A Day in the Life of Chemotherapy-Second Infusion at the Huntsman!

Hi everyone, Mikell writing.  Today I get to be with my Dad at HCI for his second chemo infusion.  It has been great to see where he will be spending a fair amount of time throughout his cancer journey,  as well as meet some of the people that will be taking care if him.  It is a beautiful facility and I feel this will be a great place for him to heal when he can't be at home.   Everyone has been so kind and taken the time to address how he has been feeling since his last treatment and answer any questions or concerns either of us have.  His nurse this morning actually greeted both of us with a hug!  I am so grateful to know that my Dad is able to receive treatment at a facility where he is surrounded by a positive and compassionate clinical staff.  I think daily how lucky we are to have such close access to a cutting edge cancer hospital that is continually researching and improving new methods of treatment.

For those that are wondering, here is what a typical days events include on infusion days for my Dad.

*Check in

*Once brought back, weight and vitals are checked.  Today Dad's BP was a tad on the high side.  The nurse actually said that they see that a lot in patients when they first check in for chemo, but once they are up actually getting the infusion it tends to go back down!  Not surprising!

*My Dad is then taken into a room where his port is accessed with a little needle.  The port is implanted underneath his skin on the right side of his chest,  The nurse takes the needle and quickly pokes it in through the skin accessing the port.  Dad says it is quite painless!  At that same time they do a blood draw to evaluate cell counts, etc.

*We are then taken to another room where my Dad meets with a member of his cancer team to do a brief physical evaluation, ask questions about the previous treatment, discuss any side effects, go over blood work, and make any adjustments to his current treatment that are needed.  Dad's white blood cell counts were low today (which is to be very much expected while going through chemotherapy) and they were worried that if they continued with the same treatment they did last time that it would risk lowering his immune system too much, greatly increasing the risk for infection.  At this point is when we learned about a thing called bolus!  Bolus is an injection that my Dad gets while getting his infusion of chemo and other drugs.  It basically magnifies the effects that chemo has on the DNA of his tumors.  Another way it was described is that it saturates the cancer cells with chemo. Although this is a good thing, it's also one of the biggest culprits for a big dip in white blood cell counts. Cancerous cells are rapidly dividing cells, and not every cell is dividing at the same time.  The use of bolus and sending my Dad home with a continuous infusion of chemo for 48 additional hours after his initial infusion is to target all the cells at the different times they are actively dividing.  Unfortunately white blood cells are rapidly dividing cells as well, and well...chemo doesn't discriminate!   I have found that a lot of cancer is fought with a double edged sword, but no matter what the weapon, we will fight!  We were informed today that dropping the use of bolus is not uncommon, and that it very likely doesn't reduce the efficacy of Dad's treatment.

*After this we went and grabbed a quick snack and headed to the infusion center.  He is assigned his "pod" for the day and a nurse.  Each pod consists of a chair for the patient, chairs for visitors, a TV, and a lovely iv tower with a multitude of chemo concoctions.  Once he is hooked up, it's just a waiting game until the infusion is done.  By the end of all this my Dad has typically been at HCI for about 6-7 hours, and then is sent home with his chemo ball.

Although I wish the circumstances were different, days like today provide me the opportunity to spend time with my Dad that otherwise would have been spent working or tackling the busy tasks of everyday life.  Unfortunately things like cancer make you slow down and realize what's really important.  It sounds cliche, but I am guilty time and time again of having to be reminded of this.  It makes you re-evaluate what you do with your time and how you spend it with your loved ones. Today was a delight getting to spend the day with my Dad.  I am grateful that he has given me the opportunity to share in his cancer journey.  His positive outlook has brightened my spirits and given me hope, when in all reality that's exactly what I should have been doing for him.  His courage when faced with such a difficult trial has made me appreciate all the things that are still good in life.

Thanks for stopping by, and for all your kind doings, words, thoughts, and prayers.  We love you Dad!  Go, Fight, Win!