First Chemotherapy

The most common question I’ve been asked is how I actually get chemotherapy. The truth is that the administration of the drug itself is actually quite uneventful. There are many, many different types of chemotherapy and many ways to receive it so I will be telling you about my particular type.

It’s administered via an IV. The nurses place a cannula in your arm to set up the drip. Here’s yet another surprising fact: the preferred spot to place the cannula is in your forearm. There are some nice juicy veins on the back of your hand and in the elbow crease but I understand they prefer not to use those for a couple of reasons. The first is that chemotherapy is cytotoxic. If any of the drug leaks into surrounding tissue (rare) it’s better in your forearm. The second is that it’s hard on your veins! You don’t want to wear them out or damage them if you can help it – especially the ones that could make even a routine blood test in the future a major problem. 

For my first treatment, it took 3 nurses and 4 tries to successfully get a cannula in my arm. It wasn’t exactly pleasant and I was left with several large bruises.

There are pre-meds to administer, mainly steroids to help with nausea and other side effects. I was given it in capsule form and then was hooked up to a saline drip while we waited the required time for the pre-meds to kick in.

When a nurse is handling chemotherapy drugs, they wear a long gown over their clothes, put on a mask/face shield and special purple gloves. It’s kind of scary to think they protect themselves from the very agent they are pushing right into my vein! But these amazing nurses handle these things all day, every day.

One of the particular chemo drugs I was having (nicknamed “the red devil” as it kind of looks like red cordial) needed to be pushed through manually. So the nurse sat beside me and for about 10 minutes, gave me 3 large syringes full, eased slowly in.

Then the second chemo drug I was having is simply hung and set up with the pump to go in over an hour or so. Easy right?

The nurses are amazing. They are so knowledgeable and friendly. I think I asked hundreds of questions to my first ever nurse and she was so reassuring. Once again, I felt very well taken care of.

While having chemo you get a comfy recliner chair. You can walk around (with your IV pole) to use the bathroom etc. A “tea” trolley comes around and offers you tea, coffee, flavoured milk, lemonade, sandwiches, chocolate bars, biscuits and heaps more. You have a TV to watch and there’s wifi.

When your bag is empty, your nurse disconnects you, puts a band aid on and you’re free to go. Armed with lots of anti-nausea medication, everything feels kind of normal as you make your way home.

I returned home tired and pale but feeling fine. That’s what getting chemo is really like.