Chemotherapy

Yesterday was Giagi's first chemotherapy treatment. Before all this happened, I was under the impression that chemotherapy was synonymous with radiation. Now I know that it refers to the drugs used to treat cancer, which are often administered intravenously. The patient sits in a chair and is connected to an IV, and the nurse inputs the dosages onto a machine that controls how quickly (and how much) drugs or saline flow into his body. He can recline and sleep or sit up and read (or do whatever except talk on a phone) for the duration of his treatment. His first one took about 2.5 hours, in which he received four of the five drugs in his protocol, and today's took around 5.5 hours as the fifth drug (rituximab, which is a targeted agent) can cause allergic reactions and is thus introduced more slowly to the body, starting with a low dose which is then incrementally increased. Today was almost the length of a full work-day and I'm glad that Giagi napped for some of it. I sat next to him and tried to do some editing work while making sure he was comfortable.

I also learned a new skill today -- how to administer subcutaneous injections! This has been a desire that has lain dormant in me for a long time. I was always fascinated when I saw nurses prepare vaccinations and today I got to learn how to sterilize the injection site and vial, fill a needle, tap the bubbles away, and inject the needle into a kidney-shaped stress ball. I'm glad that I didn't have to use Giagi as my practice dummy, though pretty soon I will have to inject him with a real drug that will help him boost his white blood cell count (which tends to lower significantly around two weeks into a chemo cycle). This will have to be done five days in a row per cycle.

We're very lucky to live in Canada (especially BC) where most of these things are covered and well-organized. I was impressed that they were able to book Giagi in for chemo so quickly and that there was an education session for patients and their families before starting chemo. The nurses are very friendly and informative. Volunteers come around offering hot beverages. I spied a golden retriever puppy with a volunteer who visited some patients (Giagi later told me that his name was Dixie!). Patients come in and out for their treatments as if they were a routine--which I guess they are--but as everything is new to us now it is hard to not think of chemo as dramatic and scary.

Yes, right now we are grateful that Giagi is getting the care he needs. I am happy to see that he has regained a bit of strength and an appetite (albeit small) the past couple of days. We've been told that he will start losing his hair in two weeks, so I will have to behold his white, wavy locks as much as I can in the meantime and hope that they grow back soon.