So today was my first interaction with my new medication! Eeek! Due to having triple-negative breast cancer, I was originally meant to do a trial for an additional drug to treat this cancer. I wasn’t able to go on the trial, but my treatment plan has stayed the same, so changing chemotherapy drugs midway through was always going to be the plan.
Previously I was being infused with Paclitaxel every week, and each 3rd week I would also have Carboplatin. This next stage of chemotherapy is 3 infusions of Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide, which I will have 3 weeks apart! The nickname for this drug is the “Red Devil” because it is so bright and orange, but also because it can make you feel really poorly.
After reading lots of stories about these 2 drugs, I was a bit nervous this time to go in for chemotherapy. It felt like I was going back in for the first time again, as this time, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t need to worry, as the process was pretty straightforward, and as always the nurses were so lovely!
Step 1
With all of my other treatments, I always needed to have an injection of antihistamines and injections of steroids. However this time, I had to take 4 steroids by tablet, and also another pill which is a large anti-sickness pill. The previous week I asked about the tablet, (how big it is), due to my choking phobia, however, they were not able to open one to show me, as they are foil-wrapped, and they cost £300 per tablet! I would hate to think how much all this treatment would have cost if we didn’t have the NHS!
Once the tablet has been taken, I then had to wait for an hour before I was able to start treatment. During this time, they reminded me of additional side effects of this drug such as blood clotting, heart conditions, more severe sickness feelings. They just reiterated what I already knew, but they just reminded me to keep checking my temperature, as with this drug I am more prone to infections.
Step 2
While waiting for the hour to pass, I had the cannula fitted and saline pushed through to ensure it was in. So far so good!
After the hour was over, the drugs were delivered on the normal blue tray. With all the infusions, normally they are given through the pump, but with this one (Red Devil), the nurses have to deliver this manually. They push through the drugs at the speed that your veins can take it. For me, for all 3 syringes, this took about 10 minutes or so, however, for some people it has taken over an hour and a half, just because their veins were too thin for it to go through.
I had also been told that the reason the nurses have to inject it is so they can stop it if you react, as some people do with this drug. The only reaction I had, was as soon as the red drug went into my skin, I could taste nail varnish remover! It was really strange, and it only latest about 5 minutes and went away! This isn’t common, but the nurses have heard of this before.
Step 3
Once the dreaded red devil has gone through, I had 5 minutes of flush through the cannula of saline, and then the next chemotherapy drug is put into the cannula, This one only takes 15 minutes to go through, then another 5 minutes flush, and I was done!
I was given the normal goodybag of medication to take with me. This time, it had the injections to take, but I had to take these for 7 days in a row rather than 3 days on 4 days off, and the normal bottle of steroids, but this time they lasted for 4 days, rather than 2 days.
I was also given a box of 100 constipation tablets! I mean, I know they said I could get constipated with this, but 100 tablets! Wow! Ha!
All in all – I was only in the hospital for 2 and half hours, and then was on my way home. I really didn’t need to be nervous about today but as always, it was walking into the unknown of what to expect, and also not knowing how my body was going to react to the different drugs.
At least the first one is now done! I now have a 3-week gap before the next one! Fingers crossed I will recover quickly and be able to have a “normal” week or two!