What To Expect During Chemotherapy

If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, you might be thinking – what’s next? There’s a lot for discussions and appointments, and for many patients there’s a push for treatment to start as soon as possible. After all, you don’t want to wait around when it comes to cancer. So you might be starting chemotherapy before you’ve had a chance to really process what it is, or research what it is. Consider this your crash course in chemotherapy, so you can go into it knowing what to expect, and how to handle it.

Just remember, every hospital is a little different, so while this blog gives a general overview of the chemotherapy process, there might be quirks in your hospital system!

Chemotherapy Treatment Cycles

Chemotherapy isn’t a one and done deal. It takes time, and it’s usually given in cycles to make sure it doesn’t overload your body. That means you’ll get active treatment for a while, and then a period of time without. This recovery time means you can recover from any side effects, and allows the number of healthy cells in your blood to go back to normal.

For example, a typical cycle might look like this:

• Chemotherapy on the first day, and then 3 weeks of recovery with no treatment

Or it might look like this:

• Chemotherapy for several days in a row, or every other day, and then a recovery period

The number of cycles you’ll need depends on the type and severity of your cancer, and your cancer doctor will explain this to you.

How You’ll Get Treatment

There are a number of different ways chemotherapy can be given, and the best option for you will be chosen and discussed with you by your cancer doctor. But there are some methods that are more common than others:

Through a Port or Catheter: A port or catheter is a small device that’s placed under your skin, providing access to a large vein. This allows for easy administering of administrations, fluids and blood draws, and means you don’t have to get stuck with needles so often! You can request one, or you may be offered one if you don’t like needles, or if the needle pokes have started to damage your veins.

Orally: There are some chemotherapy medicines that are available as pills or capsules. You can take these by mouth at home.

Intravenously (IV): IV is a common way to receive chemotherapy. The drugs are delivered directly into your bloodstream through a very thin tube placed into your vein using a needle. This will usually be done into your hand or lower arm, and you will still be able to use it during treatment.

There are also some more specialised methods of delivering chemotherapy, including injection int the muscle, injection directly into the spinal fluid, into a body space (also known as intracavity) or even as a cream. Some of these can be taken at home, while others require you to be supervised by a doctor or nurse.

Preparing For Chemo

The best way to prepare for chemotherapy is to do it beforehand. Make sure you’re eating a healthy diet and are very well hydrated. It’s also a good idea to see your dentist to make sure everything is healthy and get any issues fixed – it’ll be much more complicated to get them fixed afterwards. Next, pack yourself a chemotherapy bag. It should have essentials like comfortable blankets, books, lip balm and other things that will help you to relax and stay comfortable during treatment.

When you’re booked in for chemotherapy, your doctor will probably tell you to show up a couple of hours before your treatment is due to start. This is so they can draw blood to make sure you’re able to get chemotherapy. It’s annoying, but try to use this time to relax. When they’re ready, you’ll be taken through to the infusion rooms, where your vital signs will be taken and you’ll get settled into your room or the infusion floor, depending on what the facility you’re in has available.

Getting Started

Once you’re ready, a nurse will order your chemotherapy cocktail and any pre-medications that you need from the pharmacy. These pre-meds could be steroids, anti-nausea medications or anxiety medications, again depending on what you need. Your doctor will have decided on all of this ahead of time.

While you’re waiting, a nurse will get you ready to receive it. If you have a port or catheter, they will get access to this and prep it. If you don’t, they will start an IV in your arm. Once the drugs are ready, they will be administered into your IV, port, or via injection if that’s the route you’re taking. If it’s via injection or port, the nurse will hand the medication bags on an IV stand, and start the medications – usually the pre-medications before the actual chemotherapy.

During Chemo

Once you’re all settled in and meds are started, you’ll be left to yourself. The length of time for chemotherapy regimens can range from just 5 minutes to 8 or more hours, so it’s best to bring something with you to do!

Throughout that time, your nurse will come in regularly to check your vitals and make sure you’re not reacting to the medications. Otherwise, take the time to relax, eat, work, sleep – whatever you want to do. The IV stand can even roll around with you, in case you want to sit or take a walk outside.

Once the drugs have finished, a nurse will ‘flush’ your IV or line with saline and then take out your IV or de-access your port. Depending on the chemotherapy you might have to wait for 30 minutes before you leave, just to make sure you don’t have any reactions.

What Does It Feel Like?

It’s important that you have someone with you the first time you get chemotherapy. It affects everyone in different ways, and you don’t know how you’ll feel when it’s done. During the actual treatment you probably won’t feel anything. Some people report a slight, brief burning when the drugs first go into a vein, which disappears quickly.

Afterwards, it’s difficult to say exactly how you’ll feel. Everyone responds to chemotherapy differently, with some people having mild side effects, some having one or two more severe effects and the lucky ones having none at all. We’ve done a full blog post dedicated to the possible side effects of chemotherapy, and how to manage them here.

Everyone’s journey with cancer and chemotherapy is different, and the stresses and side effects will change along the way. If you ever need some time away from it all, to collect your thoughts or just spend some time with your loved ones, then why not visit Jill’s Place? We offer free holidays to families impacted by a cancer diagnosis, so you can enjoy the peace you deserve. For more information, just get in touch with the team today.