How long does a treatment take?

I had AC (Adriamycin and Cytoxan) for 4 treatments. We would show up around 9am and leave there around 2. There as a lot of lag time. Blood work, gathering the necessary stuff.... The Adriamycin was pushed slowly by the nurse and the cytoxan was on a drip for over an hour to eliminate the sinus burn... It seemed that patience was the one thing you needed to remember to bring.

Taxol (12) was quicker. We would show up at 9am and we would leave around 11:30. The first few taxol tx took longer because they ran it very slow to make sure I didnt have an allergic reaction.

I have the "Cancer Fighting Kitchen" cookbook. LOVE IT.

My chemo appointments were usually for 8:30 a.m.  I checked in at the front desk and I paid any co-pay due, was weighed in the lab area (chemo drugs are dosed in a mathematical formula by body mass), vitals taken and blood draw for a CBC (complete blood count) was done.  I was put in an exam room for a short appointment with my oncologist prior to each chemo treatment.  While waiting for the doctor the CBC was run in-house to determine my blood counts, and if they were high enough for chemo.  Chemotherapy drugs can adversely affect all blood values - white cells, red cells and platelets.  These are checked before each chemo treatment because if they drop below certain levels it can be dangerous to receive more chemo.  Usually these counts drop a bit each treatment so it can become problematic with the cumulative treatments.  Many oncologists administer Neulasta 24 hours after chemo, or Neupogen injections daily for several days, to increase white cell counts so that you are not as susceptible to opportunistic infections. I received Neulasta so that meant I had to come back to the office the day after chemo.  Some people receive these medications to inject at home - ask your oncologist what the policy is on these drugs, and if they administer them in the office. After determining whether or not my CBC was acceptable, and addressing any problems with my doctor, I went into the chemo room.  At some facilities this is a communal room (mine was) and at some the rooms are private, or semi-private.  My port was accessed and flushed.  By the time the onc nurses were done with the port flush, the pre-meds were ready.  By IV I received Benadryl for allergic reactions, Decadron (steroids) for allergic reaction and to assist with nausea, and Aloxi for nausea.  I took Tylenol by mouth.  Ativan was available to me but I never asked for it in my pre-meds.  My center's policy was that if Ativan was given as a pre-med, you could not drive youself home.  The pre-meds usually took about 30-45 minutes, so by this time it was about 10:30 a.m.  My center was very good at having the drugs ready so there was no lag time - they had their own in-house pharmacy.  I received TCH in order - 60 minutes of Taxotere, during which I iced my fingers and toes to prevent nail lifting.  Then I received Carboplatin, which was a bit shorter - about 45-60 minutes.  Then Herceptin was last.  The policy at my center was to run Herceptin over 90 minutes (the dosing info says it can be run as quickly as 30 mins) when given with chemo.  Accounting for very busy onc nurses, there was about an additional 30 minutes of lost time spread throughout, as well as bathroom breaks.  So, by the time the actual infusion was done it was about 2:30 or 3:00 p.m.  The port has to be de-accessed and flushed and then a bandage applied.  I had to stop at the front again on the way out to schedule the next visit, so out by 3:30 or so.  It was a long day, but everyone was very nice and helpful.  When I moved to Herceptin only infusions I did not have an appointment with the doctor, no pre-meds, and only the one infusion.  The first Herceptin only infusion I had was done in 30 minutes and I did have issues with intense aching for about 72 hours.  Per instruction from someone on this site who had the same issue, I asked to slow it to 90 minutes and had no further problems.  So, from that point on Herceptin took about 2 hours with port access, and stopping at the front desk.

I had TCH and it was an all-day thing; in at 8am and I would finish around mid-afternoon. I brought magazines, books, puzzle books, my laptop, and a deck of cards.