Blog 31 Tuesday 6th September 2011

My appointment with Dr Macmillan yesterday was scary..... I am to start a 6 month period of Chemotherapy. Next week I have to attend Northampton general hospital to receive an implant in my chest under local anesthetic .

The line will be put in at the hospital by a doctor or specially trained nurse.  my neck will be checked for a suitable vein using a small ultrasound machine. The area where the line is to be inserted is cleaned with an antiseptic solution.   A small cut is made in the skin near my collarbone (the insertion site) and the tip of the line is gently threaded into a large vein towards the heart. The other end of the line is then tunnelled under the skin to reach the exit site. The exit site is placed under my skin and stitched in which acts like a reservoir for the insertion of the drugs via Intravenous Injection without exposing anything for possible infection.    I will have a chest x-ray to make sure that the line is put in the right place.   For a few days I am likely to have some discomfort where it has been tunnelled under the skin.

Position of a central line
View a large copy of the position of a central line image|

I am to receive Chemotherapy every two weeks for 6 months and will be receiving a drug called Oxaliplatin 5FU with Folinic Acid   Folinic Acid is not a Chemotherapy drug but is given to make the Oxaliplatin more effective and to cut down on side effects This combination of chemotherapy is sometimes referred to as the FOLFOX regimen, named after the drugs used. There are several different FOLFOX schedules that vary in the way the 5FU is given. The different schedules are given a number, such as FOLFOX4 or FOLFOX6. Dr Macmillan  refered to the combination of these drugs as oxaliplatin modified de Gramont (OxMdG).

I will be receiving FolFox 6 the different numbers Folfox 1 through to 7 is I believe the differing amount in mg of the drug Oxaliplatin. The reason I say the appointment was scary was because all the unfamiliar names, procedures and side effects. I have been assured that the side effects are treated  considerably better now than they were a few years ago...........

 Hey!!!! I have just received a reassuring phone call from Macmillan Cancer Support (same name but nothing to do with my Oncologist Dr Macmillan) .........................that was a nice surprise!!

My drugs will be administered over a 46 hour period via a continuous intravenous infusion and Dr Macmillan said the device resembles something the size of an orange I cannot begin to understand but I am sure it will all become very clear soon.

I always take  Wendy with me when I go into these consultations as it always happens that  half way through the consult I can see the doctors lips moving and I know he is talking to me, but I cannot take in or understand what is being said !!!!! I think  my brain switches to defence mode or something.

I have been assured that my hair will NOT fallout but I will suffer Nausea, Vomiting, and Hypersensitivity, in my fingers and toes, as pins and needles the severity of which will be closely monitored.  As the drugs given kill off good cells as well as the bad I have been told that I cannot afford to get a virus or infection in any form and will be immediately admitted to hospital  if this should happen.........well here goes..............................................!!!!!!!!!!