So most of you know by now that just over four years ago I was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer with metastasis to the liver, blah blah blah…

The second time I had to go on chemo (April 2009) I was saved from frying what was left of my hand veins by having a chemo port surgically installed. Actually in a bit of an awkward place, right between “the girls” (most diagrams I’ve seen of ports show them higher up and to one side).

Anyhow, as I am still considered high risk for recurrence the port will probably stay in place for about five years and it requires monthly maintenance – a flushing out and then an injection of an anti-coagulant so that the tube doesn’t get blocked up with gunk and end up killing me. And so yesterday I headed over to the hospital for the monthly port cleaning.

Sometime last year they moved port cleanings over to the blood lab building, which at first I though was a pain because I could only go between 12- 1pm. But after going a couple of times I realised that it was way better than going to the chemo room and waiting sometimes up to an hour and having to see all the others undergoing treatment while I had the port cleaning done.  At the blood lab there is normally nobody there when I arrive and I am in and out in a flash, and am even on a first name basis with the nurses.

But today there was a queue. Not a huge one, just four other people ahead of me. So no problem. Except that all of them were obviously so much younger than me, perhaps in their early thirties. And that made me so sad…