Last week I was told by my medical oncologist that my "infusion" would take 2 1/2 hours, but during the chemo teach the nurse said it could take all day. Big difference between the two, so I didn't really know what to expect. I packed my laptop and some reading materials and a blanket.
The Sergeant dropped me off because I wasn't allowed visitors. In the reception we asked how long and whether I'd need my blanket. This time we were told 2/12 hours and my blanket was optional, as they had plenty.
The Sergeant left to explore the nearby military base while I was taken into the infusion room. I'll have to find out if the room has a name. This room was in the center of the oncology office. There was a nurses station and then comfy chairs on threes sides of the station. There was one woman already seated. They invited me to take a seat in her row. The chair next to her had a sign about practicing social distancing - not that I wanted to sit next to her. So I sat at the end of the row. There were three nurses on duty, all very friendly.
They brought over the "cocktail" which is the mix of various liquids infused in your port. It consisted of the actual chemo drug, but also two different types of drugs that helped with nausea - one more immediate and the other slow acting for 72 hours.
Going in this morning, I wondered if it would hurt when they stuck a needle in my skin to get to the port and whether I'd feel the liquids flowing in my vein. About a decade ago I needed an iron infusion and it was a similar setup. I sat there for about an hour, but I could feel the liquid as it flowed. It was a weird feeling and made me uncomfortable. Well, back to chemo, I was able to text my new friend Carmen who just finished her last chemo round with these questions. She told me that she never felt anything flowing in her veins and regarding the needle, there's a cream that they can write a prescription for that will numb the area where they put the needle in your port. You apply it about an hour before your appointment. Since I didn't know this was an option, I never got a prescription. She said ice would work well to numb it too. When I asked the nurse about it, she said she could give me a prescription for next time. But this time they had a spray. It was a cold spray that's suppose to numb things. So after spraying, she inserted the needle and it didn't really hurt much.
As she was preparing the needle, the nurse commented that my port was deeper in my skin than she experienced with other patients. So she called over another nurse to help her feel the entry place for the needle. After a bit of back and forth, they found the location and the needle insertion went smoothly.
After that, they added the bags of the cocktail separately. When one finished, it beeped and they knew when to change it out for the next medicine. I think there was a total of 5 or 6 bags including simple hydrating fluid.
So it was that uneventful, thankfully. I brought all of these activities to kill time and I barely had time to do any of it.
The last half-hour I met Dottie who sat two seats from me. This was her first time. She's probably in her 60s and seems very nice. She's on the same bi-weekly schedule, so I'll see her again in two weeks. We chatted briefly and I also introduced myself to the woman who was on the other side of Dottie, but she only comes in once every three weeks, so I won't see her for a while.
One other medication I received was this patch called Nuelasta. It's a patch that has a needle. Once they put it on you, after a minute it beeps and then pokes you. That needle stays in your arm for 27 hours and on the 27th hours it injects medicine which will help you produce white blood cells (which chemo depletes).
There was a bit of drama before they put it on because you have to watch this video and they tell you about all the dangers. One caution is if you have a sickle cell trait. I knew we had traits in our family but I was a kid the last time it came up so I couldn't remember if I had it or not - that's when it's helpful to have older siblings. I texted my sister. She said the girls don't have the trait but the boys do, so I was good to go with this Nuelasta.
So, again, that's my recap of my very uneventful first round of chemo. I love it when uneventful and chemo can go in the same sentence together. My second round is in two weeks.