What special thing do you do for YOURSELF on chemo day? Patient or Caregivers

herdizziness

I dress up and think of ways to seem as if I'm meeting old friends for the day (chemo nurses, and hello to chemo). I find these are my best humor days, always finding something humorous to talk about or laugh about.

This picture was taken today 1/7/2013, yes we are basking in warmth here in Santa Cruz, trying to send a little of our heat your way, and you can send a little moisture our way, we need some rain!!!

One day a nurse and I broke out in unison singing "Please release me, let me go"

What special thing do you do to make it a better day?

And why do my pictures always upload sideways here? LOL

Winter Marie

 

devotion10

Winter Marie ... that's the hippest infusion picture ever

and look at that sunshine.  Why is everything not white there?  

As silly as it may seem the special thing my husband and I would do on chemo day was eat in the hospital cafeteria before he started his infusions. This was a big deal for us because we usually ate so damn healthy that it was boring.  But on infusion day we would eat whatever they had and always top it off with a soft serve yogurt. 

It was also a day for marathon Scrabble matches. We would pass an iPad back and forth to play. And oddly, we had some of our best conversations in the little infusion room. No distractions, no escape, just the two of us ...

Nice question it will be interesting to hear from others.

Peace. ~ Cynthia

Helen321

At sloan there is a bus that

At sloan there is a bus that brings you to the main campus.  I'd dance in my seat with my headset on on the "chemo party bus".  When my family came with me on the bus, we'd do the wave.  lol

herdizziness

devotion10 said:

Winter Marie ... that's the hippest infusion picture ever

and look at that sunshine.  Why is everything not white there?  

As silly as it may seem the special thing my husband and I would do on chemo day was eat in the hospital cafeteria before he started his infusions. This was a big deal for us because we usually ate so damn healthy that it was boring.  But on infusion day we would eat whatever they had and always top it off with a soft serve yogurt. 

It was also a day for marathon Scrabble matches. We would pass an iPad back and forth to play. And oddly, we had some of our best conversations in the little infusion room. No distractions, no escape, just the two of us ...

Nice question it will be interesting to hear from others.

Peace. ~ Cynthia

Memories

How wonderful to have special memories like that to keep in your heart. When my husband comes with me we play words with friends.  Love the special meal part too!

Winter Marie

herdizziness

Helen321 said:

At sloan there is a bus that

At sloan there is a bus that brings you to the main campus.  I'd dance in my seat with my headset on on the "chemo party bus".  When my family came with me on the bus, we'd do the wave.  lol

Oh what fun

A nice way to start the day going on the chemo party bus indeed!!! Love the wave!!! Too cute!

Party On!!!!

Winter Marie

annalexandria

Awesome pic, WM!

Let's see...I always got rides to chemo, but once there I was on my own.  So I usually requested the so-called "party room", which had multiple chairs in it, rather than the solo cubicles.  For me, the treat was a chance to talk with my fellow cancer fighters.  I met some pretty neat people that way.  And if no one wanted to chat, then I always made sure I had my laptop and a couple of books with me.  It was also nice to have a few quiet hours to catch up on my reading/dumb TV watching.

I never minded infusion time...it was the crap that hit about three days later than really did me in!

herdizziness

annalexandria said:

Awesome pic, WM!

Let's see...I always got rides to chemo, but once there I was on my own.  So I usually requested the so-called "party room", which had multiple chairs in it, rather than the solo cubicles.  For me, the treat was a chance to talk with my fellow cancer fighters.  I met some pretty neat people that way.  And if no one wanted to chat, then I always made sure I had my laptop and a couple of books with me.  It was also nice to have a few quiet hours to catch up on my reading/dumb TV watching.

I never minded infusion time...it was the crap that hit about three days later than really did me in!

How neat

That's so neat they had a "party room" so people could meet and visit the time away.  I love that they have wi-Fi so one can have their laptops and tablets accessable to while the time away!

LOL, yep it's the days after isn't it that suck!

Winter Marie

ktlcs

herdizziness said:

How neat

That's so neat they had a "party room" so people could meet and visit the time away.  I love that they have wi-Fi so one can have their laptops and tablets accessable to while the time away!

LOL, yep it's the days after isn't it that suck!

Winter Marie

EAT

My husband was probably one of the only people on earth who got HUNGRY from chemo vs. ill.  I would pack his favorite snacks and we would get a private room, watch television and munch out.  On the way home we'd stop at his favorite deli for a roast beef hero! I think he enjoyed these days better than the rest of the week where i forced healthy food and plenty of fluids on him. 

k

johnnybegood

ktlcs said:

EAT

My husband was probably one of the only people on earth who got HUNGRY from chemo vs. ill.  I would pack his favorite snacks and we would get a private room, watch television and munch out.  On the way home we'd stop at his favorite deli for a roast beef hero! I think he enjoyed these days better than the rest of the week where i forced healthy food and plenty of fluids on him. 

k

i guess

i should admire you all for your upbeat attitude.for me personally i dont see any fun or singing or joking on my chemo days in fact this morning i had so much anxiety about having chemo tomarrow i took a xanax when i got up.chemo for me has never been fun and i cant think of anything i could do for myself except not take the stuff but i cant stop the fight yet....Godbless...johnnybegood

jen2012

johnnybegood said:

i guess

i should admire you all for your upbeat attitude.for me personally i dont see any fun or singing or joking on my chemo days in fact this morning i had so much anxiety about having chemo tomarrow i took a xanax when i got up.chemo for me has never been fun and i cant think of anything i could do for myself except not take the stuff but i cant stop the fight yet....Godbless...johnnybegood

We dread it too jbg. My
We dread it too jbg. My husband really hates the pump he has to wear. We both kind of find the day depressing and annoying. There are no cubicles...there are 3 sections with 4 to 6 chairs. They also do infusions for young people with sickle cell and they look so out of it that it really makes me sad since most are in their teens and 20s. I dont know,I really think its great that some can make the most of the day but we'd rather be home with our 2 yr old.

devotion10

johnnybegood said:

i guess

i should admire you all for your upbeat attitude.for me personally i dont see any fun or singing or joking on my chemo days in fact this morning i had so much anxiety about having chemo tomarrow i took a xanax when i got up.chemo for me has never been fun and i cant think of anything i could do for myself except not take the stuff but i cant stop the fight yet....Godbless...johnnybegood

JBG ... It is really awful to have to go through all this

and folks do sure have a lot of differing ways to just get through the experience.  It all really sucks and there is simply no way around that. On chemo days for my husband there was also Ativan and stress so we did not really have any admirable qualities or great strengths ... just trying to get through it with some distractions I guess. Wish I had a magic wand to take this all away, especially from someone as kind as you.

Peace. ~ Cynthia

herdizziness

johnnybegood said:

i guess

i should admire you all for your upbeat attitude.for me personally i dont see any fun or singing or joking on my chemo days in fact this morning i had so much anxiety about having chemo tomarrow i took a xanax when i got up.chemo for me has never been fun and i cant think of anything i could do for myself except not take the stuff but i cant stop the fight yet....Godbless...johnnybegood

Oh JBG

I wish we got chemo at the same place, because you would be forced to see a smiling happy woman dressed up making her rounds with th IV pole at her side.  I look at my day spent doing chemo as a day of hope, a little while longer I get to stick around to see my kids, play with Grandkids etc., and I like to spread that hope, even if I just give someone an pillow I embroidried the word HOPE on it at infusion.  

The night before chemo, I too dread it, I don't want to go, so a smile in the morning is what I take with me to help me walk through those doors and start all over again.

Sending some strength and love your way.

Winter Marie

Helen321

johnnybegood said:

i guess

i should admire you all for your upbeat attitude.for me personally i dont see any fun or singing or joking on my chemo days in fact this morning i had so much anxiety about having chemo tomarrow i took a xanax when i got up.chemo for me has never been fun and i cant think of anything i could do for myself except not take the stuff but i cant stop the fight yet....Godbless...johnnybegood

Oh Johnnybegood, I may have

Oh Johnnybegood, I may have been dancing on that bus but there was lots of ativan involved!  It helps you get through it.  You hang in there!!!!!

janderson1964

I used to have a big

I used to have a big breakfast then stop at Starbucks and get a cafe mocha to enjoy while I was waiting to be hooked up.

LindaK.

ktlcs said:

EAT

My husband was probably one of the only people on earth who got HUNGRY from chemo vs. ill.  I would pack his favorite snacks and we would get a private room, watch television and munch out.  On the way home we'd stop at his favorite deli for a roast beef hero! I think he enjoyed these days better than the rest of the week where i forced healthy food and plenty of fluids on him. 

k

My husband, too!

He acted like he was starving on chemo days, maybe it was stress eating.  His appetite was voracious throughout his treatment.  The chemo also put his diabetes in total overdrive, even with adjustments.  So, he is now on insulin and just this month getting things under control after being done with chemo 6 months.

I would usually pack a cooler with G2, cut up fruit, yogurt, Fiber One bars but I always made a trip to the hospital cafeteria (thankfully it was connected so I didn't have to go outside) or a nice snack bar they had closer to the oncology center.  Their food is great and for some reason my husband was often craving egg salad so that's what he usually got.  Once he got the pump on, he hated to go out in public. so we usually went straight home after chemo.  He actually looked forward to that darn egg salad!  I guess food is always a good incentive. 

At the place he went, they did not have any TVs, but they did have Wi-Fi.  He preferred a private room since sometimes we had 3-4 people visiting so we could close the door to try not to disturb others who were resting or not feeling well.  He usually napped for an hour or so and I read or played games on my tablet.

I think having a good attitude can make all the difference.  It's no fun for anyone, but anything that can help lighten the mood is good for patients and caregivers alike.  My husband is normally chatty and can strike up a conversation with anyone, but for some reason he didn't like talking to others there for infusions, it depressed him.  Not really sure why because he is a "people person"  He did love all the nurses there and they shared lots of laughs, thank God for that.

Linda

Lovekitties

Food

Food seemed to play an important role on chemo days for my sister.

She usually wanted to stop and get a breakfast sandwich and a giant sweet tea before infusion.

If it was a long day, her choice for lunch was either Subway or Burger King.

While none of these things were on the "good" list, I was glad to make the stops because she would not feel up to eating the days after chemo, and her onc was of the opinion (for her situation) that she should get as many calories as she could regardless.

We would always sit and eat together, no taking it home, and chat about things.

My sister and I had a strained relationship for a number of years before she was diagnosed, but all that became unimportant and I was glad that I had the opportunity to help her...I just wish there had been more that I could have done...which is always the lament of a caregiver.

Marie who loves kitties

 

saussureainvolucrata

Winter Marie, thanks for

Winter Marie, thanks for sharing such a beautiful picture! My mom eats crazy healthy, but on days of the chemo she is allowed to indulge. I agree with the rest: it's important to have special treats, however small, for the chemo day. I always enjoy watching her enjoy her good bad food.