It's important that you have a caregiver with you to get you to and from chemotherapy the first time, as you don't know how you'll feel after you're done. The length of time for chemotherapy regimens can range from 5 minutes to 8 or more hours. It all depends on the chemotherapy.
Depending on the drug or combination of drugs, each treatment can last a few hours or a few days. You may have treatments every week or every 2, 3 or 4 weeks. How often you have treatment also depends on which drugs you are having, as well as your treatment plan.
Most cycles range from 2 to 6 weeks. The number of treatment doses scheduled within each cycle also depends on the prescribed chemotherapy. For example, each cycle may contain only 1 dose on the first day. Or, a cycle may contain more than 1 dose given each week or each day.
Short, planned delays in chemotherapy for good-risk GCT patients (less than or equal to 7 days per cycle) appear to be acceptable since they may prevent serious toxicity in this curable patient population. Delays of longer than 7 days are strongly discouraged except in extraordinary life-threatening circumstances.
A single course of chemotherapy will typically involve four to eight chemotherapy cycles. For instance, a 4-week cycle could involve someone taking medications on the first, second and third days, then no further medication until the 29th day.
It's important that you have a caregiver with you to get you to and from chemotherapy the first time, as you don't know how you'll feel after you're done. The length of time for chemotherapy regimens can range from 5 minutes to 8 or more hours. It all depends on the chemotherapy.
For most people the side effects were worst in the first few days after treatment, then they gradually felt better until the next treatment. Some said the effects were worse with each successive treatment. Most side effects don't persist and disappear within a few weeks after the end of treatment.
The effects of chemo are cumulative. They get worse with each cycle. My doctors warned me: Each infusion will get harder. Each cycle, expect to feel weaker.
Acute nausea and vomiting usually happens within minutes to hours after treatment is given, and usually within the first 24 hours. This is more common when treatment is given by IV infusion or when taken by mouth.
You might notice an improvement in cancer symptoms, such as less pain, reduced lymph node swelling, and improved energy levels. If you use topical chemotherapy on skin lesions, the area might feel irritated and look red and swollen for the first few weeks. These are all signs that chemotherapy is working.
Many people feel fine for the first few hours following chemotherapy. Usually, some reaction occurs about four to six hours later. However, some people don't react until 12 or even 24 to 48 hours after treatment. Some people experience almost all of the side effects described below, while others experience almost none.
There Will Be First Chemo Treatment Side Effects
Fatigue: You may feel tired or very fatigued the day after your first treatment. This differs from tiredness that can be cured with sleep. It may feel like profound lack of energy you can't seem to shake.
You can have chemotherapy once a week or for several days, then rest for several days or weeks. The breaks give the drugs time to do their job. Rest also gives your body time to heal so you can handle side effects like nausea, hair loss, or fatigue. Each set of doses is called a cycle.
Doxorubicin is considered one of the strongest chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer ever invented. It can kill cancer cells at every point in their life cycle, and it's used to treat a wide variety of cancers, not just breast cancer. Doxorubicin is also known as “The Red Devil” because it is a clear bright red color.
This applies to vaginal, anal or oral sex. Generally, doctors advise a barrier method only for the time you are actually having the treatment and for about a week after your treatment. Advice like this can be worrying, but this does not mean that you have to avoid being intimate with your partner.
Does chemotherapy hurt? IV chemotherapy should not cause any pain while being administered. If you experience pain, contact the nurse taking care of you to check your IV line. An exception would be if there is a leak and the drug gets into surrounding tissues.
You might feel the most tired when your blood cells are at their lowest (nadir). This is usually 7 to 14 days after treatment. When the chemotherapy ends, the blood cell levels gradually go back to normal over a few weeks.
Hair loss will usually begin gradually within two or three weeks of starting chemotherapy. For some people it may be sooner and more sudden. You may lose all or some of your hair. Your scalp might feel tender as the hair thins and falls out.
Most types of pain related to chemotherapy get better or go away between individual treatments. However, nerve damage often gets worse with each dose. Sometimes the drug causing the nerve damage has to be stopped.
How long must I continue treatment? Standard practice is to wait for one-two full cycles of treatment (a typical cycle lasts 3-4 weeks) before looking at the cancer's response to it.
Stage 4 cancer usually can't be cured. In addition, because it's usually spread throughout the body by the time it's diagnosed, it is unlikely the cancer can be completely removed.
You will often receive chemo in sessions where you have treatment for several weeks, followed by a few weeks off before resuming. Your tumor may start to shrink after one round, but it can also take months. Your oncologist will have a personal discussion with you about how long they think results might take.