'There was a time when palliative care would have sent me into a terror zone'

I was in hospital for 11 days while my doctors were trying to find the right cocktail of medicine to manage the pain in my upper arm and shoulder. Come to think of it, Deirdre – my consultant – never once prescribed a tipple of mature VSOP Brandy or several gin and tonics.

That’s an experiment I’ll have to conduct with select friends.

It’s often said that pain drives one to drink. I can testify that it can stop you in the beautiful tracks of life and there you will remain, stuck, until someone alerts others to your plight.

In my case it was the Roman goddess herself, Diane, one of the liaison oncology nurses who came to my aid. These nurses provide the link between the oncology team and the patients. If no one knows that Katherine O’Leary has unbearable pain, then she doesn’t get the assistance she so badly needs.

This goddess of the hunt was on my case. She was listening to me and that is so reassuring to know that you are being taken seriously. She put the wheels in motion to get me into hospital.

Palliative care team

Deirdre had already referred me to the palliative care team and Tim and I had met Prof Tony O’Brien and Claire Crowley, palliative care nurse. There was a time when the mention of palliative care would have sent me into a terror zone. Which is why, it is so important to understand the role of the different branches of medicine.

Palliative care is about managing pain and improving quality of life. Four weeks ago, I was in agony and unable to function. I could not use my arm.

And so a real life Lanigan’s Ball began as the team worked tirelessly to make me comfortable.

Orange stepped out and white stepped in again. Green stepped out and syrup stepped in again. Blue stepped out, and orange stepped in again, learning to dance for Lanigan’s Ball.

Palliative care is about managing pain and improving quality of life. Four weeks ago, I was in agony and unable to function. I could not use my arm

Why have my medications to be coded you might ask? One of my learned nephews warned: “Katherine, persons might be tempted to break into your house for your coloured medications.” The thought of that was indeed a shock. I decided to err on the side of caution.

By the end of my sojourn we had settled on what I’ll call a green and white cocktail. The real trouble was that I was falling asleep. I had too much medication. So, it will be a work in progress to get that right and we are getting there.

Meanwhile, a CT scan revealed that the last two cycles of chemotherapy had no effect on the cancer. Now, that was a mighty blow.

So, long story short, I’ve started on another two chemotherapy drugs. The cycle is still 21 days. I have drug A on day one. The infusion takes 90 minutes. Then, I have drug A again on day eight followed by drug B for an hour.

Hair loss

The second drug causes hair loss. I’m not as brave as I was last time. I’d love to keep my hair. There is a thing called a cool cap. It has a 50% chance of working. I’m giving it a go.

You have to wet the hair and a cool cap is fitted tightly. It freezes the hair follicles so that the medication doesn’t get to the hair. It’s not pleasant but it is doable. It’s really cold for about 20 minutes and then you get used to it.

I’m so grateful to my team for making me comfortable again. When I came home from chemotherapy, I went to the shed and fed a newborn calf.