Chemo treatment #1

Well, today was it. My appointment was at 10:30. Shortly after arriving, Matt and I were taken back to the infusion room, where the chemo is given. It's also called the "chemo room", "chemotherapy room", or the "chemo lounge" (my personal favorite). There are about 10 seafoam green Lazyboy type chairs in their own "cubbies" with walls dividing them. Once I sat down, the nurse (we had Kelly today), went over every drug, their name, their side effects, what the purpose of each is. Each drug had about 3-4 pages of info. Told you before, they really, really want you to be aware of these. After going over the drugs, Kelly accessed the mediport. Looks like this:

The needle is at a 90 degree angle and covered with a blue tip. It hurt for a millisecond going in, but was okay after that. Tape is placed over the tip to hold it in place. First I'm hooked up to a saline drip to keep me hydrated. Next come 1 Benadryl and 2 Tylenol. The Benadryl is to help in case I have an allergic reaction to the Bleomycin. The Tylenol is to keep down the "fake" fever that some of the other drugs are known to give. Next I receive an anti-nausea drip that takes 20 minutes. This is one of the newest drugs on the market. Research shows that there is actually a gland in your brain, known as the "vomiting gland". This drug specifically triggers this gland and kinda shuts it down. I don't recall the name of the drug, but will find out next time.

Next, I had an allergy test to the Bleomycin. It's rare, but can happen. The Bleomycin is shot under the skin of the forearm. Much like a TB test, if you've ever had that done. (Of course my brother and I did all the time because my mom had TB when she was a kid. And we didn't get the little 10 needle prick shot, either. I'm talking a 10 inch needle under the skin. Yeah.) My nurse prefaced this with "This is the most painful thing you'll have all day. Or ever." Okay...thanks for the heads up. Oh...she was right, too. A wee bit painful. After 20 someodd minutes of watching it, I had no reaction.

The next drug to be administed was Ativan, an anti-anxiety med. Same one from the bone marrow test. Not the lollipop, the other one. This hit instantly, as it's given straight through the mediport. Nice. :)

Finally the drugs are administered. First comes the Bleomycin...a 20 minute or so IV drip. When that's done, the Adriamycin (the red one) is administered by hand by Kelly followed by the Vinblastin, also by hand. Lastly, the Decarbazine is given by IV drip, which takes another 2 hours. All and all, Matt and I were there for over 4 hours. In the future, I'm told anywhere between 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours.

All and all today was not as bad as I thought. The injection site is a little sore. So far, I've had no nausea. It's about time to take the other 2 anti-nausea meds, just in case. They told me to take them whether I feel I need them or not. The only side effect I've experienced thus far is extreme sleepiness. Part due to the Ativan, part due to the chemo. I've already taken a nap and will go to bed once this is posted. But other than that... I posted pics of the rest of the time we were there below the hair album.

Thanks and good night. :)