How close should my hospital be for chemo treatments?

Frances,

Welcome, but sorry that you find yourself having to deal with bc. I have never had chemo, but wanted to post a response until someone else comes along. From my perspective, and from what I know of other's experiences, you should be fine going to Stanford. More importantly, since you will be in a long term relationship with your mo, go with the doc you are more comfortable with. I switched mo's early on and am so glad I did. Wishing you the best.

PS: I live in San Jose. Stanford was also my second opinion facility. My granddaughter's name is Frances. How could I not respond to your post ? 😊

Your very welcome ! We also call my granddaughter Frankie

Frances, other people (my fiance's mother and a few of my friends) drove me to my chemo infusions. I had one every other week, so it was pretty manageable. They are long days, though. We left my house between 7 and 8 am, and got home sometime in the afternoon. I honestly could have driven myself to all but one of the infusions, but people were worried, so I let them help. Do you know what kind of chemo you are getting?

I am currently in radiation therapy, and I drive myself to that every day. Again, it isn't fun, but it is manageable. I work from home, so I typically work from about 8 -1:30, then go to radiation. My appointments are at 3 PM, and I usually get home around 5. I could work some more in the evening, but I usually don't.

Frances - I don't think the distance is a big factor for chemo. You will likely just be sleepy on the way home. Go with the MO you liked best. When it comes to radiation if you need it, you will be going every day so closer to home might be an issue then. Good luck!

No, I am a Kaiser patient (Santa Clara), so Stanford was not an option. My brother generously paid for my second opinions. My Kaiser mo and Stanford mo were in agreement regarding my tx. I love Kaiser and despite being stage IV, have pretty much lead a normal life for the past 6 years.

Hi Frances,

I am currently undergoing chemo for bc and on my 7th of 8 rounds this Wednesday; from my experience chemo day (infusion) is a normal day and the next day I am energized because of the many steroids you get during infusion then the next day is crash and burn day followed by a few days of trying to recuperate and go from there.

frankiesf: I agree that you should be able to tolerate the ride. Keep in mind that your 1st infusion will probably take about 7 hours, then subsequent infusions may be shorter. (Your 1st infusion will probably have a higher dose of H & P, and they will run the drip slowly. That's why it takes so long.) My subsequent infusions were at the fastest drip rate and took about 3 1/2 hours each. If you have issues then they will slow the drip rate, which would, of course, take longer.

Commuting to Stanford on 101 can be a nightmare. Good luck!

Not sure if it was mentioned to you by doctors or by others, are you going to get a neulasta shot day after chemo? If you are then you go back to center 24 hours after your infusion ends to get the shot. The neulasta shot increases your white blood cell count to compensate for the chemo lowering them. Some people get the neulasta onpro which is set to give you injection next day so you don't have to go back next day. My cancer center for some reason doesn't use the onpro so I had to go back day after each treatment. So just be aware you might have to go back day after as well.

My chemo was 2 to 2.5 hours from my house, depending on traffic. My partner drove, and we stayed overnight at a hotel so I could get my Neulasta in the morning. In the 2nd half of chemo, my MO offered to give me the Neulasta early so we wouldn't need to stay overnight (they didn't have the on-body injectors yet), but I preferred to go in the next morning and get it on schedule.

My chemo location was in the same center where MO has his offices, which was convenient for a lot of reasons; it was a sixty mile drive from my home. Little traffic though. Hubby drove me to infusions and there were no issues.

However, I agree that neulesta would likely have been an issue: I usually felt worse the day after chemo than the day of. In my case, MO addressed the issue by prescribing neuprogen instead: it is basically the same or a very similar drug, but is given through a series of five shots one gives oneself starting the day after infusion. Hubby gave me the shots, in my stomach, and it was easy. Would not have been happy having to drive back....

I'd address that issue directly with the MO, and then choose the one you are more comfortable with. Since both are world class facilities I'd make the choice based on the MO, not on the hospital (although as has been pointed out, traffic in that area can be a nightmare!).

Good luck!
Octogirl