip – we had someone to stay in the house, we had arranged for our children to stay with friends on Friday night, our accommodation in Cape Town had been organised, my heart scan was scheduled for Thursday and all my activists and Party Agents had been sorted out for the registration weekend.  The weeks delay meant starting the whole process over for next week, as well as revisiting plans for the following 3 week period.  After two cycles of chemo, I now know when my bad days will be and I have planned around that.  Some events can easily be delayed, but others cannot.  We have a DA MP coming through to Graaff-Reinet on 18 February to give a talk to our farmers’ associations.  If I have my chemo on 11 February, I will, in all likelihood be too ill to attend his talk the following Friday.  As the Election Campaign Manager for our Municipality, I have organised this event and need to ensure that it goes off without a hitch.  I will, in all likelihood, be unable to do so now.

On the other hand, Nik is thrilled.  His comment to me was that at least he gets another week of me being almost human!  Funny that, coming from someone who keeps calling me Francie, after that boy with the aging disease many years ago.  Not to mention that pretty much everyone who sees me bald likens me to an alien – that is, once they are able to speak, after falling about laughing at my appearance.  The shocking effect of my bald head is heightened by my round, moon-face which has filled out due to my having gained a substantial amount of weight in the last few weeks.  I look a little like Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee – round-faced, fat and bald!

Needless to say, it appears that my (still) runny nostril is a little more than just a mere irritation (and potential embarrassment) and is an indication of some nasty little pathogen lurking around and using up all my body’s defences. Little does it know that I have a few items left in my arsenal!  I am off to see the doctor today to get a Vitamin B injection and a high dose of Vitamin C.  That should take care of it!  I desperately need to pass my next blood test in order to ensure that my treatment is not delayed any further.

Cancer, and particularly chemotherapy, has become such a central part of my life and until my treatment is completed, it will continue to dominate.  I am trapped in 21 day cycles where how I feel and what I do is determined by my body’s reaction to the drugs and despite my every effort to remain healthy and positive, cancer seems to come up trumps.  This time, it has taken another week out of my life to dedicate to its cause and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.

If we were to ascribe male or female characteristics to diseases, I would hazard that cancer is a female, because cancer is a real bitch!

by Samantha Jankovich-Besan on Thursday, 03 February 2011 at 14:17