Systemic therapy - FCR: Day One

[Famburt]

Chemo was way too eventful today. For the first treatment the nurses give the iv chemo slowly over a period of hours so that they can monitor for any allergic reactions...well, I ended up having an allergic reaction to it so they stopped and gave me Benadryl and steroids to help calm my body down. It took a long time for the symptoms to go away so I need to have a “do-over” and will be back again in a few weeks to restart the cycle. I will still be taking the chemo pills for the next two days because it was the medication in the iv that I reacted to.

The nurses told me they had just been talking about how they hadn’t dealt with any allergic reactions today...and then they got to deal with me. I can’t say enough good things about the team of nurses at Abbotsford. They are so friendly and caring, informative but not robotic. I feel as though God has placed me in very good hands.

That’s all for now. Gotta get to bed and rest my weary body. Thanks for being here!

*Pic of my first chemo iv bruise for posterity! Yes, I know I’m weird.

[Lola69]

Hello Fam! I would put a cold compress on that bruise ..

[AdrianUK]

Thanks for sharing. You are just a few days ahead of me. My FCR starts on Thursday. We’ll be going for this together.

[Marie-54 in reply to AdrianUK]

Did you get a port catheter installed? It makes chemo much easier and saves those veins in your arms.

[Senecio]

I think most people get that reaction to Rituximab on the first day. In my case, I had the rest of the first dose the following day, and that went without problems. You'll have a nice collection of bruises if you take a picture every time you have a blood test and treatment! The good news is that the days of easy bruising will be behind you after you finish the treatment.

Best wishes,

John

[migirlusa]

I’m hoping the rest of your treatments go well. Hang in there.

Pam

[Marie-54]

You've got this. the allergic reaction is common on first dose, after that it is smooth sailing for most.

[annmcgowan]

Hi sorry to hear about your reaction.

I am glad you felt the nurses supportive. I did too. I couldn’t praise them enough.

Good luck with your ongoing treatment and care.

God bless

Ann

[Graham2222]

Sorry that one was difficult. I had the same problem on my first outing - an anaphylactic reaction to Rituximab. It contains mouse protein, and the body can reject it as a foreign body. I was fine for the five infusions after that, so fingers crossed that you will be fine from now on.

[Wroxham]

Unfortunately some of us do have reactions to Retuxinmab, and it can be scarey to go through. I used to have to go in for 3 days on a ward because of this. Hopefully this won't be so in your case.

The nurses do indeed know what they are doing and react quickly. Good luck with the next infusions!!

Keep us all updated.

Sue