Gotta buy my own lunch???????????

menright
menright Member Posts: 256 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1
So I have been through chemo treatments in several facilities, CT, NY and now CA.

Just moments ago, I asked when lunch is served. I was given a take out menu and have to order for delivery.

I would guess my chemo will cost around $15K. Pretty amazing that I have to buy my own lunch. I did not realize how good I had it before. Not to say the food was that great anyway.

The adventure continues.

Mike

Comments

  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    #2
    Lunch
    Never once was offered lunch, we had to buy our own food. They did provide light snacks like graham crackers and hot chocolate/coffee. You were lucky all those other times if they gave you free food.

    Kim
  • annalexandria
    annalexandria Member Posts: 2,571 Member
    #3
    We got lunch...
    but it was not worth eating! "Hamburger Thursdays" was particularly disturbing. Always packed my own food so that I could have something that tasted good to me. But you're right-for what the treatments cost, we should be getting filet mignon.
  • steveandnat
    steveandnat Member Posts: 886
    #4
    Snacks only
    We are sometimes given a snack, like on an airplane. You would think for the price we are paying for these treatments we would have first class service with massage, steak dinner, own entertainment centers ect... problem would be we would be too tired to enjoy any of it!!
    Jeff
  • taraHK
    taraHK Member Posts: 1,952 Member
    #5
    no free lunch
    Foot massage would be nice.....

    Tara
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #6
    You were lucky before
    Never once in 4 yrs of chemo at two different facilities was I offered lunch or even a menu to order from. My mom lived close and often brought me lunch. On the days she couldn't, I'd usually bring a couple of food items in a brown bag. Lunch provided definitely would have been nice. Although sometimes I was nauseous and didn't want to eat.
  • have2believe
    have2believe Member Posts: 134
    #7
    at hospital got lunch, but not at clinic
    My mom had to get her infusions at the hospital twice because of insurance issues and although they served meals, it tasted like airplane food. At the clinic, they never gave us lunch, so in the beginning, we would bring enough food to literally have a picnic and things to munch on.
  • geotina
    geotina Member Posts: 2,111 Member
    #8
    What Lunch:
    At our chemo clinic we bring our own, they don't serve lunch. They have coffee, water if you ask for it but it is never offered.

    At the hospital they do serve a sandwich and a nice variety of drinks to the patient, anyone with them is on their own.

    Take care - Tina
  • mom_2_3
    mom_2_3 Member Posts: 953 Member
    #9
    MSK
    Mike,

    It was nice at MSK to be able to order lunch. The options I had were all pretty tasty. One is only eligible for lunch at MSK if infusion is longer than 2 hours or so. When we dropped the Oxaliplatin from my regimen I was not there as long and tha was the end of the "free" lunch.

    Thinking of you,
    Amy
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #10
    mom_2_3 said:

    MSK
    Mike,

    It was nice at MSK to be able to order lunch. The options I had were all pretty tasty. One is only eligible for lunch at MSK if infusion is longer than 2 hours or so. When we dropped the Oxaliplatin from my regimen I was not there as long and tha was the end of the "free" lunch.

    Thinking of you,
    Amy

    Agreed
    The lunches are good at SK. Pretty much on the healthy side too. I'm usually in there too early to get them which is fine by me. I like the early in/early out routine...
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    #11
    PhillieG said:

    Agreed
    The lunches are good at SK. Pretty much on the healthy side too. I'm usually in there too early to get them which is fine by me. I like the early in/early out routine...

    During preop Tx i was too sick to worry about eating and just
    wanted to go home and crawl back into bed.....During postop Folfox I asked a nurse where they ate and she shows me a bunch of local menus so i then started ordering in food for myself and girlfriend.....Cancer center did provide free coffee/tea,cereal,cookies,etc.

    If cancer facilities provided typical hospital food.........i think i'd rather get my own....
  • lauragb
    lauragb Member Posts: 370 Member
    #12
    I was just wondering about
    I was just wondering about this yesterday. I went for bloodwork in the infusion space and noticed a woman eating what looked like a sandwich from home. Looks like I'll be packing my own. The infusion center is connected to our local hospital. Food there sucks big time anyway. Cafeteria a little better but you know you don't get the same food in the rooms. So people can actually eat while getting chemo.......?

    Laura
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    #13
    On the Menu...
    Well, they did offer several entrees on the menu at my place...the only problem was that they blended them together in a cocktail...as I recall, I think the main course was Irinotecan and Leucovornin....and for dessert, they served up a mean 5-fu bolus push...

    And if you wanted more, they put together a "Take Out" bag "To Go" for you, that you could wrap around your waist for the busy person on the go. It was amazing really....kept the nutrition flowing for around 46-hours, give or take a minute or two:)

    We did see someone occasionally passing out some light snacks...I personally found that after they gave me the ATROPINE, that it turned anything I ate into sawdust and I could barely wash anything down. Anything I tried just turned to dry mush....not very appetizing.

    Most of the time, I did not feel like eating anyway.

    But, what could I expect for $35,000 per treatment? :)

    The cool thing is that at least they have an offering.....in this life, Mike, we have to pay, pay, and then pay some more...

    I've never gotten a free meal ANYWHERE....when I showed them my cancer card and asked again, they said they do take Visa, Mastercard, Discover or AMEX. I said I got cash - they said we don't know how to handle that one:)

    Enjoy your meals...and really that's cool that they offer....that would have been nice for my wife to be able to eat while I was being infused.

    Carry on...and continued good luck.

    -Craig
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #14
    lisa42 said:

    You were lucky before
    Never once in 4 yrs of chemo at two different facilities was I offered lunch or even a menu to order from. My mom lived close and often brought me lunch. On the days she couldn't, I'd usually bring a couple of food items in a brown bag. Lunch provided definitely would have been nice. Although sometimes I was nauseous and didn't want to eat.

    Mike, where are you getting your chemo?
    Just curious where you ended up at- is at Moores/UCSD, Scripps, or somewhere else?
    Both places I've gotten chemo were in north county- first in Oceanside, and more recently in Vista at San Diego cancer center (which also has an Encinitas location- I used to go there sometimes if the closer one in Vista didn't have a time that worked for me).
    Lisa
  • christinecarl
    christinecarl Member Posts: 543 Member
    #15
    No free lunch
    I was told to bring my own lunch if I wanted it. They had crackers, there was a snack machine, and of course all the ginger ale you could want. Honestly I never felt hungry when I was there and never brought a lunch. I think the place would have been vastly improved if they had added a bar.
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
    #16
    snacks
    The cancer clinic at our local hospital gives snacks to patients having chemo and to those of us there for checkups or blood work. My church collects snacks and donates them there all the time.

    I've been wondering about you, Mike. Hope you're doing well with this latest round of treatment.

    *hugs*
    Gail
  • tommycat
    tommycat Member Posts: 790 Member
    #17
    christinecarl said:

    No free lunch
    I was told to bring my own lunch if I wanted it. They had crackers, there was a snack machine, and of course all the ginger ale you could want. Honestly I never felt hungry when I was there and never brought a lunch. I think the place would have been vastly improved if they had added a bar.

    LOL
    That's funny Christine :)
    Never had or wanted anything to eat while getting the infusion.....think it would have made me sick. Did have juice and water, but they were never "amplified"...sigh :)

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