November 6, 2021

I’m sure that many of you wonder what it’s like to do Chemotherapy each week, so I thought I would share what it’s like for me so far.  As of this writing I’ve only had 2 treatments, I will say that I am not an expert or a professional, however, compared to some of the other stuff that I’ve had to do since being diagnosed, the act of getting the Chemotherapy administered has not been the worst. 

Chemotherapy is administered in a room, called the Infusion room, and prior to COVID, you could have friends and family join you if they wanted to.  However, post-COVID, you are not allowed to have anyone join for the fun.  So, lucky y’all – you are my chemo partners – I will try and provide mental visuals that will make you feel that you’re really here enjoying the fun with me.

The day starts with checking in and then heading back to the infusion room to access your port and have your blood drawn and sent to the lab where they check all your blood levels – and I mean everything.  They check your normal CBC stuff and then a billion other things – they check your white blood cells and how they are doing, your red blood cells – platelets, color, etc.  They check your kidney and liver functions, etc.  It’s pretty amazing and I’m learning to read my own bloodwork enough to know if we are a yes, or no to chemo that day.  If there is an instance that my white blood cell counts are too low there will be no chemo.  If there are issues with my red blood cells – clotting, etc. There may be no chemo either. I am positive and believe that God’s got this and I know I have a whole village lifting me in prayer each day and every step of the way so onward.

After the labs I am off to visit with the Physicians Assistant (PA) or my Oncologist, Dr. Beth Hellerstedt, her link can be found here, this is where we talk about the results of my blood work, how I am feeling, what concerns do I have, anything new that I want to talk about, etc. Then back to the infusion lab to start my chemotherapy treatment. 

Chemotherapy starts with a steroid drip (approximately 20 minutes), then the long-acting anti-nausea medicine (approximately 30 minutes), then Cytoxan, the first chemo drug (approximately 1 hour), and then the second chemo drug, Adriamycin (15 minutes or so).  Side note – Adriamycin is notoriously referred to as “Red Devil” or “Red Death”.  I have re-named this drug to be “Red Delight” because it’s doing its job fighting and killing my cancer and that is delightful.  This drug has been around since the early ’70s and has gotten a bad wrap since then because of the side effects with nausea, hair loss, etc. However, since then the medical field is MUCH better at preventing the side effects as best they can and adjusting when and if needed.  Red Delight has to be pushed through syringes because it’s so powerful that it will cause damage to the IV bags and the nurse is required to have a special jacket and gloves while pushing this dose as it can burn the skin if it were to drip on their skin.  My nurse, Brandi, always comes out in her hazmat suit to administer this dose.  I feel bad for her, however, it makes me think “Why does she get all that to protect her, while I get to sit here and watch this being injected into my body….”  We will classify that under random thoughts and things that make you go Hmm…. And maybe another blog post.  We’ll see….

Once all the above is done, we put on my Neulasta Onpro shot, which is pretty cool. It’s a device that they attach to your arm and it puts a tiny injector in your arm and in 27 hours from the time it’s applied it starts to discharge Neulasta Onpro to you.  It takes approximately 45 minutes while its dispensing and 3 hours after that it can be removed.  Neulasta Onpro helps your body to start generating white blood cells so your WCB counts stay up while undergoing treatment.  Medical improvements are so amazing.  PRAISES!!!  (More information about this little gem can be found here).

Then my nurse, Brandi, is always so kind to accommodate my last request which is, “Can I have one more bag of fluid please?”  Fluids help to push the chemo out of your system as quickly as you can, thus the reason why I ask for more.

And basically, that is my chemo day in a nutshell.  Then I just head home and crawl into bed with my trusty puppies who have been practicing sleeping with, oh I mean, taking care of mom, their whole lives. 

I’m happy to answer any questions you have – just send them to me and I will either do a blog to answer questions or respond back.  It will all depend on how many questions I get.  Again, I’m not an expert but I can answer based on my own experience. 

Thanks again for being on this journey with me.

Xo,

Tracy