Things happened so fast for me. I barely had time to think about having Breast Cancer. I had so many appointments, immediate surgery, schedules to manage, wondering what I need to do to recover from surgery, backup surgical bras to order, will I go bald, and do I need to order caps in advance to cover my head, just to name a few.
I'll try to touch on many of these items throughout my blog posts.
Here are just some tips to be prepared before your first infusion:
1. Get an implantable port
I was able to schedule the insertion of a port prior to my first infusion. Granted, it was the morning of, but so worth it to me to not have to mess with IV needles every week! Here's a nice explanation of an implantable port from the Sloan Kettering Website. Ask your doctor if you need one. I did because my particular chemo infusions can be pretty toxic to my veins. Also, my treatments will go on for at least 6 months. It also made the weekly blood tests and any extra blood tests any other doctors needed so easy! At my Cancer Center, they mostly use power ports.
2. Buy cold socks and cold gloves
These are readily available online. Just search for chemotherapy socks or gloves. Wear them during your infusion to ward off tingling sensations. I had them in my legs and arms all night after my first infusion and didn’t sleep a wink.
Since wearing these each week, the tingling sensations were greatly reduced. (I've since encountered another problem with tingling). I cant go without these and have worn them during the week too!
3. Buy a Chemo port shirt.
Again, readily available online. The one I bought has zippers across the shoulders, at the neckline, part way down the front, and across the top of each breast. It has long sleeves which are great even in summer in cold hospital rooms.
The nurses have all commented on my shirt. Even the receptionists have commented about how pretty it is!
Regular shirts with openings in the front work, but everything’s not as easily accessible as it is with the chemo shirt. I have one friend who didn't know about these shirts, She was stripping off her shirt with each infusion and freezing. I bought mine from a Small Business called Port Fashions. They sell their shirts for Women and Men on Amazon and Etsy
4. Bring a blanket, drinks, and, snacks with you.
The Chemo group may have warm hospital blankets or small bottles of water or juice handy. However, it’s not the same as having a snuggly throw blanket or quilt from home.
Their small bottles are not enough to keep you as hydrated as you need to be on infusion day and throughout your treatments in general. If your infusion happens close to lunchtime, you can get hungry. They may have crackers or an occasional kind soul drops off fresh fruit or bagels, but if you're really hungry, you need nourishments. I've seen patients bring in meals that need to be microwaved. I tend to take nuts, juices, even Ensure. ANything to keep up my nourishment and eat or drink without too much fuss.
5. Bring headphones, AirPods, etc.
You can’t spend the whole infusion time reading facebook posts! If your hands are covered with cold mittens, you can't scroll very easily. Make it easy to listen to audiobooks, music, etc. You can borrow audio books from your local library.
6. Buy REAL Silk Pajamas and/or a Silk Pillowcase
OK, so this last one is especially for those with sensitive skin. A real silk (not satin) nightgown, P.J's, nightshirt feels great on sensitive skin– IF and this is a big IF, you wear the nightgown inside out?!?
I mention this because I bought a silk nightgown that feels great on the outside, but is not as nice on the inside. The silk pillowcase I bought is nice and silky on the outside. They are great for those sensitive bald heads some of us are dealing with nowadays.
I also just bought real bamboo sheets and they have every silk feel to them! They also help to keep you cool–a problem I now seem to have during chemo. 😅 I'm also going to order a nightgown made from bamboo.
Hopefully, these suggestions will help get you through your chemotherapy infusions regardless of your particular form of cancer.
