14. Chemotherapy, Session 1 of 4
May 30, 2022
Update. Well here we are for the first outpatient chemotherapy session. Checked in at reception, sat a bit in the waiting room with mom before going into one of 11 private infusion rooms. The patient is allowed one (human) companion in the room. Doreen does not count as “companion” 
. She tried out the La-Z-Boy and found it too big for her. She also inspected the infusion machine thingie for the intravenous medications.
Finally, Doreen was also curious about these cold therapy socks (and gloves – not in photo). They are made of a soft stretchy material and you insert pre-frozen cold packs in pockets (which I put in the freezer over the weekend). Wearing them during chemotherapy is supposed to prevent neuropathy in hands and feet. Hope they work. I think the theory here is the cold temperature constricts the blood vessels, minimizing medicine and their side effects in the hands and feet (I have not read the studies – this is just me thinking). Although I am not sure about the second half of chemotherapy time, because they weren’t cold enough anymore.
I pretty much just relaxed and binge-listened to podcasts while getting chemotherapy, because one of the pre-chemotherapy medications was 50 mg of diphenyhdramine (benadryl) which made me drowsy. I hope mom wasn’t too bored.
Overall I am OK for now. Doc advised to hydrate, eat small frequent meals to prevent nausea, and get some rest (I would rather think of it this way: “activity as tolerated”). We’ll see how side effects go in the next few days.
