Chemo Day

My monthly visit to the hospital's chemo suite has arrived...  and, my check-in time is 7:45 am...  but, it will be 9:00 or 9:30 before I get called in after my labs are taken because one of my pre-tests for OPDIVO takes 60 minutes complete...  and, once in my lounger, I still might wait another 30 minutes or so before my toxic cocktail is ready to infuse into my body.

My treatment takes 30 minutes to administer which is a hell of a lot better than the 4-6 hours it took me to have RITUXAN infused into my body.

There are no pre-meds administered for OPDIVO to prevent nausea, even though nausea is one of the side effects...  which sounds strange but so far that does not seem to bother me.

The nurses are friendly but no overly so and none of them seem to hurry around with any kind of urgency so a 30 minute treatment could last 60-90 minutes by the time you are walking out the door.  However, there is this female volunteer on the floor who is in her 80's I would say who asks if there is anything that she can get you like a blanket, something to drink, or some crackers.

The first time we met, she fussed at me for not smiling and I told her that this was just the way my face was made; but, when I see her coming, I give her a great big smile like a possum eatin' shit... and, she always has to stop and talk with me, as if she had really missed me.

OPDIVO is considered immunotherapy as opposed to chemotherapy.