Today I went in for my first chemotherapy session. A pretty classic combination I think: FEC-T (three
sessions with FEC and then three with Taxotere.)
First, I had a PICC line inserted. I really wasn't looking forward to this part
but it wasn't too bad. FEC is bad for
the small veins of the hand and arm so a reguar IV isn't a good idea. The other option is a port inserted into your
chest but this is a full surgical procedure and will leave a scar. So
PICC line is a good middle road: they insert thin tube into your upper
arm and all the way along to a vein near the heart so the drugs pass straight
into larger veins. It can be inserted
with a local anaesthetic and taken out after a few weeks.
It was still quite a procedure though, I was taken back down
the operation room (I'm getting to know it quite well now) and had to wait for
an anaesthetist to perform the procedure.
The first time they found a vein that wasn't straight so they had to
remove it completely and start again. I
found it uncomfortable but not really painful.
The worst thing was that they bandaged it up very tightly so it was
painful to bend my arm and, as my other
arm still isn't fully recovered after the operation, I panicked a bit about
having two bad arms. But the nurse reassured
me that she would rebandage it after the chemo and it would be more
comfortable. It is, indeed, just a minor
discomfort now.
Now I have to arrange for a nurse to change the bandages
every week and they will remove it after the three FEC sessions (Taxotere can
be administered through an IV). No
baths, a plastic cover for showers, no swimming and no squash... I guess getting back to playing squash was
optimistic when I'm having chemo anyway (the nurse certainly thought so)...
Chemotherapy itself was no problem at all, though the whole process
was long. There was quite a queue for
surgery so the PICC line process took a three hours (the acutal insertion,
probably just half an hour) and then we had to wait a while to get the drugs
set up. I started and finished with saline and each drug came in a separate
bottle, so every time one had emptied I had to wait for busy nurses to come and
change it for the next one. In the end I
was at the hospital for seven hours, but they tell me it will be much quicker
in future as the drugs will be ready and I have the PICC line inserted.
And the side effects?
So far, nothing. (except that the
middle drug has turned my wee bright red). But to be honest it's only been a few
hours so I guess it is all to come. Although
they have equipped me with an array of drugs for nausea (prevention and cure)
and mouth ulcers. I was originally
going to drive myself home from the hospital and actually that would have been
fine. But a friend insisted on coming to
pick me up and I'm glad...it was much nicer.
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