Operation stem cells complete

The hardest part is over. And what a journey it’s been. Isn’t it simply amazing that the many millions of stem cells were taken from my bloodstream, stashed in a bag, frozen, stored for months, defrosted, returned to their rightful home and are now back in my veins, swimming around, thriving and growing, making my body stronger again. Isn’t it simply amazing that six months ago, almost to this day, I was walking into a London emergency room complaining of some abdominal pain, about to find out that I had a giant tumour in my chest and cancer spread across my body and that my life was about to be turned upside down. Isn’t it simply amazing that I am standing here right now, an ostensibly healthy girl, my bald head and a huge scar on my chest really the only things that offer any clue of what I have been through.

Pictured above is my chest X-ray, taken on November 11, 2011 at North Middlesex Hospital in London, which is what began my whole journey. Below is what a normal chest X-ray looks like (the lump to the bottom right is the heart). As you can see, the large 'mediastinal mass' above and around my heart in the above X-ray shouldn't be there. My chest now, thankfully, looks more like the image below.

I was discharged on day 11 of my transplant, after two and half long weeks in hospital. When the consultant gave me the all clear to go, I had been expecting another 24 hours in hospital, and I was over the moon – just too tired to show it. I didn’t get to go ‘home home’ just yet – I had to stay in the apartments next door to the hospital for another week at least – but it was fantastic nonetheless.

The feeling of being discharged from hospital is such an elated high that for a moment, you almost forget the pain of the previous weeks (I said almost). But discharge day really is such a high, like being released from jail. Free from IV drips and constant blood pressure, heart rate and temperature observations. No more being roused from sleep at dawn so a path nurse can stab you in the arm for more blood, no more listening to other patients’ ablutions from the bathroom, no more staring wistfully out the window from the hospital bed as the sunshine-filled world moves on without you; no more stomach-churning hospital food, delivered in its pink plastic case; no more beeping monitors, no more peeing into a pan, no more daily discussions of bowel movements. But when I left this time, I got a bit emotional. I could barely thank the nurses without blubbering like a baby, because they really are the most amazing people ever, and made my two-and-a-half week stay in hospital so, so much more bearable. Additionally, the staff tend to take you under their wing, with nursing co-ordinator Trish exclaiming, “I’m so proud of you!” when she saw me looking strong and even managing to nick out for a coffee on day 10, and the haematology consultant congratulating me as he discharged me, saying this was the earliest I could have gone home.

All in all though, the stem cell transplant journey was a lot easier than I expected. My doctor and nursing co-ordinator had presented me with the worse-case scenario as far as the transplant went, and I’m glad they did. It is very, very hard to predict one’s treatment journey, as every individual is different. I was one of the lucky ones, as I noticed many patients around me at Peter Mac were doing much longer stints in hospital and facing far worse complications.

My major glitch – which was a serious one indeed, but luckily hasn’t ended up causing me too much grief - was the massive clot in a main vein in my neck. This had been caused by my arrow, or central line, which had become infected with a skin bug. On day 7, after the presence of the infection was confirmed, the doctors made the decision to pull the line out. There was a big nasty, swollen lump on my neck that was very tender and sore, and the doctors were concerned – my neutrophils were still at zero so I had no immune system to fight it. “This could have serious implications,” they told me, explaining that the infection could get to my heart, which would be catastrophic. Thankfully this wasn’t the case, which was confirmed by an ultrasound a few days later. In the days following the line’s removal, my white blood cells began to climb (which meant they could help fight the infection) and the antibiotics were also kicking in. I now have to take oral antibiotics for six weeks (one of which turns my pee orange) and also have to get twice-daily injections of a blood thinner called Clexane in order to keep this infection under control (which I have managed to give to myself – never thought I’d have the balls to stab myself with a needle, but it’s amazing what you can drive yourself to do in the right circumstances).

Another very small glitch I encountered, also on day 7 (a very action-packed day that was!) was a reaction to platelets. That day my platelets were low and so I needed a transfusion. I’d had several bags of platelets before, so no biggie. But for some reason, this time, towards the end of the platelets going in, my body grew itchy, my left eye and the left side of my face grew swollen and my sinuses clogged up (which meant I couldn’t taste the hospital food – a blessing!). So I was this disfigured, one-eyed Notre-Dame-esque monster for half a day or so. As Jacqui so helpfully contributed, “You look like something from Futurama.” Thankfully I had more platelets following that and a couple of blood transfusions, which went in without a glitch, so it was just that batch for one reason or another. The human body is a funny thing.

But apart from a persistent dull, sore throat, a couple of tummy upsets, some understandable fatigue, some night sweats, temperatures and mouth pain (remedied with some cocaine mouthwash – hospitals really do get the good stuff!), I didn’t really have that much to complain about. I didn’t get ulcers, I kept up my appetite, I was venturing out of the hospital just about every day that I wasn’t hooked up to the drip until my white blood cells bottomed out.

A rainbow outside my hospital window

One thing that really helped me was food. I’ve always had a more-than-healthy appetite (my parents threatened to lock the pantry when I was younger, and on inspection of my room, would often find empty chip, Tim Tam packets strewn across the place). I am a self-confessed food lover, to me it is one of life’s simplest and most luxurious pleasures. Through my last five cycles of chemo, my ravenous appetite has been a bit of a running joke. It is common for stem cell transplant patients to lose their appetite completely and in some instances, require nutrition via a drip or feeding tube. There were times when the hospital food made my stomach churn, and there were certainly days I ate less than others, and my weight did drop 3 or 4 kilos at one point, but those incidences were short-lived. A doctor at Latrobe Hospital told me to treat food as one of my medicines, so I was always forcing food down, even if the sickly sweet protein drinks the dieticians insisted on plonking on my food tray tasted awful, or the steaming pile of ‘butter chicken’ looked more like dog meat. I do believe this helped me a lot. My mother’s phone is full of text messages from me filled with random food requests: “I want a grilled chicken burger” or “Can you get me a scone” “I feel like Twisties” etc etc – God help the gopher who has to tend to my demands if I ever get pregnant.

Maybe the amazing one-point win by Collingwood on Anzac Day might’ve helped a little bit too … My mother managed to get an Anzac Day poster signed by Daisy Thomas and Harry O’Brien which sat above my bed during my stay in hospital. It incited both strong approval and extreme distaste, depending on who was looking after me. Of course I left it blue-tacked to the wall following my discharge, and one of the cleaners (a Pies fan) actually called me in the apartments and brought it down there for me.

Of course there are a million other things that have helped me get through this – a supportive network of friends and family (not a day went by without someone at my bedside), the amazing group of doctors, nurses and staff at Peter Mac and the power of positive thinking. There is absolutely no way I would be coping this well if I had to go through this feeling alone. I guess this is one of the most touching things about being sick; the kindness it brings out in the people around you and the inner strength it brings out in yourself.

I still have quite a bit of a journey ahead; I have this infection to sort out and I also have four weeks of radiotherapy about four weeks down the track, my final hurdle. Coming out of hospital, I didn’t feel the elation you would expect, as my body was still catching up. And the enormity of what I had faced and achieved just hit me. Five and a half months of emotion piled on top of me and some days I couldn't stop crying. But it felt good, like a release. For a while there I just fell into a heap. Now I have picked myself up again, but am interested in doing little more than some meditating, painting, gardening (I just planted a vegie patch), writing and reading (yep, I’ve gone from 29 to 60 years old overnight). I just want to find my inner hippie for a little while until I work out exactly how to embark on the next chapter of my life.

Speaking of chapters, my 30^th birthday is coming up. This is not really how I ever envisaged the lead-up to my dirty thirties to be, but I feel neither anxious nor happy about it. I am just happy to be here, simple as that (the post-radiotherapy/belated 30^th birthday party is going to be an unmissable event though, don’t you worry about that).

My hair grew back. Then it fell out again. 

Six months since I first went to hospital, and I am now in remission. After months of uncertainty, I finally know that I’m OK. I’m not cured yet – I won’t be able to say that for another two or more years – and for all I know, there could still be microscopic cancer cells floating somewhere in my body. That is something that all the doctors, tests and scanners can’t tell me – something we will never know. Which is why I have decided to go ahead with the radiotherapy, which will hopefully eradicate any cancer cells, if there are any left. But positive thinking and good will has got me this far, and it’s going to get me further yet. Cancer is past tense now, and hopefully it's there to stay.

So it's back to business ...

So I’m back at Peter Mac, and in some ways, it’s like I never left. The scent of the antiseptic hand soap smacks of familiarity, the food is just as dismally unappetising as ever and as if things have gone full circle, I have ended up in the bed (good old 10C, my old friend) in which I began my Peter Mac journey. But while some things don’t seem to change around here, things are still definitely different this time around.

This time I’ve come fresh off a month-long breather. And what have I done with my four weeks off? Oh, not much really … just three awesome road trips (one interstate), a music festival, a wedding, several reunions with old, amazing friends, making new friends, some bad TV - Geordie Shore (don’t judge me), a three-night hotel stay in my own city and a lot of laughing, dancing and much more.

The holiday was slowly savoured from start to finish, like a big meal after a period of fasting. The first bite was a Golden Plains for the ages (see last post) and last but not least, the treat at the end was the equally epic event of Tim and Ange’s wedding (I could say wedding of the year, but that would be unfair on the other two I have attended this year). Packed between these two cataclysmic events, were three road trips: Bendigo, Merimbula and Mornington Peninsula; some visits to some old Melbourne haunts, reunions with many old friends (uni and high school), and a three-night stay in a hotel stay at Albert Park, which was filled with more tuba players than you could poke a conductor’s wand at (every brass player in Australia seemed to be at that hotel – band convention?).

The highlights: Bendigo to visit Sam, which was lots of fun; even the part where Jacqui and I got hit with a tirade of verbal abuse from a carful of ‘bush pigs’ who alluded in less than subtle terms to our presumed preference for the same sex (not true, by the way, boys). We drove loops around Bendigo, raiding the town’s gold mine of vintage and op shops, enjoyed ambient beer gardens at historic hotels, made people watching an Olympic sport at the only bar we could get let into and just enjoying the old-style change of scenery and good company.

Bendigo beer gardens

After Bendigo, I had to go to Peter Mac to get some tests done (pre-transplant  checks including kidney function, dental health, bloods) and get briefed in some more detail by my nursing co-ordinator Trish on what the stem cell transplant would entail. One of the tests required a 24-hour urine collection, which unfortunately meant on my final day in Bendigo, I had to collect all my pee into  the one bottle. This bottle had to come with me to Melbourne, and as I was carrying it as stealthily as I could to the car, Jacqui eyed off my plastic bag and asked, “Is that juice?” Her query was met with disbelief as I had just warned her the day before that my bodily fluids would be accompanying us on the trip home. Luckily the bottle stayed firmly between my feet and there were no embarrassing mishaps. But it was rather funny really.

Coming back to Merimbula was like reuniting with a former lover, minus the awkwardness. And so luckily for us, this reunion was full of sunshine and good times. My sister, her friend Ash and I hit the road, stopping at Lakes Entrance on the way for some fish and chips and unexpected seal spotting. We spent the weekend at the leafy retreat of my aunt and uncle’s Nethercote property, enjoying nibblies on their veranda, guitar sing-alongs, fresh air, games, wonderful home-cooked meals (Caz and Brian can cook!) and jokes. We shopped at Candelo market, buying all sorts of nick nacks and treasures including some ‘so bad that they’re good’ records (including Mrs Mills Non-Stop Honky-Tonk Party –straight to the pool room).

$1.50 - bargain

In Merimbula town, I spent two nights with some of my favourite people, Jasmine and Kelvin and their four gorgeous children who filled my days with laughter. Their children were so full of energy but in such a great way. I am going to sound clucky as hell by saying this, but children are such special people and we can learn so much from them. It was also wonderful to see their little girl Pearl doing so unbelievably well after her own battle with leukemia. Life after cancer isn’t easy either; outsiders tend to overlook the monthly ritual of check-ups, the niggling anxiety that the cancer will return, the inability to use the word ‘cured’, because being cured and being in remission are two different things. But Pearl and her family are doing so well; I hope they all realise how inspiring they all are to me, and how much I enjoyed spending time with them again.

I also got to visit some of my favourite beaches (I may be biased, but to me they are some of the most beautiful beaches in Australia, and the world, particularly because of their ‘untouched’ nature) and even had a couple of swims. The gods were smiling.

I also went to visit my former boss, Liz, who I found out had been trying to contact me by phone since she had heard the news. I surprised her at the office, and when she saw me, her face was filled with enough joy to bring tears to the eyes. She stood up, gave me a hug, and held my hands for a long time. Liz was like a mother to me during my years living in Merimbula, and I knew it meant a lot to her to see me, and to see me doing so well.

Stopover at Lakes on the way home

Another special thing about this time off and well, the time since I have arrived back in Australia, is the reunions I have had with old friends – from university and high school. Highlights include sitting on the veranda with Suzanne and her daughter Lavinia, sipping vegetable soup while watching the rain fall over her Yinnar property (once again opening my eyes to the beauty of my own local area), J-Plo, Fleur and I reverting to our former uni selves terrorising Melbourne, sharing endless laughs with old high school friend Andrew, lunch with Nicole which stretched on for hours because we did more talking than ordering, and all the others I have bumped into along the way – people I have had little to do with over the last 8-10 years, but have wished me all the best. The kindness of all these people I know, after all these years, is truly touching. I hope that I can do the same for others one day, because I now know how special these seemingly small tokens of kindness can be.

On Easter Saturday a group of us did a day trip to Tyabb, where we indulged in some more vintage and op-shopping, a stroll along the beach (where a friend almost got caught in quicksand - quite dramatic), a half-arsed bush walk, oysters and wine at Arthurs Seat overlooking the twinkling lights Peninsula. A drive back through Mornington, then pizza at the hotel in Melbourne. Another fantastic day.

Luckily just before going back into hospital I got to attend Tim and Ange’s wedding, which was so much fun I think I was piling into a cab at 4am. I think the best thing is that Ange and Tim are such wonderful people who are nuts about each other. So glad I got to spend this special day with them. I still have sparkles in my wig from the reception … part of me doesn’t want to brush them out. :)

Another awesome wedding ...

Finally I got that little taste, that wonderful window of what my life used to be. I had strength, freedom, no responsibility and an amazing country to explore and amazing people to visit.

For a while there I was enjoying myself so much that I didn’t want my break to end. With my strength returning in full force, and along with it my hair, eyelashes and eyebrows, it was hard to even believe that another hospital stay loomed ominously in the not too distant future, and “the big one” – the stem cell transplant. I didn’t want to think about it, and I didn’t. I totally lived in the now and loved every minute of it. But as admission day grew closer, I began to grow anxious in a different way: anxious to get it over and done with. I’m as physically and psychologically ready for this as I will ever be. Bring it on; let me hit the final and most excruciating lap of my journey, to collapse at the end, giddy and woozy with victory.

I think the last four weeks will be etched in my memory. When you have cancer, every emotion is amplified; time seems to go slowly; the highs are memorably high. You don’t take anything for granted anymore. Even a simple pleasure such as sitting out in the sunshine and enjoying a meal with some friends is seen as a privilege, not a given, because there were so many times you were too sick to do so. You learn to value things so much more, and I think this quality will be with me for life. I heard footballer Jimmy Stynes (R.I.P) in his documentary talk about how having cancer made you realise what the important things in life were, which to him, was his family. As a result, Jimmy grew closer than he could have imagined to his wife and children, and he was able to showed them exactly how much he loved them. I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, and even though I am deeply saddened that we lost someone like Jimmy, I have no doubt he was able to fill those two-and-a-half years from his diagnosis to his death with so much love, a quantity that many would not realise in a much longer life.

Having been in hospital a week now, I am starting to feel the weight of what I am about to face. But I have to put my head down, get this done, and get to my final goal: a cure. Bring on the victory lap.

A change of tack

In spite of the crappy circumstances, there have been some blessings about coming home. I felt I left London too early, but so many moments since my homecoming have left me thinking ‘God I’m glad to be home’.

And the number one reason is family. These are people that you can’t replace, no matter how far across the world you travel. Coming home meant I got to spend a week in Wollongong in a (peach-coloured) houseful of crazy Dortmanses in the lead-up to my cousin Jamie’s wedding. I honestly felt that week and the wedding was something I will remember for a lifetime.

So this wonderful week of reverting to adolescence, waking up to the beach every morning, playing boisterously loud board/card games, rolling around in laughter during charades, having a girls’ day out in Sydney, watching the crazy Dortmans crew leap out of a plane during an impromptu skydiving mission, regular and inappropriate use of the term ‘Code Brown!’ and ridiculous sunburn culminated in the event of the century, Jamie and Ana’s wedding. I teared up a few times, as did the groom ‘I had something in my eye’ Jamie and many others.

Back home, it was straight back to reality as I was again thrown into the well-trodden routine of doctor’s appointments, blood tests and X-rays, closely followed by my third cycle of chemotherapy. The following weekend, I had the honour of attending another wedding, this time to celebrate the marriage of my friend Brooke to her beau Jason. Great day, one that left me feeling similarly warm-hearted and loved up.

At this wedding I happened to meet an inspirational lady named Jan. She came and sat beside me and told me that we had something in common. Neither of us had realized it at the time, but during the chapel ceremony, I had sat right beside her, the only other person in the whole room with a wig on. Jan had breast cancer and was currently undergoing chemotherapy, however, she had been told there was nothing more that the doctors could do, and the cancer would eventually get her. My heart went out to her, but she was handling it like a trooper, living in the moment, saying and doing what she wanted. She grabbed my hand and told me I would live a long and healthy life, she could feel it. “My children say I have a sixth sense about these things,” she said. Jan knew she was closing in on the final chapter of her life but she was full of zest and positive energy.

Don't you love weddings?

My third cycle, compared to the previous two, was a walk in the park. It was almost too easy. I spent a week in Melbourne, seeing it through a whole new set of eyes, feeling like a tourist all over again. Catching a tram was an exciting adventure; catching a glimpse of the MCG on my way in filled me with nostalgia, wheeling my bag through a now-complete Southern Cross Station, visiting pubs and seeing faces I hadn’t seen for two years, spending a sun-filled day at the Aussie Open followed by dumplings at Chinatown and a lemonade in a leafy beer garden, feeling like I had stepped back in time at Labour in Vain on Brunswick Street, attending a backyard barbecue and visiting Edinburgh Gardens for Aussie Day ... but this was the calm before the storm.

Until that day: Wednesday, the day of my PET scan, which would establish exactly how much cancer still remained in my body. I think I was a bit nervous about this; I hadn’t slept properly for the two nights prior but I think this was more to do with the extreme heat of the Melbourne nights and the many sugary, caffeine-laced drinks I had consumed ­– though there could’ve been more going on subconsciously than I thought. Mum, my right-hand woman, drove up from Gippsland to take me to Peter Mac in East Melbourne, where the scan would be taking place.

The last PET scan I had received had been in London, before my diagnosis. I remember that day vividly; it was a real reality check for me, and it was the first day I actually felt the full burden of what I had to achieve. I had seen a scan of my body, and I had seen cancer splashed all over it. Well PET scan No. 2, now taken at the ‘halfway’ mark, after three cycles of chemotherapy, was a similar deal. My optimistic and somewhat complacent view was dashed a little that day, as again I was confronted with the formidable task I was facing.

The process of the PET scan was pretty much the same; I lay on the bed, they injected me with radioactive ‘tracer’, left me for an hour, then I lay down on the bed and was passed through the giant whirring donut. After that I really only had time for a coffee before heading off to the clinic to see the oncologist, a professor who had been following my case closely even before I left London. He had also been advising my oncologist in Gippsland. I was looking forward to meeting him.

The doctor was a gentle, tall and thin man who we soon discovered had a magical way of explaining things clearly and patiently. Mum and I instantly liked him. He sat us down and after getting the mundane details out of the way like my medical history, diagnosis, chemo symptoms and the like, he pulled up a seat in front of us and addressed us very clearly. I could tell almost before he opened his mouth that this was not going to be the best news.

He explained that at this stage of treatment, if my current chemotherapy (R-CHOP) was to achieve a cure, then the PET scan would be clear of all cancer cells. If the PET scan was clear, there was an 80% chance of reaching a cure after the full treatment. If there was still lymphoma showing up on the scan, the chances of a cure decreased to 20%. I fell into the latter category. By comparing both scans on screen, we could see that what had once been a giant, blazing red lump stretching across my chest (the red on the PET scan showing the ‘most active’ cancer cells) was now a much smaller green (green = less active) blob. (Basically, it had gone from the size of a bowling ball to a cricket ball). The chemotherapy had made a significant reduction, but it wasn’t enough.

The oncologist explained to me that if I continued on the current R-CHOP regime, it was very likely that the cancer would grow, and eventually lead to my death, possibly as soon as 12 months. A doctor had never been this direct with me before and I felt like I was stuck in a slow-motion nightmare. After saying this, he paused. I tried to remember to breathe.

 “Are there any other options?” I squeaked.

“Yes there are,” he replied with confidence. He warned me however, that they weren’t going to be easy, but they were going to give me the highest chance of a cure.

The next plan of attack was to move onto a much more intensive chemotherapy called the ‘B cycle’ (Hyper CVAD). Under this regime, all of the symptoms of my current chemo would be increased by 30%, and would also make my white blood cells decrease for longer periods, leaving me at higher risk of infection. After two B Cycles, which go for roughly three weeks each time, I would get another PET scan, and there was a 90% chance that would come up clear. However, the chemotherapy would devastate my body to the point that it would destroy my body’s ability to produce stem cells, which produce the body’s blood. Therefore at the end of treatment, I would get a stem cell transplant.

The stem cell transplant is going to be difficult; it’s a reasonably new, high-risk procedure and the recovery is long (up to a year). They will use my own stem cells, which they will be collecting this week (via a machine that takes my blood, extracts the stem cells, then returns the rest of the blood to my body). These stem cells will then be stored until the end of my chemotherapy treatment, when they will put them back into my body again. For three weeks following the transplant, I will be in hospital, mostly in isolation, while the stem cells grow and develop. It will take 3-6 months until I can lead any kind of semi-normal existence again, and up to a year until I feel 95-100% (though I may never feel 100% again).  

You can imagine how hard this news hit us. I guess for me, it was another massive reality check: this thing is big. When they found it, it was all over my body, around my heart, lungs, stomach, liver, everywhere. And right now we are embroiled in a race: it’s the chemotherapy drugs vs the lymphoma, and the cancer has made it clear that it’s not going to budge easily. This lymphoma might be stubborn, but so am I.

Eyedrops given to me while in hospital - couldn't be more aptly named!

Two days after my scan, I was admitted to Peter Mac (who will be overseeing my treatment from now on), for my first dose of Hyper CVAD. As many of the drugs need to administered over 24 hours, or at strict times, it is not logistically possible for me to receive the chemo as an outpatient, so I am required to spend the first 4 days of chemo in hospital. This is never fun, but it was made slightly more bearable by the fantastic medical and support team there; I feel like I am in safe hands at Peter Mac. Furthermore, it has also driven home the fact that I’m not alone, as I was surrounded by patients going through similar things.

My drip monitor, affectionately known as 'Big Bertha' which I was hooked up to for four days ... was glad to let her go

I’m now a week into chemo and tomorrow I head back to Peter Mac where they will carry out my stem cell collection. This chemo has already proven a lot harder than anything I have previously encountered. A couple of days ago I had constant ringing in my ears, neck and back pain, burning throat, chills, sweats, heavy arms; I couldn’t even get myself out of bed or eat anything. I felt like the drugs were completely consuming my body; that I was fading away underneath them. I feel frustrated that I have no energy and sometimes even simple tasks seem beyond me. But it’s something I have to deal with and I always have to keep the ‘bigger picture’ in my sights. While recent events have brought me back to earth with a resounding thud, the prognosis remains clear: we are working towards a cure. The outlook is as positive as it was, it just means it's going to be a harder road to get there. 

Part 1 (pre-diagnosis): The weekend my life was turned upside down.

The day I took myself to hospital was 11.11.11. When I looked back on that day and date several days later, I suddenly realized that Remembrance Day had happened, and I had spent the whole day in hospital, caught up in my own dramas, not even casting a single thought to the soldiers. But I guess that day will have an additional new meaning for me from now on, because it also marked the beginning of my own personal battle with cancer.

My lymphoma began in my chest, so it was invisible – I couldn’t feel it. In fact, even when I took myself to hospital, I wasn’t presenting with chest pain or breathing problems. I had abdominal pain.

With the beauty of hindsight, I can look back and identify the warning signs, although it’s still unclear if some of them were actually warning signs or not. Bouts of sickness, unexplained fatigue, shortness of breath, night sweats and a persistent cough. Most of these had presented themselves in the five weeks before I went to hospital, but when I thought about it, some had been hanging around for months.

One of those was fatigue. I was coming home from work and not being able to do much more than cook a meal and go to bed. My housemates had noticed a drop in my energy and a change in my moods. I hadn’t been for a run or exercised for several weeks because I hadn’t felt up to it. Even my half-term break was spent feeling sick and exhausted. I thought I must just be generally stressed and exhausted from working, but I knew something was up. One Saturday, I went swimming at the Hackney Pool and could barely complete one lap. I was a bit hungover and tired, but still this didn’t stack up for someone who can swim 30 laps of a 25m pool no problem. Straight after that, the abdominal pain and nausea began, and didn’t go away.

During these two weeks, I saw my GP twice. The first time he prescribed me pills that stopped the production of gastric acid in my stomach. They didn’t really do anything. I was still in a lot of pain and discomfort. And the pain had moved, towards my kidney. It was affecting my sleep. I was still going to work though, because the bills and rent needed to get paid somehow. The second time I went back to the GP, all he did was send off for more pathology tests. “This is a poo-poo container,” he said, holding up an empty vial. (Ew. I feel for whoever had to carry out that lab test.) So basically he took stool and urine samples, and told me results would be back in two weeks. Two weeks! I was in agony. I knew I couldn’t wait that long.

I could see that my GP was pretty much useless. I mean the guy didn’t even try to come near me with a stethoscope. But what can you do?

I went home after that GP appointment and spent the whole day in bed. Usually this kind of rest would make one feel better. Well I didn’t feel any better. I knew something was up. The next day I decided I wasn’t going to sit around and feel horrible anymore. I was going to do something about it. I walked to the bus stop and took the next bus to my closest A&E.

I was dreading a long wait in the waiting room but I got called straight up. I went into my little cubicle, explained my symptoms to the female nurse. They did all the routine checks, then they sent me in for an X-ray. I wasn't sure why at the time and I thought it might be unnecessary. But when they sent me in for a CT scan after that (where you lie down on a bed, get injected with a strange liquid and are passed through a giant whirring donut), I knew something was up. I could see them poring over my X-ray, a big blotch across the screen, speaking in muted tones, stealing concerned glances in my direction.

Finally the nurses came into the cubicle and asked me some questions about my family history. They explained to me that something had come up on my chest X-ray. That there was some kind of mass, gathered around my thyroid, around my breathing apparatus. The male nurse said he was waiting on the CT report to get a better idea of what it was, and that he would be sending down doctors to speak to me about it. I was dumbfounded but I didn’t really know what it all meant. The full seriousness of it hadn’t reached me yet. He asked me a few more questions about symptoms, then I remembered the cough - a horrible sounding whooping cough - I’d had for two weeks, that only presented itself when I was lying down. They seemed concerned about this and scribbled it down on their clipboard.

More waiting. People came to take my blood. I watched as a nurse took about four or five vials, the dark scarlet liquid leaking across the plastic ominously. A young female doctor, who didn’t really have any news, but was nice company, and did a few more checks. A manky hospital sandwich for lunch. And more waiting.

I’d been in A&E for about six or more hours when the bombshell came, via a lady named Sarah from haematology. She was accompanied by several doctors and consultants. I wondered if they thought I was going to flip out. They were all looking at me with concerned faces. They asked me if I had family around. I said no, they were all in Australia. And I couldn’t even call them because it was stupid o’clock (3 or 4am) over there. All my London friends were at work. Sarah was very direct with me. She said the symptoms I was describing, and the scans and test results were all pointing to one very likely diagnosis: lymphoma. This meant nothing to me at first, until she said, ‘Hodgkin’s disease’ and suddenly Delta Goodrem, and cancer, sprung to mind. “Lymphoma is malignant, but it’s very treatable,” she assured me. She told me they wouldn't know what it is until a biopsy was done, which wouldn't be happening until at least Monday. I didn’t really know what to say but sit there quietly, crying. Not sure who to call, what to do. “It’s a lot to take in,” she said gently. I had never wanted to speak to my mother more than I had at that moment. They told me I would be staying in the hospital for the weekend and when I told her I was supposed to be working Monday, Sarah said gently, “I can assure you that won’t be happening.” (No, instead I would be in an operating theatre.)

So I called my boyfriend Matt, who I was supposed to be meeting up with that night. His reaction was shock and disbelief, his voice wracked with concern. “Can I come see you?”

I had been moved to a ward by the time Matt came. I was so happy to him walk in the door, even though his eyes were full of worry. It was a lot to take in, but it was quite difficult to talk things over while the woman in the corner kept moaning and retching violently into a bucket. At 8.15pm one of the nurses came over and told us visiting hours were over at 8pm. I didn’t want Matt to go. He hesitated for a long while. “I don’t want to leave you here on your own,” he said. “I’ll be OK,” I said. “I know,” he replied. “Tough as old boots.” (Apparently on his way out, the lady in the corner asked Matt if he could take off her socks. “I don’t care who takes them off,” she said, staring at him wildly. Matt called for a nurse and high-tailed it out of there.)

It was about this time I called my mother. It was about 9.30am over there and she was at work. I went to tell her, but I choked on the words and began to cry. Concern crept into her voice. “What’s happened?” I told her I was in hospital, and that a scan had shown something in my chest, and when I mentioned the likely lymphoma diagnosis, her voice fell. “Oh Beth.” She then, as I knew she would, insisted on flying over. I told her to wait. “Just wait until the diagnosis.” Because she was at work and still recovering from the shock of what I told her, we resolved to discuss it further tomorrow. Then the nurses told me I was changing wards, and I gathered my things, and was wheeled, like a frail person, to the upper floor.

It wasn’t exactly the most welcoming of surrounds. At first I had been grateful to get away from Lady ‘take my socks off’ Spewguts, but when I accustomed myself to my two new neighbours, old Spewguts didn’t seem so bad. On my left side was a woman who I at first thought had a case of severe flatulence, however, the culprit was actually the ventilation machine she was using for oxygen. Directly across from me was a middle-aged Romanian woman, who was rocking back and forth, moaning softly as if possessed, her chin poised ominously above a vomit container. She was deathly pale. Next to her bed, a monitor was beeping loudly, and at every break between her beeps, a beep came from the opposite corner. So between these two other patients, there was constant beeping, deafening machine-powered flatulence and moaning, as I lay there, tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable in spite of the sharp pain in my side. On top of that I’d missed dinner and was majorly hungry – the best the nurse could do for me was a couple of pieces of toast with a tiny sachet of jam. Then the doctors insisted that my bed stayed upright all night because they were concerned about my cough.

Needless to say, I only slept three hours. The next morning my phone went flat, and I started to worry, as it was my only portal to my friends and family. Luckily I'd written down a few numbers, and I asked one of the nurses, Sister, if I could use the hospital phone to call my friends, so I could arrange for them to bring my belongings, including my phone charger, to the hospital. She wasn't crazy about the idea and told me to be quick, because they needed to use the phone. The phone calls I made kept cutting out, and after several calls Sister yelled at me because I was taking too long. She really upset me, and after some tears and heated words were exchanged, thankfully a male patient from a neighbouring ward intervened and offered me his phone charger.

Thankfully my phone was charging when my family called - Mum, Dad, Sam and Megan, via Skype. It was so good to hear their voices. I gave them updates on my situation, and mum said: “You’ve made up my mind, Beth, I’m coming over.” She said she had already checked flights and there was one leaving Sunday night. Everything was happening so quickly.

Matt managed to bring my belongings to me that day, after rummaging around in my room (let this be a lesson - always keep your room tidy in case you end up in hospital) and another friend Nick came to visit as well. It was a nice time, sitting around laughing and chatting. The nurses even let Matt stay past visiting hours.

On Sunday morning, after a better sleep, I could see a small patch of blue sky through the hospital window, peeking above the bland concrete garden and wall. I asked the nurses if I could go outside for a moment to get some fresh air, and they allowed it. It was a short walk to the lift which took me downstairs, to the doors to a garden. I realized as I walked out the automatic doors to the outside world that I was very tired and short of breath. For once it actually hit me: I am ill. A brief walk shouldn't make me feel like this.

At about 3 or 4 in the afternoon the nurses announced I would be moving to the National Heart Hospital in Central London. This is where I would undergo a biopsy, where they would enter through my chest and take a sample of tissue from my tumour, which would be taken to the lab for testing. The other two patients watched me as I got my belongings together, and part of me felt sad about leaving them, they'd become my friends in their odd little way. But I was off to the Heart Hospital, onto the next phase of my journey.

Home is wherever I'm with you ...

I’ll go into the details of my diagnosis later, but first I want to bring people up to speed to what is happening now. I’ve reached the end of the London leg of my journey, and maybe I will look back at that part as the hardest, but most life-affirming bit of the whole experience. It’s hard to say yet, I know I’ve got a hard road ahead of me, but at least I know now what I have to do.

So, in a nutshell, chemo sucks. It’s like a really bad hangover, but without the really fun ‘night before’ part. But I am well-acquainted with hangovers so I guess I’m the best equipped I can be to deal with it all. After a bit of a rough week, I am now on Day 14 of my chemo and things are finally on the up. The last week has been full of: impromptu nana naps, nausea and vomit (including one very public roadside spew – shamefully not the first time this has happened in my life, haha), paracetamol-defying headaches and just a general weak, crap feeling. The extreme fatigue means I haven’t been able to do much (a nice excuse to get out of housework!), but this is rather frustrating for someone who is very independent and not used to doing so little. Living in a shoebox room in a London share house in the middle of winter hasn’t exactly made it easier. During my first days of sickness I was also an emotional wreck (I spent most of Thursday sobbing into my boyfriend Matt’s shoulder, “I’m going to miss you soooo much!”) as I think I simply wasn’t emotionally prepared for feeling so helpless. Everything just hit me so hard.

Blood tests on Monday showed I was neutropenic (sounds like a name for a band or album). This meant my neutrophils, the most important kind of white blood cell, were dangerously low, leaving me susceptible to infection. To ensure my white cell count is as high as it can be for my flight on Saturday, the doctor prescribed me a hormone that would give the cells an artificial boost throughout the week. It’s administered by injection but I didn’t fancy stabbing myself in the shoulder or abdomen, so I’ve left that to the professional, namely my brother Doctor Sam (who arrived here from Australia last Saturday). The injections have been working so I guess Sam passed that test!

But every cloud has its silver lining, and I’ve finally come to my reward. Yesterday I saw my London oncologist for what will be the last time. An X-ray revealed that the lump in my chest is now a smaller lump. The doc said he was ‘very happy with the response’. My blood tests showed my white cell count had jumped from 1.3 to 4.6 (go white cells go!) in three days. The doctor said he had no problem with me getting on that plane on Saturday, and seemed reassured by the fact I would be travelling with a doctor, even if he has only been a doctor for a week.

So I am coming home! Finally! It’s probably going to be the most horrible 24-hour flight of my life but it’s going to deliver me to the people that matter to me more than anything in the world. I’m at peace with leaving London; I feel I have unfinished business here and I know I will miss the place and the people in it, but it will always be there to go back to. It’s just so much more important to be around my family right now.

It’s Friday today and I’m feeling pretty good. Tonight is my last night in London, which will be spent with the many awesome people I’ve met here along the way. It’s six degrees today and will be five tomorrow, which makes it easier to leave … Australian summer, I'm ready!