Chemo

I had no idea what to expect during chemotherapy and was pretty anxious on the eve of my first treatment. Now that I have completed a cycle, I want to try and give you a little view of what my normal treatment day is like.

My treatment cycle is three weeks long with two weeks on and one week off, to give my immunities time to build back up. I am actually only getting chemo on one day a week. So for example, I go the 1st Monday, the 2nd Monday and then have the 3rd Monday off. My last Monday went like this. Herman, my father-in-law drove me to Lincoln for an appointment at 10 am. Five minutes after arriving, I am headed back to an exam room to have my port prepped and have several blood samples drawn. Shortly after my initial surgery, I had a Port-A-Cath or "port" installed. It gives them a place to connect the IV’s without having to poke holes in my arm. While I am waiting for the blood test results, a Nurse Practitioner goes through some standard questions, asking how my week went – health wise, and I get a brief check up. Next, I head to the treatment room, which is in this case a converted conference room with four comfy recliners positioned facing the front of the room. The normal treatment room is undergoing renovation. The temporary treatment room is in the center of the complex so there is limited cell phone reception and no wireless Internet access. Also, since this is just a temporary treatment room, there isn’t any television…good thing I brought a book. We are still waiting for my lab results, but the nurse gets me started with a couple injections (an anti-nausea medicine and something else) and then starts to give me ½ of a small bag of Potassium Chloride to flush my port, again. Next, comes a large bag of Potassium Chloride. The IV solution goes through a mechanical pump that makes a steady clicking sound. When all four chairs are full and all the pumps going, it almost sounds rhythmic, like a house full of pendulum clocks. Finally, the lab comes back and everything is within their ranges, and more importantly, my kidneys are still doing well. Now I get the go ahead to take a very expensive pill that helps control nausea - Emend. Today, I have a visitor. My pastor and good friend Chuck shows up for some support. He had to promise the receptionist that he would not stay very long though because the room is not really set up for visitors. After finishing the Lactated Ringers, I get the first of two bags of chemo drugs – Irinotecan and CISplatin. In between those bags I get another couple of syringes of something that keeps me from getting diarrhea right away. It is about this time that my body decides that with all those fluids going in, I need to get rid of some. Now I have to go to the bathroom every 10-15 minutes, and of course every time I move the pump alarm goes off and shuts down. It seems that I have a “fussy” port and have to lie pretty still or it restricts the flow and sets off the alarm. Every so often, the nurse brings around a basket of snacks with pretzels, chips, and candy, but I am not very hungry. Must be all the fluids I’m getting. After I finish the chemo drugs, and the remainder of the first “flush” bag, I am finished. From the time I walked in the door to the time I am walking out is right at 4 ½ hours. My wife, Denise shows up at the door just a few minutes after I sit down in the waiting area and we are on the way home. Later that night, around 3:00 am the nausea and diarrhea kick in, lasting for about three days.