First chemo session done. Nothing unexpected happened and I'm still feeling pretty OK - a little nauseous and a bit of a headache, but other than that I feel pretty good so far. I understand however that the drugs can take a few days to really hit you, so I'll just see how it goes from now.
I was booked in for 2pm, and we arrived a little early. I didn't need to see the doctor before the session, so that sped things up somewhat. First things first the chemo nurse took me through exactly what she'd be doing for this an further sessions. I'm pretty sure that part of the requirements for working anywhere near cancer patients is to be super nice.
She took my blood pressure (which was low, so I wasn't as stressed as I felt maybe), and then put a cannula in my had to administer the drugs. Saline goes in first to make certain they've hit the vein. If one of the drugs hits outside the vein it can kill the cells it touches - so they're constantly checking to make sure its in the vein correctly, and then that it hasn't shifted. I was given an anti sickness steroid to start with - which she warned me gave you a feeling like having ants in your pants. She was right - a very odd sensation, but thankfully it passed quickly. It also made me very dizzy - but again that's a common reaction.
I had the cold cap fitted to try and prevent hair loss, and it wasn't as uncomfortable as I'd worried about. In fact, given that the room was quite warm, it was almost pleasant. The hat has to go on 20 minutes before they administer the first chemo drug - which is also the one that causes the hair loss and the cell death (its a lovely substance). This has to be administered manually by the chemo nurse rather than through the drip because it's so dangerous - it gets mixed in with saline and slowly pumped in. I remember this one from my Mum's treatment - it's bright red. You don't really feel much as it goes in, just a coldness and slight tightness in your veins -- the drugs are refrigerated before going in so they're quite chilly, and this causes the veins to constrict. After that the drip was hooked up to two further drugs, each of which took about 15 minutes to infuse.
The cold cap gets replaces every once in a while - they're just cold packs fitted into a helmet shape - so quite a cunning solution, but they melt so have to be redone. I looked like a jockey apparently. I didn't let Simon take a photo.
The pharmacist came round as well and explained the drugs they give me for after the session. I have some steroids and other anti-sickness drugs to take over the next few days, and then some other anti sickness medicines to take after that if I need them. I also have a mouthwash to try and prevent mouth ulcers, as these are a common side effect, and I've suffered from them a lot in the past.
So I was in and out of the hospital in just over 2 hours, which isn't bad, and we now get free parking there, which is a small bonus. Got home and had a nice cup of tea and a relaxing read on the sofa. Simon and I have just been out for a short walk as well, which did make me feel a bit better, although it has made me feel distinctly warm - not helped by the fact that I've now got the laptop on me.
Physically so far so good. Mentally - I'm feeling a little delicate but it hasn't hit me like a tonne of brikes like I thought it would - at least not yet. I was pretty nervous before they started putting the drugs in but the nurses put me at ease. In both cases it's now just one step at a time. I am however very glad that I've now taken the first step.
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