Bye

In a few days I have to go to the hospital to get my next monthly dose of pills. Simple, right? You all know the drill by now. Well, not so fast...

Ever since I got the injection with the more potent stuff less than a month ago, I've had... issues. Strong, chronic fatigue - I can barely stay awake during the day. Heat waves, like what postmenopausal women get (and probably for the same reason). The doctor has warned me about these and while unpleasant, they're nothing intolerable. But there is also something else - a burning sensation, like after a sunburn, which started from the place of the injection and gradually spread to the whole right side of my abdomen and back. No visible reddening of the skin, though, so I blissfully ignore it, too.

But today there is something new that can't be ignored - a severe rash covering my skin in the same places. The oncologist has also warned me about this possible side effect and has instructed me, if it happens, to stop taking the pills and call him. Except, I've been taking the pills for more than 3 months already without this happening, this started after the injection (which I cannot stop), and I obviously can't call him on a Saturday.

I stop taking the pills as a precaution and consult ChatGPT for kicks and giggles, carefully describing my symptoms. "Stop taking the pills," is the bot's advice, "and consult an oncologist and a dermatologist." No shit, Sherlock, and certainly not on a Saturday. So, I fire an e-mail to my oncologist (the young and helpful one) and wait.

He answers on Monday. "Stop taking the pills," is his advice, "and consult a dermatologist". Well, thanks, ChatGPT, I mean, doctor.

I book an appointment with a dermatologist that I've used in the past but she's not available until Friday. Meanwhile the rash has gotten really bad, with small blisters. The burning feeling has intensified, my back has started hurting, and I have problems sleeping, because no matter how I turn, the bed feels like filled with rubble.

I visit my personal physician on Wednesday, mostly for things related to my mother but also because he needs take a blood sample for the tests that the oncologist requires each month, and also to write a document that sends me to the dermatologist for free (well, paid by the health insurance, I mean). Of course, I show him the rash, telling him that the oncologist has warned me that this is a possible side-effect from the pills, an immune reaction.

"Ha," exclaims the doctor, "this is herpes zoster (shingles). I'm absolutely positive about it. Like most children, you've had varicella (chicken pox) as a child. Sometimes, the virus remains dormant in the body for decades and can activate if the immune system is weakened (e.g., from stress or from the cancer treatment in your case), resulting in this."

He tells me that it can pass by itself but nevertheless prescribes some medicine to speed up the process. He agrees to send me to a dermatologist just in case but is very positive that she'll say the same thing. He also says that I probably should continue taking the pills but I better consult my oncologist first. Not a problem, I have an appointment with him tomorrow from a month ago, in order to receive the next dose of pills.