Hi all, a close family friend (my godmother) has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and starts chemo on Friday 12th at RUH in Bath.
I don't know what type (as in hormone receptors, HER2, triple negative etc) specifically she has beyond 'aggressive' (what she was told), or the exact treatment she will be getting. From my job (medical communications) I know something about the scientific side of treatments. I have offered 'translation' of medical jargon or research about clinical trials her team may recommend, if she ever needs/wants it (on her terms, I won't just dump it on her or overwhelm her with statistics or anything). She will be having chemo and targeted treatments to keep things at bay (she is aware it isn't curable), but I don't know the specifics of her treatment plan, and obviously am not going to push her to tell me unless she asks!
I know much less about the realities of treatment as my parents had advanced cancer at diagnosis and didn't get any. Her idea of it is based on seeing my grandparents have chemo in the 70s which sounds terrible, and while I have said I don't think it's quite like that any more, I think she's still understandably nervous (and I'm aware I wasn't even alive then and I'm not the one going through it now!)
She has no idea what to expect for her first session, and I can't really find any information about it which isn't either American or very general about chemo - she already knows what chemo is and what it's for!
Does anyone know of any helpful things I can send her about what to expect? I realise the specific experience may vary depending on what type of treatment she has exactly, but I was hoping for some kind of 'patient journey', 'your first session' kind of thing - which seems to exist but for Americans, or for very specific NHS hospitals she isn't at. Or anything else which may be helpful - I know everyone is different but would think most people starting chemo will want an idea of what to expect?
Someone put me onto these kits and she's got one and taking notes from the others: https://cancersupportuk.org/cancer-kits/about-our-kits/ - so at least she has the comfort basics in hand ready to start.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Philomela
Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear that your godmother has been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. When she arrives at the chemo unit she will have to sign in and may have to wait for a few minutes for one of the chemo nurses to collect her and bring her to where she'll be sitting. The first infusion they will no doubt give her is an infusion of steroids to help prevent sickness while she is undergoing treatment and she will most likely be given an anti-sickness tablet as well. She'll be hooked up to a machine to give her the chemo. They will check her blood pressure before giving her the infusion. Once her first cycle of treatment she will be given either a prescription for medication to take to help with any side effects she may have or she will be given a bag to take away with her with the medication in it if she hasn't be given the medication already. The medication they give out is anti-sickness tables (I was given two types of anti-sickness tablets), She'll likely be given a course of steroids to take for three day after her cycle to help prevent sickness and she'll also be given something to help prevent constipation. She will also be give the number of the chemo unit to ring if she has any problems and will also be given a emergency number to ring out of hours. It's advisable that she has someone to collect her and bring her home after her first treatment certainly as it can feel like you've been hit by a bus. She should also take something with her to keep her occupied while undergoing treatment as you can have a bit of a wait while they set everything up. She should also bring water with her in case they don't have any to give her at the chemo as it's important that she keep up her fluid intake as it can help prevent side effects
If she feels unwell at any stage of her treatment while on the chemo ward she should let her chemo nurse know immediately so that the problem can be sorted as quickly as possible.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes
Daisy53
Hi, sorry to hear of your god mother's diagnosis. I blogged last year throughout my treatment, but this one in particular might help. Blog post about chemo Best wishes
