ive decided to document some of my misadventures on chemo after my efforts yesterday - I sank (literally) to an all time low.yesterday my big idiot was running in a charity run around our local river with his school and one of the local girls schools. Tradition dictates that you go watch them run their last lap (they run the 4.2km circuit 37 times over 12 hours in year level groups). So I do the right thing and go but I’d been off all day. Anyway sitting there chatting to another mum and had just told her my diagnosis and were discussing where I’m at. Next thing I know I’m like I really need to sit on the floor yep you guessed it I was about to faint. Sank to the ground still semi upright and realised that was still not good and had to lie down flat on the ground head half in a gutter cause I was about to vomit. Omg worst feeling ever. Felt so sorry for this poor mum and who only knows what anyone else thought of this crazy woman dry retching half passed out!chemo the gift that keeps on giving

There are clinical guidelines (similar in most states) as to who and how many attempts are recommended at cannulation before escalation to a more senior clinician. I believe the recommendation is no more than two attempts before it should be kicked up the line. EMLA cream is helpful if they don't mind you bringing your own. Get them to put a heat pack on for 10 mins prior to trying and drink a bucket load of water before hand..If all else fails sometimes you just have to jump up and down and say No until they get someone else or the U/S machinexoxoxo

@Zoffiel the regular breast cancer nurse is on leave atm but her relief was clearly bored today and asked the oncology nurses if there were any breast cancer patients on ward so she came and introduced herself and then dig out some compression stockings for me to try. Reassured me that this is all normal (why does normal have to be sucky? I want normal to be like the old normal not this) good news on my echocardigram no loss of function! Very very excited by that one14/30 radiation done today so Monday brings the half way mark and so far just a brown boob to show for it - long may that last@Blossom1961 hope you are travelling well

@Sarnicad, how awful for you. I do hope you're feeling a bit better now. Yes the joys of chemo lol. I was never nauseous on either chemo but not did paclitaxil give me diarrhea. I was in a jb hi fi store one time and decided I had to go now or a follow through lol. Just lucky they had a toilet in the store lol. After that incident I barely left the house for fear. Luckily all these things subside once we finish. :)

@sarnicad Ask @kmakm about her chemo experience! I was never quite as bad but went for a hike uphill with my daughter and her friends during the end of AC and thought I was going to need to be medivaced out!

Right today was chemo 4 of 4 and I walked in grinning cause it was. Have no fear I was in tears within an hourtoday was the day my port decided not to work. So after a lot of fiddling around they decided to take my blood via a vein and load my port with some other drug. Two attempts to get a vein (how you could think a wrist is go8ng to work I’m not sure- hurt like hell but not work)more fiddling around but still no action they decide to cannulate me for chemo - really not what I wanted and then I got told if they couldn’t I’d have to go to radiology for a guided cannulation oh joy cause they did such a great job at an attempted cannulation to sedate me for the port not. Anyway drinking a litre of water and a bowl of soup obviously helped and they managed a solid vein but it was a don’t move your arm don’t bend your arm(one handed lunch eating) vein. By now I’m well and truly in tearsdexa is run and then they start the first chemo drug about halfway through he tests the port again and hey presto it is now working! Couldn’t get the bags changed over fast enough for me! Rest of chemo done through the port. But he left the cannula in situ in case but at least my pain level and stress level dropped I look like a bruised pin cushion tonight the first photo is where they got the blood and the nice bruise(soon to be bigger) is where they started the chemo. The second photo is the attempt at my wrist

The misadventures of chemo | BCNA Online Network

23 Replies

Sarnicad
Member
7 years ago
Right today was chemo 4 of 4 and I walked in grinning cause it was. Have no fear I was in tears within an hour

today was the day my port decided not to work.

So after a lot of fiddling around they decided to take my blood via a vein and load my port with some other drug. Two attempts to get a vein (how you could think a wrist is go8ng to work I’m not sure- hurt like hell but not work)

more fiddling around but still no action they decide to cannulate me for chemo - really not what I wanted and then I got told if they couldn’t I’d have to go to radiology for a guided cannulation oh joy cause they did such a great job at an attempted cannulation to sedate me for the port not. Anyway drinking a litre of water and a bowl of soup obviously helped and they managed a solid vein but it was a don’t move your arm don’t bend your arm(one handed lunch eating) vein. By now I’m well and truly in tears

dexa is run and then they start the first chemo drug about halfway through he tests the port again and hey presto it is now working! Couldn’t get the bags changed over fast enough for me! Rest of chemo done through the port. But he left the cannula in situ in case but at least my pain level and stress level dropped

I look like a bruised pin cushion tonight the first photo is where they got the blood and the nice bruise(soon to be bigger) is where they started the chemo. The second photo is the attempt at my wrist
Sister
Member
7 years ago
@sarnicad Ask @kmakm about her chemo experience! I was never quite as bad but went for a hike uphill with my daughter and her friends during the end of AC and thought I was going to need to be medivaced out!
LMK74
Member
7 years ago
@Sarnicad, how awful for you. I do hope you're feeling a bit better now. Yes the joys of chemo lol. I was never nauseous on either chemo but not did paclitaxil give me diarrhea. I was in a jb hi fi store one time and decided I had to go now or a follow through lol. Just lucky they had a toilet in the store lol. After that incident I barely left the house for fear. Luckily all these things subside once we finish. :)