Marvellous MooGoo

Magical moogoo! I'm a long time user of the awesome Aussie brand 'Moogoo' - even prior to my chemo days. Naturally I thought I'd try using their products during my treatment too. To my surprise there were samples of their products given to me as a 'starter pack' from the hospital. Moogoo were kind enough to also send me out a thoughtful pack filled with goodies to help me through, even warm cow socks! If you are looking for a natural, simple skin and hair/scalp care routine Moogoo are fantastic. They even have an Oncology care pack! I still use their products now as they are super gentle on your skin.

Neutropenia strikes! - Hospital Stays

It's a weird feeling waiting for your body to crash - knowing that you are going to get really sick, really soon, but have absolutely no control over this. As the days approach the teen numbers in my cycle,  I know my white cell count and neutrophils are going to crash rapidly. Even though I have nightly injections during my second week of chemo it doesn't stop the immense impact on my immune system.

I was very lucky to get through to my fifth cycle before having any hospital stays. I had been neutropenic in previous cycles but I had never spiked a temperature. In those final two cycles though my body began to really feel the affects of accumulated chemotherapy as well as higher doses with each cycle.

I suffered from mucositis during my hospital stays and those that have experienced this know the absolute nightmare it is! It causes your digestive tract to become severely inflamed, affecting your mouth and tummy. I had mouth ulcers so severe that I couldn't even speak or drink water. Just moving my tongue ever so slightly would cause terrible pain.

I guess the 'good' thing about being a cancer patient when going through to emergency is that you flash your neutropenic card in the hospital waiting room and you pretty much get wheeled on in - none of this waiting for hours to be admitted type business. I felt pretty important! hahah

In my ward, I was surrounded by people wearing plastic gowns, layers of gloves, double doors and hand wash stations everywhere - although I still didn't consider myself to be that sick. I'd look at others in the haematology ward and think they looked really unwell. When in reality so many people I knew were thinking the same about me.

Luckily with lots of antibiotics as a precaution (to avoid deadly sepsis), my neutrophils and white blood cells began to climb over a few days. It's amazing how you really notice your body getting better as my mouth ulcers started disappear over night and within five days I was back home! I was able to have just close family and friends as visitors, they all had to wear plastic gowns each time they entered or exited the room.

For my second hospital visit, I got to share my journey with another beautiful soul, Salina. We bonded very quickly and spoke about our different types of lymphoma, Indian cooking and school teaching over the days we were in hospital. We even got discharged on the same day. It's amazing how many silver linings you can have in one crazy storm!