Getting Chemo...

Waiting patiently getting chemo...

I thought that I would do a little run down on what it's like to get chemo. I had no clue before how this was done, but it's interesting to me so I figure it might be interesting to some of you. I'm sure that getting chemo is different for everyone depending on what type of chemotherapy you are getting, but this is what my experience is like.

*** Before I get started... take a look at this GORGEOUS quilt that my roommate from college made me! Miss Kimberlee made me this quilt specially for when I'm having my chemo treatments. She told me to think of it as a "group hug" from all of my friends, family, neighbors, everyone who is supporting me... wrapping their arms around me as I go through this. Thank you so much Kimberlee!!! I think that everyone there was jealous that I had such a fancy quilt... I got a lot of compliments on it!***

The day of chemo I go to the cancer center an hour before my chemo appointment. I get my blood drawn first thing and then sit in the waiting room for about 45 minutes while they read the results of my blood. Then I go and meet with the nurse practitioner and we go over my blood work and she answers any questions, gives me prescriptions if I need something or need refills. If my blood counts are good then I get to go have chemo. If they are not... then I don't! So far they have been "outstanding" so I've gone in to get the chemo.

At the place that I go to they have an infusion room. It's a large room that has a nurses station like a hospital does. Then there are groupings of chairs. Four chairs in a square with about 5 or 6 of these groups in a room (I hope that makes sense...). Each chair in the quad is a patient chair. They are nice, recliners, with a pillow and a blanket. Each station has a t.v. that you can watch and also a companion chair so that if someone comes with you they can sit in the companion chair. When I come in they take all my vitals and direct me to a chair and get assigned to an infusion nurse. They start an IV (well... not anymore ;)) and the first hour they give me anti nausea medication and an antihistamine in case I have any allergic reactions. They also give me a Tylenol and I sit tight for the first hour of "prep drugs" to go through my IV.

Then the chemo starts. I get four chemo drugs, Adriamycin, Bleomycine, Vinblastine, and Dacarbazine... or in other words... ABVD. They start from the least toxic to the most toxic. I get the bleomycin first which is in a drip bag on my IV poll. Then the adriamycin and the vinblastine and done with a big ole' syringe that my nurse pushes through my IV. She said that by getting these drugs faster it causes less side affects. Dacarbazine is last and it's a killer... that one burns the whole time it's going in and it takes about an hour for that one alone. This one is also in a drip bag on the IV poll. Once all the drugs are in you then you are done! Free to go!

No... this is not blood!!! This is my most colorful cocktail that they like to give me... Adriamycin is a redish orange color... the rest are clear.

The whole infusion room process takes about 3 1/2 hours. There is a volunteer lady that comes around with a snack cart and hands out snacks and drinks to whoever wants them. I think that's nice. The nurses are super nice and I usually end up talking to them for most of the time that I'm sitting there. They have blankets if you get cold, they try to make you as comfortable as they can. I usually bring my knitting and a book and that keeps me pretty occupied while I'm doing all of this.

The day after I get chemo I go back to the cancer center and get a shot called Neulasta. This shot causes my body to go into hyper drive producing white blood cells. About 5-7 days after getting chemo your white blood cells drop which compromises your immune system and makes you feel super crappy!! With the Neulasta, your body over produces white blood cells so that when the drop happens you should have enough new white blood cells to cover those that you lost. The bad part about this shot is the days before your white cells drop your bones just ache... they are over filled and it makes for some terrible bone pain! Mainly the bones that produce bone marrow like your hips, femur, sternum, and jaw.

Then the week after chemo I go back to the cancer center... get my blood drawn... wait 45 minutes for the results... meet with the nurse again to go over everything... and so the story goes.

So that is basically how it is. Lots of time waiting around... lots of getting poked... blood pressure cuffs... that's the life of a cancer patient.

One of the nurses there gave me some great advice. He said that when I'm there and getting all this stuff done and going through this I can feel sorry for myself. But when I leave the building and go home I need to try to make my life as normal as possible. Do the things that I love to do, focus on all the things in life that make me happy. I've been really trying to do that. Leave the cancer at the cancer center and have my full wonderful life when I leave. I think that as time goes on it will be easier to do that. I'm still trying to just get used to all of this and figure everything out so that I can be as normal as possible.

Anyway... that was long but I wanted to get down how the process goes!