So some of you may be wondering, "where exactly does Casey go every single Tuesday?" Despite the fact that some of my coworkers believe I'm at the lake every Tuesday (thanks to my rosy cheeks... funny little side effect I get every Wednesday), I'm actually spending the majority of my Tuesday in "The Infusion Room." No, this is not a new club on 6th street, but it's where I go to get my chemotherapy. It's located in my Dr's office, Texas Oncology on Balcones, and is capable of comfortably holding 36 patients while staffing at least 6 nurses and 2 medical assistants. Each patient gets his/her own recliner, equipped w/ 2 side tables, a warm blanket and your very own iv pole. Flat screen tvs are strategically placed for every 2 patients to share... so if you're planning on watching tv, pick your neighbor wisely! It's often times advantageous to have an early appointment... oh yes, you can pick and choose the recliner you want. You may not think this is a big deal, but some recliners (especially the ones on the ends or in the corners) are situated by windows and usually have more space around them. If you plan on having visitors, or if you just don't like being close to other people, these are prime spots! Speaking of visitors, the rule is only one visitor at a time... Weeeeeeeeeell, one of the nurses made the mistake of telling me it was okay to have more. So with my mom in town, the Damens and Jason, we've been known to throw our own little parties. It definitely helps the time fly and hopefully in the future no one gets kicked out... if so, I know I'm not the one that's getting kicked out! ;) But back to the infusion room... the most popular place to gather is the little kitchen area. I'm convinced you can make the best cup of hot chocolate and cup of beef broth in the world. I can't say beef broth sounds appealing right now or well, really ever, but for whatever reason, on Tuesdays it's pretty tasty!
I end up spending approx 5 hrs in the infusion room w/ labs (basically drawing blood which keeps track of my blood counts on a weekly basis) and then what seems like the never ending rotation of iv bags! I'll get a good 'ol dose of benadryl to prevent any allergic reactions, Pepcid to decrease acid in the stomach, an anti nausea steroid and of course the star of the show, my "chemo cocktail" of Herceptin and Taxol. Did you know that chemotherapy is hazardous waste??? According to my "Safe Management of Chemotherapy in the Home" information packet, "Chemotherapy can remain in your body for up to 48 hrs following treatment. These drugs are excreted from the body in the urine and the stool. If you should vomit, the vomitus may also contain traces of chemotherapy." Now I really, really, really hope no one would be or will be coming into contact w/ any of the three forms of excretions above, but if for whatever reason they do, this informative packet explains that "chemotherapy can be absorbed through the skin so gloves should be worn by anyone handling the medicine, equipment or body fluids." Crazy, huh?!? So ya, that's a little fun fact I never thought I'd be sharing about myself! Yes ladies and gentlemen, I'm toxic! Don't worry, I won't be breaking out into Brittany Spears, BUT I just had a thought... something that might make the infusion room a little more entertaining... a FLASH MOB DANCE!!! Oh, I'm doing this! Someone just has to start dancing right?! Then everyone joins in?! No planning or rehearsing involved?! This is going to be awesome!! ;)
The highlight of the infusion room is a cow bell located at the entrance/exit of the room. When a patient completes their last chemo session they get to ring the bell while nurses throw confetti at them and everyone in the room cheers and sends their congrats and best wishes. This may sound cheesy, but every time I hear that bell (so far I've heard it 3 times) it makes my day. I'm looking forward to the day I can ring the hell out of that bell! :D
So there's a little sneak peak into my Toxic Tuesdays. Until next time... XOXO!
A view from my recliner today...
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