A typical chemo session

[Guest guest]

After reading all of the latest posts I thought I might add a little

upbeat info.

Today I went in for my regular chemo session (every two weeks) of

CPT-11, Leucovorin and 5-FU. I was scheduled for an early chair at

9:00AM so I did my usual thing and stopped by the donut shop and

bought a dozen donuts for the staff. They take bribes <grin>.

When I got to the center and checked in with the intake clerk, I

gave her the dounts to take into the back and I stayed in the lobby

for a bit. Another patient came into the lobby and one of the chemo

nurses came out to greet her. They talked a bit and got really teary

eyed and hugged each other. Later, the nurse confided in me that the

lady was her mother-in-law and was now a patient. It was nice to be

able to offer some comfort to a caregiver for a change.

Meanwhile, I was called into the infusion room about 8:45 and I got

my favorite chair. In fact, I was the only patient in the room.

Everyone else had to wait till 9:00 -- bribes work!

My nurse, Jen, proceeded to clean around my port-a-cath and then

inserted the access needle -- just a small pin prick, not even worth

mentioning. She then started a drip of saline solution to flush the

catheter. While she was doing that, Kim ratted on her and told me it

was Jen's birthday. We all had to wish her the best, of course.

Later that morning a party tray arrived with cookies and other stuff

for Jen and the gang. We all sang Happy Birthday.

Back to the chemo -- my doctor stopped by and decided to increase my

dosage slightly, so Jen had to go back to the medication room and

put some more CPT-11 in my IV bag. When she got back I quizzed her

on her math skills, wanting to make sure I got the right dosage.

Everyone laughed abut that since Jen had just passed her oncology

certification last month and was the most current on everything of

all the nurses.

Once the pre-meds had finished dripping, Kim came over and hung the

CPT-11 and Leucovorin bags. She was taking a while pondering the

settings on the pump so I had to tease her about her math skills as

well. Lots of laughs, even from the other patients.

During the infusion a candy-striper came by to offer coffee, other

drinks, crackers, etc. Later another volunteer showed up in a clown

suit. The chaplin stopped by and tried to cheer me up, but gave up

when he saw how upbeat I was.

Anyway and hour and a half later, the drip finally finished. Jen

came over and disconnected everything and gave me a bolus of 5-FU

and hooked up my pump. I was free to go, but I just happened to have

my camera with me, so I got a picture of the birthday girl.

Everyone wished me good luck and I'll go back on Friday to have my

pump disconnected and the needle removed from my port. I may take

donuts again -- its' worth it.

Beleive it or not, chemo sessions can be fun if you try.

-joe-