Patient
Former patients have kindly given their accounts of their experiences when they had Chemotherapy.Chemotherapy - Patient 1
Experience:I had my Chemotherapy as an outpatient. There's a lot of hanging around involved in outpatient Chemotherapy, so my advice would be to take a good book or someone interesting to talk to! Every three weeks for about five months I spent a morning at the hospital. Each time, when I arrived, the first thing was to have blood tests done to make sure I was able to tolerate the treatment. My hospital usually got the results back pretty quickly, within an hour or so, and then it was off to the pharmacy to collect my drugs (usually a wait of a couple of hours as they have to prepare each prescription individually for you) and then up to the Chemotherapy unit with them.
There were plenty of comfortable reclining chairs in the unit, or you could lie on a bed if you preferred. I usually sat up because it's easier to read. I wouldn't call having Chemotherapy administered painful, but it's not the most comfortable of experiences. The nurses would try all sorts of ways to get the vein to stand out - patting my arm and putting it in warm water, but it sometimes took two or three attempts to get the hollow needle in while I shut my eyes, gritted my teeth and looked firmly in the other direction. Once it's in, the needle (I think it's called a cannula) is hooked up to the drug solution and then it's just a case of sitting while it drips in - mine took about an hour, but it can be longer, depending on the treatment you're having. I could feel the needle in my arm and a cold feeling as the solution dripped in, but it certainly isn't painful.
Because people often have to spend several hours in the Chemotherapy unit, the hospital provided sandwiches at lunch time and there were always drinks available. I don't know if all hospitals do this, so it's worth checking and making sure you're not going to starve by taking your own if necessary.
Side effects:
Once, when my hair was beginning to fall out, I asked if I could try the cold cap. It's a sort of helmet filled with ice; I'm not sure how it works, but it can help to reduce hair loss. It weighed a ton and my neck was really sore by the end of the session, so I decided to opt for no hair rather than continue with it. And I was lucky, because although my hair became very thin I didn't lose it all and it just looked as if I was having several bad hair weeks. A small price to pay, I think.
Chemotherapy - Patient 2
Experience:I'd like to give you an idea of what to expect when you come for Chemotherapy as a day patient. The first time this will be a daunting entry into an unknown world where people speak a different language. Even for those of you who have had many encounters with "the hospital" having chemo will bring a whole new set of questions. Hopefully I can persuade you that it will be better than you think!
It's a good idea to bring someone with you at least the first few times you come as there's a lot of information to take in - 2 brains are better than one! They can act as a chauffeur - parking can be difficult if you arrive after midday - and someone to keep you company.
You will have a set "timetable" for your chemo - for example mine was given every 3 weeks for a total of 6 treatments. This doesn't always go according to plan and you may be told that chemo will be delayed for a week. This is often a disappointment - you may feel as if you've "failed" if your blood tests aren't up to scratch but remember that every person is different and the chemo regimes are designed for the average person. No-one is average and people take differing amounts of time to recover in between treatments. The timetable will be tailored to suit you and flexibility is the key, the staff in the unit will work around these delays. If you have an important event to go to they will do their best to arrange treatment around it.
You will be asked to have blood tests done the day before chemo is due which will involve going to your GP so that the results are available in time. There may also be additional investigations which are done intermittently for example a scan to see if the cancer is responding to treatment.
When you arrive at the day unit, you will be seen by one of the doctors there. This is to explain your treatment, go through any side effects you may have had from the previous time, adjust any medication and answer questions. You will then be called through to the chemo room where your nurse will also talk to you about side effects and then give you some pre-medication - this is usually an anti sickness tablet. The side effects of treatment differ depending on which chemo you're having (so I wont go into detail!) and even differ between 2 people on the same chemo. You will be told before your first treatment about the common side effects and given an information booklet but it's important to review this each time you come, as some of the effects may be cumulative. Don't assume that you have to put up with unpleasant symptoms - chemo has come a long way in the last few years and should be tolerable. Talk to the doctor or nurses about things and ask lots of questions.
Your chemo will be given through the vein, usually in the back of your hand, there is obviously a jag when the needle goes in but after that the drip is painless. The length of treatments varies and may involve a combination of a drip through the vein and tablets. An electric pump controls the drip. This has a chargeable battery which means that you can push the drip stand around with you if you want to take a walk round the room. If you are staying overnight then you will have treatment either lying in your bed or sitting beside it. If you are coming as a day patient then you will be treated sitting in an easy chair, usually these recline so that you find a position that is comfortable and snooze or read your way through treatment. When you're finished your nurse will go through the medication to take home - what each tablet is for and how often to take them. You will be given a diary card to record when any side effects occurred and their severity, also an appointment card for your next visit and a note for your GP about which blood tests need doing and when.
There are lots of people involved in your treatment; you may not meet your consultant again till you have finished and go back to clinic, you may be involved in a clinical trial where you will meet a new set of nurses; there are lab staff, x-ray staff and pharmacists who you may never meet. The chemo needs to be made up specifically for you and used within a few hours so there may be delays because the co-ordination of all these people behind the scenes can lead to hiccups and you end up hanging around - perhaps that's why they call us patients! Chances are it wont happen next time.
It's very easy to let chemo take over your life but I think it's important that you don't let it. You have had a huge amount to deal with both physically and psychologically; everyone will have their own way of working through it with the support of family and friends. It has been a comfort to me to be able to carry on with life in a "normal" way. Your treatment should fit in with this as much as possible and you'll find that staff at the day unit will do their best to make sure this happens. As you come more often you'll begin to recognise other patients who are a friendly group and can give you useful pointers. Hope all goes well…