Today is my first chemotherapy treatment. I am scheduled to be at the Walker Family Cancer Centre for 8:30am. I am very anxious to see what side effects this first round are going to bring me. I debated back and forth as to if I should eat or not. I sent a text message to a fellow chemotherapy friend and she recommended that I eat. I decided to have a light breakfast. My mom insisted that we take a photo before we leave the house to document the process. I have included the photo. I decided to wear a button down white dress shirt so my PICC line can be easily accessed by the nurses. Once we arrived at the Walker Family Cancer Centre I felt at ease in the waiting room. The registration process was friendly and warm. The receptionists in the chemotherapy suite already new my name. The nurse brought me in right away. My blood work was good from the day before so it felt like everything was coming together. My oncologist called down to the nurse that she had reviewed my echocardiogram and everything was all clear to proceed. The nurse let me pick what chemotherapy unit I wanted to sit in so I selected a window chair. I figure if you have to go through chemotherapy you should at least take the window seat when offered. My mom settled in beside me.
My nurse was excellent, she prepared my PICC line and started an IV drip of fluids. It takes a few minutes for your chemotherapy medications to be prepared because they don’t confirm your cocktail until all of your statistics like height, weight and blood work have been reviewed. I am having a dose of cyclophosphamide and a dose of doxorubicin. I was instructed to take my first Emend pill and ondansetron which are anti-nausea drugs. The first chemotherapy drug was attached to my IV. The nurse said I may feel a sensation in my sinuses. I did but it was manageable. It took about 40 minutes for the first chemotherapy drug to enter my body. The second chemotherapy drug was put into my PICC line by being manually pushed in by the nurse. This drug is a bright red color, the nurse warned me that it will change the color of my urine to red. My first chemotherapy treatment was finished off with another IV bag of fluids. I managed to take in another full litre of water and eat a tea biscuit while I was waiting. Once I was discharged Mom and I headed home to see what would happen. Once I got home I still felt relatively normal and I decided to have a sandwich (I attached another photo). I was apprehensive about the sandwich because I was wondering if it was going to come back up. For some reason I have in my mind that chemotherapy results in heavy vomiting for days I shall soon see.
– Amie Banting