"The best way out is always through"

The past ten days of the first cycle thankfully went very smoothly, and I felt well most of the time, although I tend to tire more easily than normal…and I am trying to learn to listen to my body and not overdo it. This is a very new experience for me – and hopefully will teach me a good lesson for the future!   Fortunately, Romy and Lulu were well by Sunday and so Leon, Romy and Dash visited for the first time in what seems like ages. It was wonderful to spend quality time with them. Mum's arrangement I started the week with a walk to observe my usual Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) class, which I usually attend with Mum. My teacher Chris has an apartment on the other side of the Botanic Gardens, so I took a delightful walk through the gardens to the class, spent a short time there and then took a gentle walk back home. It was so good to be able to join Mum, if only briefly, for one of our usual shared activities, and a great way to do some no...

It is just over a week since my last blog. I am pleased to report that it has been a really good week – apart from some persistent ascites and general abdominal discomfort. However, even though they did not anticipate that the ascites would dissipate until the second round of chemo, it has definitely eased. Early in the week I was very excited to be feeling well enough to do some gentle walks – and by Thursday, I went for a soul nourishing walk in the Botanic Gardens! Pre-treatment, it had been my practice to walk ‘The Tan’ with a detour through the Gardens on most days. However on Thursday I decided that my walk should probably should not be quite as ambitious as my regular walk – and so I took a different and even more picturesque walk through the Gardens. It was truly magnificent! Thursday lunchtime I went out with my gorgeous sons for lunch. We chose a venue with well spaced tables (as my immunity is low and we didn’t want to be too close to other pote...