So I started chemotherapy in, third week of October 2002. Knowing all the side effects that could crop up, and I have to say that the whole trial, the whole chemotherapy experience, it’s been handled as well as it could be. I think it’s horrible to start, but initially, I mean the first chemotherapy session, I went home thinking, ‘What’s all the fuss about?’ because I’d been there at the hospital;

You go in as a day patient, see the doctor, the doctor has a chat to make sure you’re feeling fine that day. You have blood taken for blood tests to make sure that the levels of blood, red corpuscles, white corpuscles and platelets are all sufficiently high to take the chemo for that day. Those two things in place, the doctor then decides on the levels of chemotherapy. The formula is sent away to be mixed up for the individual patient. It comes back an hour or so later. I was put on the drip, and it takes, it took about three, three and a half hours that I was attached to the drip, receiving various chemicals out of a bag in the sort of top;

But I had the chemotherapy for that day, met lots of people. Some were on their first treatment, some were on their fifth or their eighth. One person I met was sort of nearing the end of his treatment, and theres a lot of camaraderie, obviously, because although were not all there with mesothelioma, there are others with’ Some of the women are there with breast cancer, or with stomach cancer, there are so many different types of cancers and until you get into that environment you don’t talk to people about cancers, it’s not an everyday subject;

So can you tell us about the chemo now?

Right, I used to go on Friday every three weeks and it was a whole day session there, get there for nine oclock and they’d make sure your blood was all right, you were strong enough to take the chemo. They would order it from the pharmacy, it might take an hour to come over but you know there was all other patients in the room and I made some wonderful friends, two ladies who was there with me.

And they just put the injection in your arm, they was so gentle. And it took about, you know it was a whole day. I had, as I say I had two different chemo’s and then you had to have the flush so sometimes it was six oclock on the night before I’d get home. But I mean the nurse, they waited on you hand and foot – they brought you your dinner, cups of coffee every hour like you know because you have to, you have to go to the toilet a lot. But they just waited on you hand and foot, they were really marvellous.

So you had a drip in your arm?

Yeah.

Did you walk around with it?

Yes, yeah I used to go to the toilet yeah and everything yeah. Couldn’t go far like you know because it was up the stairs! But yeah and I mean I sailed through the chemo, didn’t have no problems, no sickness, they gave me all the right medication to come home with.

How many cycles of chemotherapy did you have?

I had six. Six session of chemo, every three weeks, yes.

And during the day you said it was eleven hours you were having the chemotherapy?

Yes.

Can you just, so did you have to sit down all that time or what?

Well you had, you were on

The drip?

The drip and you could wheel it a bit after but it wasnt very handy so most of the time you were just sat in the wee ward. But a lot of time I spent in the reception, I was in a ward, there was a reception room and I just sat in there.

Right did you have anyone to talk to during this time?

Not a lot, sometimes you were the only one and you sat there for 11 hours.

Oh dear.

And it was a bit of a drag the 11 hours.

Yes. What sort of relationship did you have with other people in there, could you talk at all?

Not a lot. Oh you could talk, yes, but there wasnt a lot of; people I think they were more concerned with what was going on with themselves, never mind somebody else.

So there wasnt much chat?

There wasnt a lot of chat, no.

And when you were actually having the chemotherapy, those three days, did you actually have to stay in the bed or could you get up and walk around?

No I was mobile, I could walk about. What happens there in the hospital bed, nobody has ever done, you go in and they get all ready, all geared up and they put the stands at the side of your bed, lift on the bags for all the stuff you’re going to get and it’s put into your drip and that’s you mobile. And you walk about, if you go to the toilet, I just walked about the ward with that, and in my hospital they were very good, I could walk out into the kitchen, make a cup of tea, cup of coffee whatever I wanted. I walked back into the bed, walk up to the lounge to watch the TV, so I was mobile, I wasn’t athletic or anything but I was, I wasn’t back prone on my bed I was mobile.

And what was it like actually being in hospital those three days?

It was very pleasant, it was very pleasant, everyone is so nice, so attentive, so kind, and they really spoil you, you know they’re all over you, really. You miss the comforts of your own home and your own family that’s an understatement but when you’re actually in hospital theres so much going on, everything is going, you’ve no time to think. And you can discuss things with other patients and discuss things with nurses and the doctors and everybody is so attentive.