When I first get to my chemo appointments, I meet with my doctor/nurse practitioner/physician's assistant. We play a fun game where my vitals are checked, they ask how I'm doing physically and mentally, and then they escort me to the infusion center.
Once I pick my super awesome infusion room chair, I get comfortable and wait for a nurse to come check me in. The infusion room is an awkward place. Typically it's a giant semi circle room where everyone can see the nurse's station, and we aren't staring each other in the face. But this girl is a cancer patient during a remodel, so in addition to having to go alone, our infusion room is also an oddly shaped rectangle where we're facing each other. Which is not awkward at all.
These pictures are from my first appointment because I was actually bald at the second one (and was alone). Once I am checked in, a combination of things happens. First, my port is accessed (you can see it below). That basically means that a needle is inserted into the port so that I can get all of my medicine and blood draws through that access point. Once it's "flowing" they draw 2-3 tubes of my blood so it can be used for lab work. Basically, they want my cell counts and platelet counts before I'm given my drugs.
While we wait for the blood to come back (about 45 minutes to an hour), my nurse gets my IV set up and we have a chat about my health and mental state. It is awkward because we are seated SO CLOSE to the other patients, and they are asking about my meds (they always whisper my anxiety meds like I'm keeping them a secret) and my bowel movements. How often am I puking? What other "uncomfortable side effects" am I experiencing? And then, we get talk about where I am emotionally. We discuss how I am feeling about life on a Scale of 0-10 (0 is the best). I'm usually a 1 because I once had a boss who said if you're perfect, you have nothing to work towards. So I give myself a 1 so I feel like I have something to strive for, and also because anxiety meds have changed my life. #noshameinmymedsgame
Once my lab work comes back, the Chemo process begins. Because of the IV shortage that I discussed here and here (with actual citations and medical terminology), not all of my meds are delivered through a bag. Last Thursday I was given one bag of nausea meds, and another via "IV push." Then I was given steroid pills. Once those were finished, I began my first "chemo drug," Adriamycin. The "A" in "AC treatment" is typically given in an IV bag over 15 minutes, but I was given it via IV push. I had to sit up while my nurse timed herself to make sure that she was delivering it over a course of 15 minutes. I'm going to tell you that I really like my nurse (Mary) a lot, but when she told me I was getting an IV bag of Cytoxan (that's the "C"), I was thrilled. That bag takes an hour, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to sit up for that long. Mary was also practically in my face to deliver the drugs via IV push, and it would have been totally rude of me to inhale my Mister Jim's sub while she was right there.
After Cytoxan, they push a few more fluids to flush my port, and then it's time for my Neulasta. The Neulasta Onpro basically attaches to me and auto-injects me 27 hours after my treatment with medicine to boost my white blood cell count.
Once that is on and blinks green, I'm able to leave. At this point, I have two more rounds of this biweekly chemo treatment, and I will switch to Taxol for the following 12 consecutive weeks. So far, I feel pretty lucky that I have had somewhat "mild" side effects to the AC therapy, and am optimistic that I might respond as well to Taxol (I've heard that it isn't as harsh). I guess time and experience will tell!
In the meantime, I appreciate all the love, positivity, prayers, books, and good vibes that everyone is sending my way!
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