Are you folic'ing joking?!

So with chemo done it was time to catch up with my oncologist to work out the next steps on the journey that is mesothelioma. She was overall happy with how I had progressed through chemo and according to my blood work and other clinical factors I had gotten through it pretty unscathed. All apart from the facial swelling that has hung around from cycle 4 and has gotten worse, better and worse again. After ruling out all of the lethal reasons that could have caused it, it was thought it was likely down to a side effect of one of the chemotherapy drugs. Then the conversation went like this........

Oncologist: "You can stop taking your Folic Acid this week"

*tumbleweed*

Me: "I'm not taking Folic Acid?"

Oncologist: "You should have been taking it for 3 months whilst on chemotherapy because it lessens the side effect profile of the drugs we are giving you"

Me: "Not only did I not get it or take it but I didn't know I had to"

You see, Pemetrexed is a type of drug known as an anti metabolite. It stops cancer cells making and repairing DNA so they can't grow and multiply. It does this by blocking the action of folic acid in the body and so to help reduce the side effects, folic acid supplementation is essential.

So, it's easy to be angry at this point, after all I've been knocking about looking like I've been inflated for the last 2 months, I've been worried sick about what's causing it, heart failure, blood clots, thyroid dysfunction, kidney failure!!! But despite all this, I understand, I understand that these things happen. And, so my response was not anger, it was just asking for reassurance that it would be looked into and it doesn't happen to anyone else. Anger is a natural response to lots of situations and some people experience it more than others, but honestly, it's a waste, a waste of time, a waste of energy and it helps no-one. I don't know whether having cancer has turned me into a hippy but I just have no time for lots of negative emotions that would have once consumed me (careful, I'll be lighting joss sticks any minute!!).

So the good news is the plan for me now is to have a reprieve for 3 months.

3 months without treatment.

3 months without scans and hospital appointments.

3 months to live my life.

Let's make them count! (starting with the queen’s (Nana Joan) 90th birthday, a murder mystery night with our wonderful friends and a date night with my love).