Tag Archives: 2021

What I Take to Chemo Treatments

One of the questions I had in the beginning of the chemo process what was I needed to take with me. The first treatment day I took so much!

Now, I am down to a small bag. I wanted to share what I believe is needed and the main reasons why.

To start off, ask your facility what is provided. Mine has blankets, have heated recliners,1 and some snacks. They offer protein shakes, gingerale, sprite, multiple fruits juices, and of course ice water. They also oftentimes have small snacks such as peanut butter or cheese crackers. All facilities are different, but from what I have seen in the support groups is that these are fairly common snacks offered.

A small snack and lots of fluids is critical even during the infusion process. You are in the infusion room for a while. Shorter treatments are a couple hours, like mine, but some can last all day. They do allow you to bro my food and meals, just ask their specific rules. Strong smelling food are discouraged because they can cause nausea for others close to you!

Comfortable clothes are important. Dress in layers! Be prepared to freeze or roast as you just never know. I typically end up wearing PJ pants and a TShirt. The jacket almost always comes off on the first few minutes! Fuzzy socks are great because your will be able to prop your chair up or some have you laying in bed and it’s nice to kick those shoes off!

As far as entertainment things to bring…I suggest one or two things to occupy your time. A book, crochet or knit project, or electronic device. For me, there is a lot going on around me with up to 24 patients in the room with you. I prefer to bring my iPad, pop my earbuds in, and drown out the noise around me. Most faculties will have free WiFi for patients. Ask them!

For those recovering Taxol, it is highly recommended you put ice on your hands and feet during treatment. They will offer ice packs but they are just ziplock bags and melt quickly. They also don’t cover the entire hand or foot, just fingers and toes. I suggest purchasing some before your treatments begin. They can be pricey, about $25 for each set, but O searched Amazon Marketplace and found both the hands and feet set for $15!

One final thing I will say is that getting as close to a window as possible will help relax you. I am grateful that my clinic had an entire wall of windows and I have gotten a chair beside it every time. (6 treatments)

That is basically all you need! The first time around I brought so many things to keep me entertained as well as a blanket. It was just too much! I now have a small-ish bag and everything I take fits in that one bag. So much more convenient! Below are some pictures I took today at my treatment. If you have questions, pop a comment below!

This blog is intended for information and awareness so please share with anyone you feel could benefit from raw and real experiences of my cancer journey.

God > Cancer

Taxol Treatment 1 of 12

My first Taxol chemo infusion was one week ago. There is no reason it has taken me a week to update the blog, I’ve just been lazy about it.

Last Tuesday I went in and had bloodwork done, met with the nurse practitioner, and had my infusion. I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect because it was a completely new medicine, so there were some nerves.

Since it had been right at a month since the last AC chemo, my blook counts had recovered and were at a 9.6, which is considered normal. I felt great and was ready to begin the next chapter. We discussed possible side effects and the nurse practitioner said I was going to breeze through. This type of chemo was easy cmpared to AC.

In the infusion room, they again had trouble getting my port to work. I had to be given some medication to activate the port. They try to see a flash of blood from the port before starting the infusion to know that the port is working properly. After the 30 minutes needed to “active” the port we were still only seeing a tinge of blook, but a flash. When saline was pushed in I could taste it so the nurse felt confident it was functioning properly and we proceeded with the infusion.

Prior to the appointment, I had taken two doses of a steroid, one the night before and one the morning of chemo. I was then given two Pre-meds via my port. Another steroid and anti-nausuea medicaiont and the other was 25mg of Benadryl. Both of those were 15 minurtes each. At this point I have been in the infusion room roughly an hour.

I commented to the nurse that Benadryl usually doesn’t affect me so we would have to see if it knocked me out.

With Taxol, as I have stated before, there is a risk of neuropathy. To try to prevent this you are advised to cover your hands and feet with ice packs during the hour-long infusion. I had previously purchased on Facebook Marketplace a set of gloves and shoes with ice/heat packs built-in. I had frozen them the night before and stuck them in the freezer when I arrived at the clinic so they would stay cold until I was ready for them. The nurse went and retrieved them from the freezer. I put them on and was given a warm blanket to use as well as turned on the heated seat. I started a show on Hulu and turned on auto-play so I wouldn’t need my hands during the infusion and we began.

The beginning is the last thing I remember until the nurse woke me up and said, “You’re all done, sweetie”. I was still very groggy. It had only been an hour. Chris says on the ride home I was talking slow and slurring my words. I slept another four hours or so and woke up feeling decent. I was hopeful the rest of the week would go well. It was going to be a breeze, right?

Y’all, they lied. The infusion was Tuesday and by Thursday I was in significant pain. All over body pain. From the tip of my head to my toes. The worst pain being the back of my head and neck and my pelvis and legs. I tried a few different recommendations but could not find relief. We had planned to spend New Years’ with some great friends and I was considering backing out but decided that it would be good for my spirits so we loaded up our snack food and headed to their house. I reclined in a recliner most of the night enjoying their company, food, and movies.

New Years’ Day, Friday, I was still in significant discomfort. I was not in a good emotional place. I was mad. I was upset that they had not prepared me adequately for the discomfort I was going to feel. I kept thinking, new year, horrible 12 weeks to come. At the time I felt more miserable than I ever had on the AC chemo, but after talking to Chris, most of that was because I had slept the vast majority of the time after AC chemo, and this time I was awake to deal with the effects.

One week later, I am not looking forward to the next infusion, which will take place on Thursday, but I am a bit more mentally prepared for what is to come. I have also talked to the nurse about preventing and dealing with the pain. One thing recommended by my support groups was a heated throw blanket. This will provide hours of all-over heat instead of a heating pad that would work on one part of the body at a time. I am also going to be taking Clariten daily, which helped with the bone pain while doing the AC chemo. And for the day prior and for the few days following infusion I will be alternating Tylenol and Ibuprofen in an effort to prevent the pain all together. If this doesn’t work, there is a more agreesvie approach we can take, but that is a last resort option that we will only use if absolutely neccessary.

I don’t say any of this looking for sympathy. I say this to be real and let others know what kind of a battle they may be facing. I say this to show the good, bad, and ugly side of cancer treatment. I wish I had seen a blog post about what I was going to experience before starting Taxol, I would have been more mentally prepared for it. I would have felt less lied to by everyone. I do realize that everyone reacts differently and most might be just fine on Taxol, but I was not. At least for round one.

I covet your prayers this week, specifically Thursday through the weekend, as I take treatment number two. Thanks again for all the prapers thus far and the support all of you have shown my family and I.

God > Cancer!!!!