Dancing with the Red Devil (Docirubicin) Dance 1
May 31, 2016 -
Started chemotherapy again. Last treatment was last July, I think.
I moved into my new home while bald.... and I'll be bald again when the snowbirds return this year.
With Doxirubicin, there are more blogs and discussions about it. It's been used on breast cancer for a long time. Here are some example I found.
Denise4health Blog
At the bottom of her blog, there are links to other posts she's made about her regimen.
Caitlin Marcoux Blog
I love the staff at the infusion center.
They are remodeling the waiting room, so 60% or so of it is sectioned off with plastic sheeting to prevent dust. The TV is still tuned to Fox News. When I got there, I remembered the comments from my friends and doctor.... eat everything that makes you happy. In the waiting room, they've got juice dispensers (grape and orange juice) I drank two Styrofoam coffee cups of grape juice. Wow, I'd forgotten how good it tastes. Regarding the orange juice, this is Florida-- I think OJ is mandatory by law at all hospitals.
As the first nurse was taking me back, she said she was going to take my weight, temperature, and blood pressure. I nodded and said, "My vitals." Apparently, some people don't know what 'vitals' are, so the hospital has asked nurses to list the various vital signs being measured. It seems simple, but solves a communication problem. Kudos. After vitals, I returned to the waiting room, and realized that the many people there wouldn't understand 'vitals.' The room was filled the non-medical personal, who had lived more than 30 years working and learning their own industry's lingo.
This time I was in a four chair "pod" with originally one patient, and a second patient was added later.
First one of my favorite nurses accessed my port. I had said hi to her in the elevator last week.
After a wait (I was knitting, so didn't mind the wait) for my nurse to finish with her other patient. She "pre-medded" me. Anti-nausea, maybe an anti-anxiety? and lots of saline.
Then for the main course, two tubes of bright red medicine. The nurse checked on how I felt before, during and after. Her scrubs were covered with a single use coverall. The drug was slowly injected into the IV, mixing with the saline solution. She hand injected it, apparently this drug isn't put into the machine for dosing. When the bright red drug ran out, she removed the tube, and waited until the saline flowed clear. Then she waited a bit longer.
I was given follow up instructions. I will be taking my temperature on this round (I should have been last year during treatment).
I drove myself home and felt good.
After reading several blogs... people who've been through this. I'm grateful for the advance warnings. I know what side effects to watch. And really, this is the reason I'm doing this blog. Since I have a rare sarcoma, and was getting treatment that I could only find medical journals about, I was reading anything. Sometimes I was reading blogs that didn't really apply to my treatment. But I learned from every blog.
Started chemotherapy again. Last treatment was last July, I think.
I moved into my new home while bald.... and I'll be bald again when the snowbirds return this year.
With Doxirubicin, there are more blogs and discussions about it. It's been used on breast cancer for a long time. Here are some example I found.
Denise4health Blog
At the bottom of her blog, there are links to other posts she's made about her regimen.
Caitlin Marcoux Blog
I love the staff at the infusion center.
They are remodeling the waiting room, so 60% or so of it is sectioned off with plastic sheeting to prevent dust. The TV is still tuned to Fox News. When I got there, I remembered the comments from my friends and doctor.... eat everything that makes you happy. In the waiting room, they've got juice dispensers (grape and orange juice) I drank two Styrofoam coffee cups of grape juice. Wow, I'd forgotten how good it tastes. Regarding the orange juice, this is Florida-- I think OJ is mandatory by law at all hospitals.
As the first nurse was taking me back, she said she was going to take my weight, temperature, and blood pressure. I nodded and said, "My vitals." Apparently, some people don't know what 'vitals' are, so the hospital has asked nurses to list the various vital signs being measured. It seems simple, but solves a communication problem. Kudos. After vitals, I returned to the waiting room, and realized that the many people there wouldn't understand 'vitals.' The room was filled the non-medical personal, who had lived more than 30 years working and learning their own industry's lingo.
This time I was in a four chair "pod" with originally one patient, and a second patient was added later.
First one of my favorite nurses accessed my port. I had said hi to her in the elevator last week.
After a wait (I was knitting, so didn't mind the wait) for my nurse to finish with her other patient. She "pre-medded" me. Anti-nausea, maybe an anti-anxiety? and lots of saline.
Then for the main course, two tubes of bright red medicine. The nurse checked on how I felt before, during and after. Her scrubs were covered with a single use coverall. The drug was slowly injected into the IV, mixing with the saline solution. She hand injected it, apparently this drug isn't put into the machine for dosing. When the bright red drug ran out, she removed the tube, and waited until the saline flowed clear. Then she waited a bit longer.
I was given follow up instructions. I will be taking my temperature on this round (I should have been last year during treatment).
I drove myself home and felt good.
After reading several blogs... people who've been through this. I'm grateful for the advance warnings. I know what side effects to watch. And really, this is the reason I'm doing this blog. Since I have a rare sarcoma, and was getting treatment that I could only find medical journals about, I was reading anything. Sometimes I was reading blogs that didn't really apply to my treatment. But I learned from every blog.
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