My chemo experience definitely doesn't reflect the representation of what every cancer patient is going through. Afterall, every single one of us from the cancer community has a unique experience. Even if two people share the same treatment and diagnosis, they can have complelely different reactions and side effects. The treatments are tailor made case by case, factoring in the medical history, age, height, weight, etc.
I was diagnosed with Stage III Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, specifically Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (abbreviated as DLBCL). Stage III indicates that the cancer is found in two or more regions on both sides of the diaphragm. What's the difference between Non-Hodgkins and Hodgkins? The prescence of Reed Sternberg cells indicates Hodgkin's whereas the rest of the cell types is categorized as Non-Hodgkins.
Having said that, the specific treatment I have received for my diagnosis is a combined Immunochemotherapy, known as R-CHOP. These letters are abbreviations of the different drugs. They stand for:
Rituximab
C-yclophosphamide
Hydrochloride
Ovincristine (Oncovin, Vincasar PFS)
Prednisolone
*For further information on what each of those drugs mean and what they do, feel free to click on the following link: R-CHOP Chemotherapy
What exactly happens in a chemo cycle?
I was scheduled to undergo a chemo cycle every 3 weeks. One cycle consisted of two days of treatment. On day one, I received immunotherapy (aka. R) and on the following day, I received the CHOP part of the treatment.
Some people are required to go through treatment as an inpatient; whereas some get treated as outpatient. During my R-CHOP treatment, I was an outpatient which meant that there were no overnight hospital stays. I simply showed up in the clinic in the morning and was led into a room where other patients are undergoing treatment as well. They may not necessarily have lymphoma but different types of cancers. Some stay for half an hour, whereas some may stay for as long as 7 hours!! I also experienced being an inpatient for my later treatments. If you are interested in finding out more about the inpatient life, feel free to click here.
Basically, you get to sit in this armchair for the infusions to take place via regular IV. That is where a member of the medical staff will insert a needle in one of my veins (in the arm) in order to administer the chemo infusion. Then you just have to stay there for however long you need to. And yes, you can still walk around and go to the toilet, but I learnt that you really have to keep your arm super super still...otherwise it will feel like you are in a horror movie where blood starts flowing out. But it is nothing to be alarmed about. Once you are back in your chair the nurse will fix everything. Here is a video of me getting prepped for my chemo treatment so that you have an idea what it looks like.
During infusion, my body didn't have any reactions and things only started to kick in after I was done after each chemo cycle. I didn't feel any pain during the infusion. I have heard of cases where people may experience a burning sensation or an allergic reaction, rashes, faster heart rates, higher blood pressure, or issues with breathing. That can happen during chemo and if it does, you need to inform your nurse and doctor straight away so that they can adjust the drugs/ regimen. Whenever I was at the clinic for my treatment, I was given this small alarm button which you can use to alert them for anything urgent.
How can you prepare yourself before Chemo?
Below, I have compiled a list of images of things that I usually bring with me during my chemo treatment:
Very very important: you definitely need to bring a huge bottle of water so that you can constantly hydrate yourself to flush out all the chemo in your body. Believe me when I say that I am not kidding. I made that mistake of not drinking enough fluids during my first chemo and I started bringing two big bottles of water afterwards and it made a HUGE difference in combating and avoiding certain side effects. Since cancer patients are advised to stay at home to recover, I also like to make use of every chemo round to dress up and look stylish. It is a self esteem booster. But then again, everyone has their own way of coping so you do what's best for you and you do what you gotta do to feel comfortable.
Question to my cancer homies: what kind of things do you like to bring during chemo? Feel free to comment down below. Feel free to share your experiences as an outpatient.
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