What Size Tote Bag?

LW422

LW422

Good job, Jana!

MinusTwo

LOL

jhl

LW422,

You actually will have several sets of eyes on your on your first day for quite awhile. As you go on with your treatment, the eyes & taking notes of vital signs will be with you at the beginning of each infusion. If ever your regimen changes, you will again be closely watched. We hope you won't necessarily notice and will hopefully be taking a nap, watching a movie or reading a good book.

The port flushes not only are at the end, they can be between infusions. They 'taste' oddly metallic & make you feel transiently cold. Between infusions, they are saline & are used to clear the tubing before the second drug is infused. At the end, it is a saline flush followed by a heparin flush so your port does not clot off.

Jane

LW422

Thanks for the information, Jane. I appreciate your help very much.

LW422

Well, to wrap up this thread... I had my first chemo today and took nothing with me but my handbag and phone, and I did just fine. I figured I'd just get the "lay of the land" and see what I might want to take next week. I'm not sure I'll bother with the cooling socks and a small cooler until I begin to notice any changes or tingling in my hands and feet. (Should I start those right away?)

The facility at MD Anderson was really nice; a "private" room with TV, and I didn't turn it on. They asked if I wanted lunch (free) but I had already eaten. And they provided plenty of heated blankets though I didn't bother with blankets since the room was a comfortable temp and I wasn't cold at all. So I played on my phone, read some from my Kindle app (on my phone) and sucked on ice chips.

So I'll wrap up this thread by saying... I don't need a tote bag at all. I did see other women lugging bags that I could park my car in, so I wondered what they had in there. (Maybe their car to save parking fees.)

illimae

LW, I’m happy everything went well. Eventually, you might want the blankets, I remember being very cold during chemo, so much that I was still wearing a sweater in April and May, in Houston! I must have looked crazy to some people. And, it’s weird but I love the turkey sandwich, which I ate with delight yesterday during my infusion.

Best up luck to you. Maybe you’ll see me around

LW422

Hiya, illimae! It would be great to meet sometime; we might have already passed each other in the hallways. I'm sure those blankets will come in handy sometime; I loved them after my port surgery.... heavenly.

I had the turkey sandwich (with spinach and a cranberry spread) for lunch in the cafeteria. I had an hour to kill before treatment and I like to sit in the cafeteria and dawdle since I don't have to wear a mask while eating. If I have another treatment during the lunch service, I'll take advantage of the freebie!