Chemo Taking Too long???

very worried husband
very worried husband Member Posts: 88
edited March 2011 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi,

My wife is having her 3rd Chemo in china. she is taking 5FU+ Oxi. I am away from her and she just sent me a text message that the 48 hour bottle is taking too long. infact its 17 hours since it started and still it doesn't look like its decreasing in volume. so i am afraid that there is something wrong. The doctor said its working and the chemicals is going to her body with the port, but its v slow.......has any one experienced that the 48 hours bottle finished in more than 60-65 hours?????? what could be the reasons?? Her first chemo was ok but the 2nd one was really bad since she was vomiting for 3 consecutive days.....she also had issues with her WBC and now she takes shots for that....

Comments

  • Patteee
    Patteee Member Posts: 945
    #2
    Mine actually did that once-
    Mine actually did that once- because the nurse forgot to unclip the clips to get the flow going! I went back after a day and they corrected it! My oncologist gave that nurse such grief....
    If that isn't the issue, I am wondering if she could have a clog at the port? Usually the clog is getting blood out, not anything going in.
    At any rate, if it truly is not going down, the fluid in the bottle, then she needs to get in and see the oncologist- try not to worry about it, it more than likely is a clog or block at the port. Not that big of a deal, when mine was clogged they used what I called drano on it to unclog it.
  • very worried husband
    very worried husband Member Posts: 88
    #3
    Patteee said:

    Mine actually did that once-
    Mine actually did that once- because the nurse forgot to unclip the clips to get the flow going! I went back after a day and they corrected it! My oncologist gave that nurse such grief....
    If that isn't the issue, I am wondering if she could have a clog at the port? Usually the clog is getting blood out, not anything going in.
    At any rate, if it truly is not going down, the fluid in the bottle, then she needs to get in and see the oncologist- try not to worry about it, it more than likely is a clog or block at the port. Not that big of a deal, when mine was clogged they used what I called drano on it to unclog it.

    Thanks
    Thanks Patteee for your reply. Actually the doctors came and checked it but told her that everything is ok and normal. sometime it can take upto 60 hours?????? I don't know whats happening. After 28 hours only 20% has finished. will update you soon....

    Thanks once again
  • thxmiker
    thxmiker Member Posts: 1,278 Member
    #4
    Hang in there.
    If the flow is set wrong or there is a blockage the flow rate would be abnormal. I have had the 48 hour take 40 hours and 50 hours. My oncologists also vary the amount of Oxi a little on each treatment.

    Ginger helped me through the nausea. I would suck on a dried piece of ginger. Help her keep hydrated. It is really easy when nausea and diarrhea get out of control to get dehydrated.

    Best Always, mike
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    #5
    very worried husband said:

    Thanks
    Thanks Patteee for your reply. Actually the doctors came and checked it but told her that everything is ok and normal. sometime it can take upto 60 hours?????? I don't know whats happening. After 28 hours only 20% has finished. will update you soon....

    Thanks once again

    The bottle is striclty mechanical
    and can be influenced by many factors including activity level. My friend who had the bottle was always done early. I had an electronic pump that disbursed the 5FU at an exact rate (x amount every y seconds) - set to take exactly 42 hours. They want to get a certain amount of chemo into your wife - the exact timing is not critical, but the fact that it is ongoing is.

    Of note, if I'd received my chemo at Memorial Sloan Kettering, a world-renowned cancer center, I would have been on "the bottle". However, my local oncology center used the electonic pump (with its incessant buzz every 20 seconds, when another dose was administered.) I hated that thing!
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    #6
    thxmiker said:

    Hang in there.
    If the flow is set wrong or there is a blockage the flow rate would be abnormal. I have had the 48 hour take 40 hours and 50 hours. My oncologists also vary the amount of Oxi a little on each treatment.

    Ginger helped me through the nausea. I would suck on a dried piece of ginger. Help her keep hydrated. It is really easy when nausea and diarrhea get out of control to get dehydrated.

    Best Always, mike

    There should be a counter indicating how much volume of the
    chemo is left and the pump should be making a noise every so often as well as indicate (if I recall correctl)how much time is left......Ask chemonurse to explain what all the buttons are for, how to turn it back on if it shuts off for any reason, etc....i was shown how to disconnect pump from my PICC (port had defected)and caregiving girlfriend was shown how to flush the line in case we were snowbound......(i kept getting the wire caught on/around/under my knee or on doorknobs)
  • Fight for my love
    Fight for my love Member Posts: 1,522 Member
    #7
    How does your wife receive
    How does your wife receive the chemo?Here in the U.S,patients receive 5-fu by a chemo pump,the infusion pump delivers a controlled amount of chemotherapy drugs with a very accurate dose over time.Essentially,even the old stye IV can do the same job,because they both follows the same principle.Try not to worry too much,maybe just this time,for unknow reason,her chemo is slow.As long as she finished and it doesn't happen next time,it should be ok.You should pshychologially prepare that every chemo is a challenge,many people on this board agree with this point.

    For nausea,you can let your wife try the ginger.I remember someone ever posted that a piece of ginger like the size of thumb can help the nausea a lot.Eat it before chemo starts.In China,we also have sliced ginger coated with suger or giner candy,these should do the same job.
    In the U.S,some states approved marijuana for medical use,it works great for cancer patients to control nausea when they are on chemo.In Canada,it was totally government approved for medical use.

    Hopefully you will be back to China very soon,I think nothing could comfort her better than you are being there for her.
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    #8
    very worried husband said:

    Thanks
    Thanks Patteee for your reply. Actually the doctors came and checked it but told her that everything is ok and normal. sometime it can take upto 60 hours?????? I don't know whats happening. After 28 hours only 20% has finished. will update you soon....

    Thanks once again

    The bottle is striclty mechanical
    Duplicate....
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    #9
    Fight for my love said:

    How does your wife receive
    How does your wife receive the chemo?Here in the U.S,patients receive 5-fu by a chemo pump,the infusion pump delivers a controlled amount of chemotherapy drugs with a very accurate dose over time.Essentially,even the old stye IV can do the same job,because they both follows the same principle.Try not to worry too much,maybe just this time,for unknow reason,her chemo is slow.As long as she finished and it doesn't happen next time,it should be ok.You should pshychologially prepare that every chemo is a challenge,many people on this board agree with this point.

    For nausea,you can let your wife try the ginger.I remember someone ever posted that a piece of ginger like the size of thumb can help the nausea a lot.Eat it before chemo starts.In China,we also have sliced ginger coated with suger or giner candy,these should do the same job.
    In the U.S,some states approved marijuana for medical use,it works great for cancer patients to control nausea when they are on chemo.In Canada,it was totally government approved for medical use.

    Hopefully you will be back to China very soon,I think nothing could comfort her better than you are being there for her.

    2 ways of doing the 2 day drip
    In the US, there are at least 2 ways of doing the 46-hour drip: one is by a bottle that compresses, and delivers the drug over approximately 2 days (which is what the author's wife is on, and I know that they use here at Memorial Sloan Kettering) and the other is an electronic pump that distributes a set amount at a set interval (hence the "buzzing") which is what I had. The electronic pump is precise down to the minute, the compression bottle can vary by many hours, both shorter and longer.
  • very worried husband
    very worried husband Member Posts: 88
    #10
    abrub said:

    The bottle is striclty mechanical
    and can be influenced by many factors including activity level. My friend who had the bottle was always done early. I had an electronic pump that disbursed the 5FU at an exact rate (x amount every y seconds) - set to take exactly 42 hours. They want to get a certain amount of chemo into your wife - the exact timing is not critical, but the fact that it is ongoing is.

    Of note, if I'd received my chemo at Memorial Sloan Kettering, a world-renowned cancer center, I would have been on "the bottle". However, my local oncology center used the electonic pump (with its incessant buzz every 20 seconds, when another dose was administered.) I hated that thing!

    Thanks
    Hi abrub,
    Thanks for your reply. Adter 48 hours the bottle only finished like half. so they decided to change to another one, since there was something wrong with that one. Now she started with another one and it will take 24 hours...i was very worried that may be there is something wrong with the port, but luckily that was not the case. My wife is scared of needles and I still remember her tears when they put the port, and obviously would never like to put another one....
  • very worried husband
    very worried husband Member Posts: 88
    #11
    thxmiker said:

    Hang in there.
    If the flow is set wrong or there is a blockage the flow rate would be abnormal. I have had the 48 hour take 40 hours and 50 hours. My oncologists also vary the amount of Oxi a little on each treatment.

    Ginger helped me through the nausea. I would suck on a dried piece of ginger. Help her keep hydrated. It is really easy when nausea and diarrhea get out of control to get dehydrated.

    Best Always, mike

    Thanks
    Thanks thxmiker, this time they gave her some medicine for nausea, so hopefully she will be ok. I will definitely try the ginger on her. I really need these herbal or natural thing since she is so allergic to the other stuff.....
    Thanks for your suggestions
  • very worried husband
    very worried husband Member Posts: 88
    #12
    Fight for my love said:

    How does your wife receive
    How does your wife receive the chemo?Here in the U.S,patients receive 5-fu by a chemo pump,the infusion pump delivers a controlled amount of chemotherapy drugs with a very accurate dose over time.Essentially,even the old stye IV can do the same job,because they both follows the same principle.Try not to worry too much,maybe just this time,for unknow reason,her chemo is slow.As long as she finished and it doesn't happen next time,it should be ok.You should pshychologially prepare that every chemo is a challenge,many people on this board agree with this point.

    For nausea,you can let your wife try the ginger.I remember someone ever posted that a piece of ginger like the size of thumb can help the nausea a lot.Eat it before chemo starts.In China,we also have sliced ginger coated with suger or giner candy,these should do the same job.
    In the U.S,some states approved marijuana for medical use,it works great for cancer patients to control nausea when they are on chemo.In Canada,it was totally government approved for medical use.

    Hopefully you will be back to China very soon,I think nothing could comfort her better than you are being there for her.

    Thanks
    Thanks fight for my love for your reply. Yes we know that each chemo is a challenge, but unfortunately its so unexpected every time with her. she is just 26 now and we thought she would do a lot better since she is quite healty. But that is not the case. she gets some type of chemo drugs with a pump which takes 7-8 hours and then she is switched to this bottle kind of thing with no pump. This takes usually 44-50 hours. ( I am not 100 % sure what are their names as which one is 5 FU and which one is OXI)
    Re nausea, I will definitely try the ginger when i go there next week. the doctor recommended that wild honey is best for her stomach, so luckily I found the Himalayan wild honey( quite rare!!!).
    I am going next week , so hopefully it will be a more comforting for her and me to be together during this nightmare....
  • very worried husband
    very worried husband Member Posts: 88
    #13
    coloCan said:

    There should be a counter indicating how much volume of the
    chemo is left and the pump should be making a noise every so often as well as indicate (if I recall correctl)how much time is left......Ask chemonurse to explain what all the buttons are for, how to turn it back on if it shuts off for any reason, etc....i was shown how to disconnect pump from my PICC (port had defected)and caregiving girlfriend was shown how to flush the line in case we were snowbound......(i kept getting the wire caught on/around/under my knee or on doorknobs)

    Thanks
    Thanks colocan, she remains in hospital throughout her chemo for 2-4 days, so the doctors and nurses come quite often...its abit difficult for me since there are v few people who underastand/speak english......I try my best to get info from them but in most cases its so difficult...
  • Fight for my love
    Fight for my love Member Posts: 1,522 Member
    #14
    very worried husband said:

    Thanks
    Thanks fight for my love for your reply. Yes we know that each chemo is a challenge, but unfortunately its so unexpected every time with her. she is just 26 now and we thought she would do a lot better since she is quite healty. But that is not the case. she gets some type of chemo drugs with a pump which takes 7-8 hours and then she is switched to this bottle kind of thing with no pump. This takes usually 44-50 hours. ( I am not 100 % sure what are their names as which one is 5 FU and which one is OXI)
    Re nausea, I will definitely try the ginger when i go there next week. the doctor recommended that wild honey is best for her stomach, so luckily I found the Himalayan wild honey( quite rare!!!).
    I am going next week , so hopefully it will be a more comforting for her and me to be together during this nightmare....

    Other side effects may
    Other side effects may happen with the chemo going on.If you want to prepare some things for your wife(they might not be easy to find in China),I suggest a couple things:Ensure and manuka honey.Ensure is a high protein drink,which you can find in grocey store and pharmacy in U.S or Canada.Patients can drink it when they don't want to eat.Here in the U.S,many cancer centers prepare these drinks for patients.Manuka honey treats heartburn.Heartburn may happen later around.My husband never had heartburn in his life,but after a couple of round of chemo,it happened.Sure you can just use anti-acid medicine in counter,but if you choose natural things,manuka honey is the best for heartburn.Either way,it's always good to have honey,if it is not for heartburn,it is still good to use as other purposes.

    Some people are well-tolerated with chemo,some are not,it is really individual.I have heard people in their 90's could tolerate chemo well,but people who were a lot younger couldn't.I have a friend in China,she told me that somebody she knew couldn't do chemo at all,because one round of chemo almost killed her,so the doctor had to stop the treatment.If you want to know more information about chemo,this is a very good website to go (http://www.chemocare.com/),I got a lot information there and it helped me a lot to understand chemo and what side effects to expect.When you know what to expect,you can have better plan and preparation.

    Have a safe trip to China,hope next treatment for your wife will go smoothly.Take care.
  • luvmum
    luvmum Member Posts: 457 Member
    #15
    My mum
    My mum had 5-fu pump and it usually finishes 1-3 hours earlier than 46 hours.

    You might want to contact the oncologist and ask him/her to prescribe Emend before chemo begins for the 3 consecutive days, and zofran or kytril afterward. They work very well for my mum.

    Best wishes to your wife!
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    #16
    very worried husband said:

    Thanks
    Hi abrub,
    Thanks for your reply. Adter 48 hours the bottle only finished like half. so they decided to change to another one, since there was something wrong with that one. Now she started with another one and it will take 24 hours...i was very worried that may be there is something wrong with the port, but luckily that was not the case. My wife is scared of needles and I still remember her tears when they put the port, and obviously would never like to put another one....

    Can she get the numbing cream before chemo?
    In the US, there is a cream called Emla (lidocaine 2.5% and prilocaine 2.5%) that if applied over the port area 1-2 hours before chemo numbs it such that she won't feel the needle. It even worked when I was getting chemo through a port in my belly (and the thought of a needle in the belly is horrific!) I had chemo in the belly because I had appendix cancer; it is not commonly done for colon cancer. I also had the same chemo she's getting through a chest port. The Emla cream saved the day for both kinds of chemo.

    Wishing her (and you) well.

    Alice
  • very worried husband
    very worried husband Member Posts: 88
    #17
    Fight for my love said:

    Other side effects may
    Other side effects may happen with the chemo going on.If you want to prepare some things for your wife(they might not be easy to find in China),I suggest a couple things:Ensure and manuka honey.Ensure is a high protein drink,which you can find in grocey store and pharmacy in U.S or Canada.Patients can drink it when they don't want to eat.Here in the U.S,many cancer centers prepare these drinks for patients.Manuka honey treats heartburn.Heartburn may happen later around.My husband never had heartburn in his life,but after a couple of round of chemo,it happened.Sure you can just use anti-acid medicine in counter,but if you choose natural things,manuka honey is the best for heartburn.Either way,it's always good to have honey,if it is not for heartburn,it is still good to use as other purposes.

    Some people are well-tolerated with chemo,some are not,it is really individual.I have heard people in their 90's could tolerate chemo well,but people who were a lot younger couldn't.I have a friend in China,she told me that somebody she knew couldn't do chemo at all,because one round of chemo almost killed her,so the doctor had to stop the treatment.If you want to know more information about chemo,this is a very good website to go (http://www.chemocare.com/),I got a lot information there and it helped me a lot to understand chemo and what side effects to expect.When you know what to expect,you can have better plan and preparation.

    Have a safe trip to China,hope next treatment for your wife will go smoothly.Take care.

    Thanks
    Thanks fight for my love. I will try to look for Ensure in china, but in the mean time have asked my friend to buy in Canada, and send it to me. she, like most of others, does not want to eat anything on 2nd day of Chemo. Luckily to day her chemo finished and she is doing ok. 3 gone 9 to go.
    Re manuka honey, i dont think I can get it in china, so will go with the wild honey. hopefully it will work. Thanks for sending the chemocare site. I am gonna look at that.

    Thanks once again for all your kind words, and best of luck with everything.
  • very worried husband
    very worried husband Member Posts: 88
    #18
    luvmum said:

    My mum
    My mum had 5-fu pump and it usually finishes 1-3 hours earlier than 46 hours.

    You might want to contact the oncologist and ask him/her to prescribe Emend before chemo begins for the 3 consecutive days, and zofran or kytril afterward. They work very well for my mum.

    Best wishes to your wife!

    Thanks
    Thanks luvmum. This time around she was given some medicine( sorry dont know the names), so she did ok.Her 1st chemo was also not bad, but the 2nd one was a nightmare.
    Thanks for the suggestions, I will speak to her onc about those.

    Best of luck to your mom....

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