Cycle 1, Day 1 – 20 July 2026

It is a well-known personality trait of mine to be chronically early to everything, and so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I showed up for my 8am admission to the oncology ward at 7.20am.

Since I have the additional insurance needed, I requested a private room for my stay and to my great relied they actually had one available. Chemotherapy in-and-of-itself is already a beast to prepare for – having some privacy and a space to decompress from social interaction and overstimulation is a most welcome perk.

On my way up to the 5th floor, I was standing next to another man in the lift. He appeared to be of middle age, was tied to an IV drip and breathing very heavily. He was going to the same floor as me, so he was easy to identify as a fellow cancer patient. The man mostly appeared exhausted – but he was moving around the hospital.

Once settled into my room, I prepared for the surgery to insert my chemo port. This was done under local anaesthesia and went over very well. As I am typing this, the IV needle is still dangling from my left hand – the nurses said they would remove it later. I feel a slight soreness and pain around my new port, but nothing too much.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with a cardiologist and potentially a pneumology test, but most importantly, tomorrow marks the official start of my chemotherapy.

When I saw my oncologist earlier today, we went over the latest scans, which had confirmed his suspicion that the metasteses had been too small previously to show up on the imagery. Despite the recent growth, he reiterated that I have excellent prospects and a 90% chance to make a full recovery.

Before he left, he complimented me on my positive outlook on the whole thing: “I love your optimism!” It has served me well so far in life, let’s see if it does again one more time.

Also, I know hospital food gets a bad rep, but honestly, I quite enjoyed the two meals I was served today – although perhaps, this is simply my unconscious knowing full-well that my tastebuds arw going to start getting messed up beyond belief starting tomorrow.