First Day of Chemo: Done!
Just a quick note to let you all know that the first day of chemo is done! What's most amazing about that is that the anxiety of not knowing what to expect is completely gone, and from now on I'll focus on staying well and managing the side effects.
The day started with inserting a needle into my port, which (after the numbing gel) was relatively painless. Then they gave me a saline drip, then they started me on pre-meds to help combat side effects: anti-nausea medication and steroids. Once those were done dripping, we were able to start chemo. They started with a 15 minute "push" of one drug (abbreviated as "A") and then did a 1 hour drip of the other drug (called "C"). Once that was done, they gave me a new saline drip to help me flush the drugs. I did not feel anything as these drugs were administered.
All the while, I have been wearing the Cold Caps, which are being sued to freeze my scalp so that the chemo doesn't affect my hair follicles. I have to change those every 30 minutes, and wear them for an hour before treatment and 4 hours after.
Speaking of which - have to do another cap change, so I'll sign off for now.
Erin :)
Comments (3)
As usual, a very informative post -- but I wish you weren't in a position to be the one educating me. I'm so glad that you made it through your first session, and that you are that much closer to the end of your treatment.
Thank you Erin for your continued informative updates. You continue to inspire and Ill keep sending you much healing love and light. Btw, does any of the chemo have an orange color/ My friend, called it "Orange Crush" when he was getting his. Hugs, Tom
Thank you both for your comments! Tom - I had a red chemo, which some call the "red devil" but my nurses like to call Kool-aid. I'll be posting photos on my personal blog in a few days: www.erincronicals.com. :)