Crystal balls......................

Good thing this Internet lark. It allows you to practically see into the future and scare yourself to death by reading other peoples experiences with Hodgkin's. In an effort to try and pre-empt my treatment, I've been doing a lot of reading up. There's dozens on personal blogs out there which detail folks personal battle with the disease. I'm now pretty sure whats to become of me and how I will be treated.
First of all, no matter where, how many and how large the tumours, the treatment for Hodgkins is nearly always the same - 6 to 8 months of chemo followed by a few weeks of daily Radiation treatment if required.
The chemo treatment I will probably receive is something called ABVD which are the initials of the four drugs that will be infused into me on a fortnightly basis:
Doxorubicin (pronounced docks-o-rou-bi-sin, originally called Adriamycin®) Bleomycin (blee o my sin), Vinblastine (vin blas teen) and Dacarbazine (de car b zeen). This is Dan-like detail for all you offshore viewers!! More info here

My treatment may start as early as this weekend. I will be kept in hospital after my first treatment to monitor for adverse reactions to the drugs.
Everyone reacts differently to the treatment - some only suffer for a day or two after each treatment and can lead a virtually normal life, others are ill for the majority of the cycle and recover just in time for the next infusion. Among the side effects I can expect are:
Lowered resistance to infection
Bruising or bleeding
Anaemia (low number of red blood cells)
Feeling sick (nausea) and vomiting - especially just before, during and just after infusion and maybe for a few days after.
Tiredness - Can be extreme fatigue
Hair loss - Will probably lose my hair within 4-6 weeks, can't say I'll miss this carpet on my back much.
Sore mouth and taste change - lots of mouth ulcers, I love Bonjella
Numbness or tingling in hands or feet
Pain at the injection site or along the vein
Weigh loss - Woohoo!!
Weight gain - Doh!
Allergic reaction
Constipation
Piles - Noooooooooooooooo!!!!
Fevers and chills
Changes in nails
Changes in the way the heart works
Changes to the lungs
Itchy teeth
Farts smell like Jeyes Fluid
Piss can be used as engine de-greaser.

I made up the last three..................it might happen!

Alongside the treatment I'll be receiving regular CT scans, blood tests and hopefully a PET scan if I can drag my carcass up to Aberdeen.
So, that's what I've got to look forward to over the next 6 months, followed by some sort of post chemo recuperation and strengthening. Can't really say what I'm fearing the most, weight loss will be good, weight gain will be very bad although numb hands is not without its merits!! Puking in the car while driving is a common one - you never get rid of the smell you know!

Later dudes................................