Was it ever a long day. I'm melting into my couch as I post this. I found so much comfort in posts like these from folks who have gone through the treatment, so I thought I would recount my experience of the day for other first timers.
Early start in the chemo ward. It took the nurse 3 tries to get the IV in 
...but once it was in, it was all good. I'm still feeling bruised from all of the poking. The time went fairly quickly, considering the circumstances. I was seated at 8:30 am and after the jabbing fiasco, it was 1 hour of hydration drip. Once that was done, my nurse kindly informed me that nobody had put in the order of my cisplatin, they had called in an urgent order for a bag. In the meantime they replaced my drip with saline. Cisplatin finally arrived and dripped for an hour, followed by the rinse. So many fluids definitely had me getting my steps in to the washroom and back. It was always a fun little dance with my IV trolley when I would go. It was nice to hear them say day one was complete at 2:30pm (well almost because I still had radiation).
I went into the patient assessment clinic to quickly meet with my radiation oncologist for her to complete some forms for me. Following that I headed over to my first radiation appointment. They took me in pretty much right away, but unfortunately my bladder wasn't full enough. They had to seat me for 15 more minutes then try again. The radiation was easy. You lay on the bed while the nurses align your markings to the machine, then they leave and the bed puts you into the machine that looks like a CT scanner...it makes some noise for a few minutes...done.
I had an hour treck home and my mom and I stopped at the store for a few things. On the drive home, I was bouncing a bit because my bladder had refilled. All those fluids!!
Overall, I feel good. Because of the long day I have a bit of fatigue, a weird taste in my mouth and I can feel a slight headache trying to come on, which I will try to stop early with Tylenol. Now I will take it easy for the night.
Hope everyone is doing good, given these awful circumstances. One day at a time.
Hi SRozy3
Well done-first day done and dusted. It is a long day on chemo days! The juggling of the badder was one of the most difficult parts for me I must say. Just keep going, a day at a time as you say.
Hope it goes smoothly for you as treatment progresses, and keep letting us know how you’re doing.
Sarah xx
Oh, I remember the too full, not full enough in the days when I still had a bladder-not an issue for me now of course!
I found radiotherapy caused tremendous fatigue, so if you feel you need to nap, just nap. Your body is going through a lot, and sleep is a great healer.
I was lucky only to have the metallic taste once and never again. Things that help with that can be pineapple in particular-it cuts through the metallic taste. I bought some tins of pineapple chunks but didn’t need them!
Sarah xx
Thanks SRozy3 and I’m doing pretty well considering what I’ve lost in addition to my bladder, but I’m glad to still be around to tell the tale!
You don’t necessarily need to stick to a beige diet for fear of sickness. You will be given anti sickness meds and treatments don’t make everyone sick. I was told not to have a lot of veg and fruit while on radiotherapy as that can make bowel issues worse but everyone is different. There may be some foods you don’t feel like eating at all anyway. Little and often is probably the best way.
Ginger biscuits are good for nausea if you do get that at all, but don’t anticipate that you will automatically get side effects from treatment as not everyone does. Have a good weekend!
Sarah xx
