Chemo 8 Say live and let die!

Say live and let die..
I’ve titled with words of Paul & Linda McCartney, sung more fondly in my mind by Axl Rose. I’ll live and my tumors gonna die!
Today was Chemo 8. Tripti and I went to survey the chemo room and the OPD setup of the hematology department at 8 am. The doctors usually come at 9:30am after a journal club, and since today was Vincristine and Bleomycin I wasn’t in any hurry to get chemo – it would last 15- 25 min tops and I would be ready to go soon after.
I had prepared Christmas cards for the chemo sisters in OPD and those in my ward – so I went to give those off. I met the Chemo registrar Dr. Kannan at about 10 am, who checked my counts and other tests, examined me and took me over to meet Dr. Mammen Chandy. The pain in my left forearm has been getting worse and so Dr. Mammen suggested I get the venous system checked out by an ultrasound Doppler – if there were blood clots near the veins of my chest I may need heparin. It’s an injection that decreases the ease with which blood clots and can help dissolve clots a bit too. Yvette, a registrar in radiology, who had worked with me in Surgery a few months ago obliged to do my scan at the drop of a hat (me - grateful!). By Gods grace the veins near the tumour were patent and soft, only the ones of my forearm were blocked. That’s good news, because it translates to no need for the painful heparin injections.
I met Dr. Mammen with the results and took a quick snap so you all know what he looks like. Dr. Alok is missing, and so are many of the others of the team- the thing is, this unit works as a team and you feel like more than just a ‘patient’. I met the Bengli man from my last chemo visit again today (with a similar diagnosis as I had). He said that his doctor here had told him he would be fine just like “our Tarun”. Don’t I feel special?
The chemo as such was uneventful and I have eaten a good lunch. I hope to be able to make a walk out in the campus tonight to give a few more Christmas cards.