Treatment and first proper day at work

First of all, thank you all for my birthday messages, emails, cards and pressies. I had a good day once the trip to hospital was over. One of my presents was a knitting kit, as I'd said I wanted to try it again after being told by a teacher that I wasn't much good at it - childhood scars, eh? My hands and arms are now hurting quite a lot, which is a clear indication of my level of fitness. Appalling.

My first day at 'work' went very well. I was basically inducted - and not induced - and shown how to use the software. It doesn't seem to be too complicated - at least I hope so - and everyone seems very friendly. We - the other volunteer and I - were told several times that they would be opportunities to do different types of jobs, so it's all looking very promising. I gather the Trust is expanding and there certainly seemed to be a lot going on. I'll be working Thursdays to start with, and should be able to increase the number of days in the future. They took on five volunteers out of 33 applicants, so I'm very happy I was taken on.

I had my fourth Herceptin lot on Monday. It was fairly straightforward, as always, and I sat next to my friend Leslie and chatted for the whole session. It's nice to be able to talk to people who've been through the same thing. She told me that if you miss a session, and miss your 28-day window between treatments, you have to start from scratch. I had no idea. I should get a heart scan in the next couple of weeks to see whether it's affecting my heart, but I'm not worried either way. It would be better if I didn't have to stop treatment, obviously, but any damage should be reversible.

I got a text from a friend in Switzerland. We were in primary school together but I hadn't heard from her in a long time. It turns out she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, too. It came as a bit of a shock. She seems fine and I hope I'll be able to catch up with her soon enough. That's three friends of mine who have had cancer, and I find it worrying. It just goes to show that it's affecting young people more and more and there's no room for complacency.

On this rather sombre note, I'm off to rest my arms. Hope you're all well and happy.