We’ve lost track of where we are in the cycle of treatment but believe she should be half way through now.
Jane’s appointment was at 11.30am on Monday and we were concerned we were going to be late but we needn’t have worried because she wasn’t called until 1pm and the first infusion didn’t start until 3pm. It seems they won’t order the prescriptions until they know you have arrived and the blood tests are looking sufficiently good. We knew this was going to be a long haul because Jane had three infusions each one punctuated by an infusion of saline solution to flush the system. Her longest infusion of Pertuzumab takes 90 minutes so you can imagine that if they don’t start until 3pm things are going to drag on. There was talk that she would have to return the following day but as I said to the receptionist how will they ever catch up if people are spilling over in the next day. Luckily they pressed on and were determined to finish before the unit closed.
We left the hospital at about 7pm so we could at least listen to the Archers on the way home. Our tea and toast was wonderful. Jane feels ok and is determined not to let the treatment get in the way of our lives but by the end of this week she will no doubt start to feel sick again, everything will taste horrid and she will be most vulnerable to infection.
My friend has just been through a similar regime and has come out the other side! She did however, always have her bloods taken the day before so the results were there waiting when she turned up for her chemo. I suppose that messes up two days but at least each one wasn’t quite such a long haul. Hang on in there. X
Hi Judy, good to hear from you. The long haul is because Jane has three infusions one of which takes 90 minutes and she has a saline flush between each infusion. Also because of the cost of the drugs they don’t ask for them from pharmacy until they are ready just in case there is a reaction. We’re getting used to it and hopefully there’s only two more to go. Next week Jane has more tests (CT scan & echocardiogram) to see what impact the chemo has had. We meet with the oncologist next Friday.
I’ll be thinking of you both. Love & hugs.
It all sounds so very complicated, good for you telling the truth to the receptionist, so often we just do what they say instead of standing up to them, although I am sure you said it in the most polite of ways, good luck from a wet and windy Rothersthorpe x
The trouble is the receptionist said she wanted to get in there and get them organised but believed it was more complicated than it seemed. The real problem is they have more people than they can cope with and they don’t have the time to sort out their systems. The biggest danger is that when people are under such pressure they will make mistakes.