Tales from the Treatment Suite

2 DOWN!   4 TO GO!!!

This one was a bit rougher than the first infusion.  I did not have the insomnia, but rather felt more wiped out sooner.  My white blood cell count was below the low range (slightly), but Dr. Lufkin indicated it would be ok to do the infusion, but I might be a bit more tired this round.  He was right. One patient was sent home to return next Thursday – her white blood count was too low.   The treatment room was pretty empty this time, so it wasn't as lively as the first round;  only about 12 folks getting infusions on Thursday.  Friday, only 3 of us, but that one takes me about an hour only.  

I graduated to one large bag of Rituxan – still starting at 50 ml/hr for 30 minutes, then 100 ml/hr, then bumped up to 300, then 400.  I was  still there until 2:00 pm, starting at 8:30, so first day is the long one.   I had some air bubble trouble today, but the nurses are observant and right on it.  

Rebecca W-A came by and we had another nice visit.  This time though, her evil twin Jessica stayed home.     I found it funny that this was in one of the chairs when I arrived:

I guess there might be a rush on the premium seats!!

There was one newbie – I could tell he has either a non-hodgkins lymphoma or a type of leukemia b/c he was getting rituxan too.  They were doing it slowly, and explaining everything.  I felt very knowledgable and like a mother hen over him, as now I’m a seasoned veteran!!  There were two breast cancer folks, both receiving herceptin, one finished chemo today and got balloons.  She will have a double mastectomy on Halloween.  This is serious stuff.  

The instructions for the 48 hours post infusion are pretty serious.  I asked my oncologist about them, and he said it's probably overkill, but these are seriously toxic drugs.  

I went into a bit of a steroid rage on Friday;  turning bright red, feeling like I might explode, and ranting about Trump and all things irritating.  Hoping to calm down November 9th.  

That's all for now!