During Treatment Information/Experience....Meeting/Conversing with other Cancer Patients.....

During treatment

On the day of the treatment, you may choose to bring a friend or family member who can support you and help you remember information provided by the oncology team. You may also bring items—such as MP3 players, DVDs, books, or a blanket—to make your treatment time as comfortable as possible.

• Meet the nurse or other health professionals who will administer your chemotherapy
• Undergo a brief physical examination to check your vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, respiration rate, and temperature)
• Have your height and weight measured to calculate the appropriate doses of chemotherapy
• Have an intravenous (IV) catheter (slender tube) inserted into a vein in your arm
• Have a blood sample drawn
• Meet with your oncologist who will review the results of your blood tests, assess your condition before each treatment, and order the chemotherapy

I receive chemotherapy by intravenous injection each week, when I get there this is what usually happens:The actual treatment includes; weight, blood test, pre-chemotherapy medications to prevent side effects—such as nausea, anxiety, inflammation, or possible allergic reaction—followed by the chemotherapeutic medications, which may be given in minutes, hours, or even days if given by continuous infusion. 

The first time I was there maybe 3 hours and had my sister go with me. Last week I went by myself and did fine. It took about 1 ½ hours. I just studied and visited with other chemo patients. One patient I talked with said this was her 2^nd go round with chemo. The 1^st time was (8) years before. She said that one of the biggest things that helped her was to find (1) hour a week to give service of some kind to someone. She said that she would go once a week and help, to serve lunch at the soup kitchen. Just by doing that made her feel so much better. So, as I thought about that, I decided I would find some way I could serve at least one day a week, to forget about me and think about someone else. I have a few ideas but I’m open for suggestions….

To receive the full benefit of chemotherapy, it is important to follow the schedule of treatments recommended by your doctor.

After treatment

After a session of chemotherapy is finished, the IV catheter will be removed .Your oncologist and/or nurse will review what side effects to expect throughout the cycles of chemotherapy and provide medication and tips to manage them. Specific instructions may include:

• Avoiding interacting with crowds of people or with children (especially those with illnesses or infections) while your immune system is temporarily weakened

• Drinking lots of fluids over the next 48 hours to help flush the drugs through your system. For me I can guzzle Gatorade's, the Black Raspberry Lemonade from Wendy's, Diet Cherry Coke Zero (well I can't guzzle that one), and good 'ol Ice Water.