My journey so far....
This is how it all began. In November 1999 while visiting my parents in Canada, I started getting severe jaw pains which led to severe headaches. I visited several doctors and dentists but nothing could be found. Finally I ended up at the emergency room of the hospital where I underwent a battery of tests. My vitals were checked, x-ray's were taken of my jaw and blood samples were taken.
I was kept in hospital for observation overnight. I was told that a physician would be seeing me in the morning to tell me what was happening. That was the first time I had to stay in a hospital. The following day I was visited by a physician who told me that my white blood cell count was very high. This didn't mean much to me. He explained that it meant I had Leukemia, cancer of the blood. I began to cry as I shook with shock. I was transferred to another hospital which has a cancer research facility and to date has become my second home.
The family was explained by the physicians all about the disease, but everyone was too grief stricken to comprehend anything. The type of cancer that I have is known as ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA.
I was required to undergo several treatments of chemotherapy in order to bring the disease under control and to achieve complete remission. Treatment started two days after I was admitted to the hospital. I was given two types of chemotherapy drugs to start with. The side effects are horrific, nausea, vomiting, tiredness and restlessness. I felt sick for a long time.
A week into my first treatment I had a Hickman catheter inserted into a large vein in my upper chest. This was a blessing because my arms were taking strain from all the needle pricking.
After spending a month in hospital I was discharged from the hospital. Two weeks later my leukemia came back and I was back in hospital for yet another round of chemotherapy. This time the doses were increased in strength. More horrific nausea and restlessness. I was given chemotherapy drugs into my spine as well. My back and head hurt for a few days. At the end of a chemotherapy treatment I normally get a fever because my resistance is low and I am required to stay in hospital to receive antibiotics.
During the month of February, one of my chemotherapy drugs gave me high blood sugar. Because of that I had to get insulin injections for a month. My sugar is normal again and I don't have to drink diet (yuk) coke anymore. I went through my third round of chemotherapy at the end of February. Thereafter I was given a period of rest for a few weeks.
Third week in March I received yet another round of chemotherapy. This is a maintenance dose to ensure that my leukemia doesn't come back.
Next step is my bone marrow transplant which is scheduled for the end of April. My sister Anita is my very special donor. This is going to be the biggest challenge for me. Wish me luck!!!!
You can follow the rest of my treatment and recovery progress through my diary.