I have been recently asked (several times) if my cancer is gone now and I have truthfully answered 'I don't know'. When I had my last scan in April the cancer was greatly reduced and at that point Dr. Kaplan told me I only needed two more treatments. I didn't have another scan at the end of treatment so I don't know if all the cancer is gone. At this point I consider myself to be cancer free and I pray for a long remission. The Rituxan maintenance program I have started is supposed to keep the cancer from growing or spreading. It has a 50% success rate which, as Dr. Kaplan told me, is considered a good percentage in the world of cancer care.
I had my first Rituxan treatment last week in Seattle. I sat there letting the I.V. drip for almost four hours. I could tell I was losing patience with sitting for that long while being hooked to a large machine (the IV and its pole). I even have to roll the pole with me to the bathroom. This last time I had two nurses hook up my I.V. and medication. The first nurse put the I.V. into my arm and started the bag of saline solution. The second nurse came in and hooked up and started my bag of Rituxan. I laid there for a while and decided to go to the bathroom. When I got up from the chair I noticed a puddle of water on the table that is attached to the chair. I wondered what I had spilled and couldn't remember setting anything wet there. When I got to the bathroom I noticed water drops on the base of my I.V. pole. I then noticed that a tube from one of the bags was not attached to my arm and was dripping. I walked back to my chair looking for a nurse, while holding the dripping tube, and had to ring my call button when I didn't see anyone around. The charge nurse, Linda came in to see what I needed. I told her about the loose I.V. drip. She looked at it and said, 'Oh, the nurse forgot to attached your Rituxan to your arm.' My $20,000 bag of medicine was dripping all over the place! Linda went and got my nurse and everyone worked at hooking the bag up and cleaning the Rituxan off the floor, my hand, and the table. I was worried because I know chemo can not touch skin. Chemo is highly toxic and can burn the skin. If you get chemo on your skin surgery is sometime required to repair the damage. I think Linda noticed the look on my face and she said not to worry Rituxan is not like chemo and it won't damage the skin. The nurses also checked how much medicine had run through the I.V. and it was 25cc which Linda said was okay because the first 15 cc of that was the saline solution. The nurse who forgot to attach the tube to my arm felt really bad. She apologize a few times. I was fine with it all as long as I was getting enough of the Rituxan to make a positive difference in my body. The next day I was walking into the living room of my sister's house when I realized I got through a treatment without throwing up. I said to my sister, 'Wow, it feels good to get a treatment and not feeling sick for days afterward.' Some people get side effects from Rituxan but most people do well with it.
I feel good and am feeling happy.
thanks for reading
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When we all go down in December I think we should back that nurse into a corner and sing at her. That'll pay her back for not paying attention. A couple of rounds of something really high-pitched from the pipes of the Bolling sisters ought to make her double-check her work from then on.
ReplyDeleteYou did seem very happy while you were here. That was good to see. I enjoyed your visit.
ReplyDeleteSuzan, we can also bring Dad and he can talk to the nurse about politics. ;-)
You know what, in retrospect, I think you should tell your sisters who says stupid things to you so we can hunt them down and smack the crap out of them.
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