Chemo Uno

Of course I'm running late on my first day of treatment. I can't find my wireless AirCard which is really going to hinder my ability to coordinate things on the internet and I don't want to leave home without it. My plan for passing the time is to work while I get pumped full of drugs. Eventually I call off my search and hop into a waiting car filled with my wife and parents. We make a hasty trip to the Cancer Thearpy & Research Center (CTRC) and arrive just in time for my 10:40 appointment to begin chemotherapy.

I check-in on the third floor, we wait for about 15 minutes before my name is called. The whole crew uproots their things and heads out of the main waiting room only to be told that I am just getting my vitals done (blood pressure and tempature) and to hit up the waiting room again. I rejoin them in about two minutes for about 20 minutes of waiting before seeing the doctor (Thursdays are busy). Dr. Amy Lang then briefly goes over some information with us and leaves to go to the pharmacy to begin to get my drugs. After that I wait almost an hour before getting a chair in the treatment room. It was almost like having to wait behind the velet rope at Studio Chemo.

The treatment room at the CTRC is one large room filled by about 25 stations that include a recliner on wheels with table tops on both sides, a trashcan and a TV screen on a swivel arm. It is on the 3rd floor of the CTRC and has an entire wall of windows that look northwest out into the hill country. It's a decent and warming view.

Today most of the chairs are filled with women. I see no one that I would categorize as being in my age group. Along for the ride are Christine, my mom and my dad. We are only allowed two visitors at a time in the treatment room, so my mom and dad are rotating periodically between the treatment room and the waiting room outside, but as the days goes on and treatments end, there ends up being plenty of space for everyone.

Once in the treatment room and comfortably in a chair, a nurse begins the process by spreading some requested lydocaine gel (props to Big Kev truthing the gel!) right on the spot of my medi-port insertion to numb the skin for the hook-up to the IV. The incision from the medi-port insertion is still a bit tender since it's barely a week old and very gunky from steri-strip residue. The gel is left on for about 10 minutes and then I get my connector piece (a Huber needle) put into the port. I literally didn't feel a thing. After that comes some saline to flush it out.

There is a break in the action for a few minutes before I get my first bag of drugs. Christine wisely obliges my whim and spends the free moments snapping off a few pics of me and my surroundings. So far so good.

I'm now ready for the first drip to start. Just waiting for the bag to show up. It does and we begin.

My chemo protocol (ABVD) kicks-off with the anti-nausea medication: Zofran (32mg), Decadron (10mg) and Ativan (1.0mg). These drugs make me sleepy and almost feeling drunk. It goes down very easy though. The sleepy feeling stays with me for the entire chemo session.

Next up is Adriamycin (58mg). Also known as the Red Devil and Doxorubicin, this is the one that will make my hair fall out and my urine red for a couple of days after treatment (pics to come!).

My third bag is Bleomycin (23 units), my fourth Vinblastine (14mg) and my fifth and final bag is Dacarbazine (880mg) known as DTIC or the "Big Bag", finishes me off.

The time actually passes quickly. Most of it I spend creating this post. My mom made a special trip to my office to get my required wireless AirCard so I even got a decent amount of work done later in the afternoon. Thanks mom!

It all wrapped up by 5pm and was extremely easy. Now all I have to worry about are they after effects!