Ostiant or Chalenduin

I'm going to the hospital again tomorrow for my 8th chemotherapy, which is supposed to be my last. I've got nearly everything packed, from pajamas to fresh fruit, and I hope I won't have to stay longer than 4-5 days. Unfortunately our hospitals don't have a practice of using a port for hooking up the IV, so my poor veins are in a bad condition; some puncture locations are swollen, others are hard to touch, and one seems to be inflamed - I noticed this morning that it was red and painful to touch. I'll definitely draw attention to this; that's not supposed to happen.

After I'm done with all of this, I intend to start posting more regularly (I've said that before, but I really mean it this time :crosses fingers:), and I mean to start working on improving my calligraphy, bookbinding and watercolor skills. The money I had saved for my postgrad had to go for bills, some additional meds and healthier food, so I need to find an additional source of income. I had to quit my nightly teaching job because I couldn't handle being awake until 3 a.m. any more; I can reapply but if I do, I'll have to rework my schedule so that I can work on my thesis as well as on my skills. It won't bring in as much as it used to, but any little bit will help. And hopefully, once I finish my postgrad, I'll be able to ask for a raise.

If only I could win that jack pot... :D

So my second chemotherapy was moved from today on my birthday to tomorrow. I definitely won't receive the spinal injection - they will leave it for next time - and I will receive the Prednisone intravenously instead of in pill form. It was messing with my stomach, both the fact that I was supposed to take 5 pills 4 times a day and that they weren't the only pills I had to take. All of them together was just too much. Hopefully other side effects won't crop up with the intravenous form. o_O

It is my intention to start posting on Dreamwidth and LJ again more regularly; it would be great if there was a reliable app since considering I will be going to hospital at some indeterminate time in the future, a smartphone is what I'll have with me.

Speaking of hospitals, a repost from my LJ: On Thursday they called me from the Radiology department to let me know I am scheduled for my PET/CT scan on Friday at 11:50. They informed me of the procedure, and asked me not to be late. When I got there, they hooked me up to an IV and gave me a radioactive tracer which will help them see if the lymphoma had spread anywhere else in the body.

It took about an hour to receive the IV and to rest afterwords so that the tracer can make its way through my body. The scan itself was about 20 minutes, and then I had to wait for a nurse to remove the cannula. I didn't feel any soreness or discomfort during the IV, and was just a little uncomfortable during the scan because I had to keep still during the entire time in the machine. The test results should be available in 7 days, and the test results of the bone biopsy I did on the 15th should be ready early this coming week. Hopefully they will show that I don't need any strong chemotherapy. Wish me luck!