Ding, Ding: Chemo Round 1
04/10/2021
Even donned in a face mask, you can probably tell I’m feeling rather anxious about my first chemo. I was about to be infused with a combination of drugs called Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide which are also known as EC.
EC will be given to me once every three weeks over the course of three cycles. Then my regime will change to three infusions of a drug called Docetaxel, but I’ll talk more about that in a later post.
According to Cancer Research UK, Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide are anti-cancer drugs that work in the following two ways:
Epirubicin (E) slows the growth of cancer cells and eventually destroys them
Cyclophosphamide (C) changes the DNA of cancer cells and stops them from dividing
Bloods
Before the infusion, three vials of my blood were taken via a cannula inserted into my lower arm. But because my veins are flat, the nurse had to poke around for a juicy one which resulted in bruising.
The blood tests were used to check that my liver and kidneys could break down and flush out the chemotherapy drugs. In fact, prior to every chemo infusion bloods are taken to determine whether the liver, kidneys, blood cells and platelets are working as well as they should be.
Whilst waiting for the results, my height and weight were measured to work out the correct dose of chemotherapy drugs specifically for me which was 160mg of Epirubicin and 800mg of Cyclophosphamide.
Pre-meds
About an hour later, I was deemed good to go and hooked up to a saline drip mixed with a steroid called Dexamethasone to help prevent an allergic reaction. An anti-sickness pill called Aprepitant was also given to help prevent nausea and vomiting.
Then it was lunchtime and although my nerves were making me feel queasy, my wonderful nurse suggested I lined my stomach with toast. Half a slice later washed down with tea and I was ready for the BIG event.
Infusion
First, Epirubicin was hooked up to my cannula and injected slowly into my vein. The nurse did this by hand and monitored me carefully for signs of an allergic reaction. She explained that the saline drip would help flush the drugs through my system, but not to worry when I went to the loo because Epirubicin turns your pee red.
Next came the Cyclophosphamide which was clear in colour and also infused by hand. I can only describe the sensation as being similar to swallowing neat whisky. Except the warmth slid up my arm instead of down my chest, but without the alcoholic rush.
The whole experience took around 4 hours yet surprisingly wasn’t that bad and before I left, a lovely pharmacist explained about potential side effects. I must admit, they sounded scary but she gave me a bag packed full of meds to help prevent nasty ones like neutropenia and vomiting.
Back home, it was daunting opening up the bag and seeing the masses of tablets and Filgrastim injections I would have to take over the next two weeks. But being the productive planner that he is, William typed up a schedule to keep me on track.
In fact, William’s just been fantastic throughout all of this. He held my hand at every appointment and only let go to write notes. Took the morning off work to be with me at chemo, and is determined to be there for all of them. He is wonderful!
Later that evening, I spent time with Rhi just chatting on the sofa and putting the world to rights. But by 8pm I started to feel woozy, so went to bed early only to awake in pitch darkness thinking, am I dead?
Reaching across, I was so relieved to feel the familiar warmth of William beside me, and slowly, fell back to sleep.
If you would like to know more about Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide for the treatment of breast cancer, you can find really useful information by visiting the websites listed below:
https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatments-and-