"The Chemo Summer"

Yes, it's summer. No, it hasn't stopped raining. Typical Northern Irish weather...
But summer is a time for most of us to relax - it's the time we look forward to after a year of school, or work, or whatever we have been doing with the rest of our year. It's our personal time. I know that for me, as a student, summer is my time off - I love it. But chemo gets in the way a little bit - so I want to talk about how chemotherapy affects my summer, going out with friends - the little things I usually take for granted during my summer holidays.

First and foremost, for me, is the fact that I can't travel by plane. This was such a shame for me because I am a huge wanderluster and I adore travelling with all my heart. I was lucky enough to have three trips booked this year: Zakynthos with my family, Andalucía with my school, and Iceland with my dad. But unfortunately, they've all had to be cancelled - postponed, rather - and I am going to be spending my summer and the rest of the year in Northern Ireland. But, it is better to stay at home than to risk getting sick or running into trouble, right?

So, for the first year in a while, I'm not going anywhere. It's a bit upsetting, since travelling is such a passion of mine, but I know it's for the best. That's the biggest thing I've noticed about summer. With chemotherapy, it's so hard to get out of the house, you know? You can't just go out for a coffee with your pals - you have to figure out if your infection days fall on the right time, if they have any colds or an infection in their home, if you can be that far from home without getting too exhausted, etc... It's hard work and takes alot of figuring out. Personally, I find it difficult to make plans with people, so more often than not I spend my day entertaining myself inside the house, or going out with my family - at least then, things are more simple. If I take ill, they're readily available to help out, and so on.

But chemotherapy also gets in the way simply by happening. You have to budget your days. What many people don't realize is that even when you're not actively receiving treatment, you're still not readily available to leave the house and do stuff. Seven to fourteen days after your chemotherapy dose is what I call your "danger days" or "infection days". These are when your white blood cells are at their lowest and you are more prone to infection. Hugging people, being in close contact, and even just leaving the house can be dangerous. So even when you're not actively getting chemo, you're stuck with it's effects for a week between cycles. During my infection days, I usually become a hermit, solely because out of my past two cycles I have developed three - yep, three! - infections. And they are not fun at all. But thankfully, I haven't gotten sick so far with this cycle - and I am determined this will be the cycle I stay healthy! So I am staying well away from anything dirty and keeping my contact with others to a minimum. It's a small price to pay, I suppose.

You also have to bank on exhaustion. I know that I get exhausted immensely easily - I can't walk very far without getting wiped out and needing a ride back home (sorry, mum). This makes it much harder than normal to go out with friends, because you have to budget your energy. I personally end up sleeping after going out with friends or family,most of the time, to keep myself from getting too tired. My friends are very understanding about it, though, so they always let me take a break from walking and sit with me for a while until I'm ready to go again.

Another big issue is, with infections, you can't just think to yourself, "Oh, I feel fine at 9AM so I will go out and do this..." because infections come on very, very fast. You could be feeling well at 9AM and by 11AM be up at the hospital with a fever. It's frightening how quickly it can happen - so you can't really be too liberal. You have to be so careful, right down to even what you eat! I know that one of the worst things for me is that you can't always eat what you're craving. I have had one or two cravings right from the start of my chemotherapy which I can't really satisfy, because they could give me food poisoning and we don't want to risk that. Chemo gives me very intense cravings (and very intense hunger - it must be the steroids), so this is hard for me!

Since my diagnosis - 56 days or thereabouts - I have been out with my friends, maybe... I would guess about three times. If even. But I go out more frequently with my family, because it's safer - and I don't mind that one bit! It's a pretty boring way to spend your summer, being stuck in the house (or like me, in the hospital), but it's a safer bet. You can't be too careful, but it makes you appreciate it more when you can go out and enjoy yourself. You might wind up sleeping until 3 the next day, but it's worth it for a night of fun, isn't it?

Always remember to keep a good eye on your temperature and if you have any symptoms, call your helpline - Summer is fun, "chemo summers" are a little bit less fun, but your health is more important than anything. Stay safe!