Cytotoxic chemotherapy and radiation burning

I am still in Natimuk so my updates are long distance from phone to me to the web...but...Helen is home in her own new flat in Brisbane. She waxes lyrical about the comfort of the bed Louis has found her and how beautiful the place is in general. She and Louis are adjusting to the changes of having left hospital pretty well. Helen says she feels the exercises she has been doing have made a difference to her strength and capacity and they decided to leave the wheely walker behind for now (although she is still fairly unsteady on her feet). The timeframe for shifting back to Darwin is still unclear. Reports from friends indicate the buildup is in full swing so the climate will be pretty intense (I saw on a recent long range weather forecast that Darwin is to have a max of 37 next Thursday! That's pretty unheard of). Helen has a number of things she is looking forward to in Darwin so it is important to return before too much time goes by but also seems worth waiting until her immediate discomforts have resolved and the first cycle of chemo has been assessed.
Two things that sound hard to me - long distance as I am- the radiation burning is still emerging and she is losing skin from her ears, face, chest and back. Apparently this is pretty painful. She has creams but really has to wait for the cells to grow again - hopefully only another week or two but still...
The other is the "chemotherapy precautions" and the worry that she is "toxic" to others. She felt that some recent visitors were nervous when she hugged them, I hope this wasn't true but in case it was - I'd like to let all and sundry know - hugging and kissing is fine! The most toxic thing when someone is on chemotherapy is their urine and I'd be pretty surprised if any casual visitors were handling that - still if Helen has a predilection for Golden Showers that I am unaware of it might be best to abstain from this for the time being. In other ways please be as warm and loving as you would be normally....

"Precautions are only needed when handling your
medication or wastes. Casual contact like hugging, kissing
and touching are all safe. You do not need to be in a
room by yourself."

In other good news - Helen has her laptop back and access to the internet and she is slowly working her way through the last 2 months of emails! I will continue to print out special ones for her so she can re-read them when she is off-line. She also has her mobile and access to Louis' landline and although her energies remain limited she can enjoy some social contact.
Her postal address for now will remain c/o 8/13 Dorchester St, Highgate Hill, 4101.

Thankyou again for the beautiful messages of love and support many of you have been sending. It's very touching and supportive for us all.