Hello all, on this cold but sunny afternoon. Can anyone help me please? Tomorrow should be my last week of five of radiotherapy but because I've been unwell, I've been unable to attend all of them and so have eight sessions remaining. For the past three weeks, I've been feeling as if I've had a bad cold but it just wouldn't go away despite dosing with paracetamol as advised by the hospital. On Monday last week, I woke up hot and very shivery which got worse as the week wore on and I was unable to attend on Wednesday. I had to get a taxi to and from the hospital on Thursday as I felt that weak but thought it would be worth it as I was due to see the consultant and she would be able to help me. Yes, when I feel better, you can put me in the stocks and throw rotten tomatoes at me for being to stupid. She was very unhelpful and quite brusque and when I said I was thinking of contacting my own GP for help, she said that when I'm under their care, they don't want me contacting my GP. Has anyone else been told that? She did arrange for a blood test. When I came home I felt that bad that I had to contact my GP surgery and, within two hours, a doctor had visited me at my home and said that I had a temperature caused by an infection and prescribed antibiotics. On Friday I was even worse and couldn't get out and my pharmacist actually brought my prescriiption to me. I feel so let down by the hospital but my GP and pharmacist have at least restored my faith in parts of the NHS. Now for the puzzle that I need your help/advice with. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror this morning (bad move) and apart from a cold sore on my lip, have no colour (do any of us at the moment?) but something else wasn't right. And then I realised. My eyebrows have nearly all gone. Where, why, how? I finished chemo over six weeks ago. I checked the "nailbrush bristles" on my head and some of those are coming out. I understood radiotherapy didn't cause hair loss other than the area in which it's being used so why am I still losing hair from my head and now my eyebrows? Has this happened to anyone else? Also can anyone tell me realistically roughly how long it will take for my hair to start growing back? I've seen (for me, unrealistic) photos of supposedly chemo patients six weeks after they've finished their treatment with quite thick heads of hair, albeit short, but their scalps were covered in dark hair. As you can tell, I'm far from "battling" at the moment, but have started to get my appetite back (I had a boiled egg for breakfast; now, now, don't get jealous) so hopefully will start to put back some of the weight I lost last week and perhaps even find some missing eyebrows. I can but hope.
Take care everybody and try to keep warm.
"Un" Battling Babe x
