Riding for Roses

This is the third day of the third time we’ve had chemotherapy at home. The process is simple, but disturbing. Friday, we went in to the oncologist and Spencer had a procedure, chemotherapy, and they left a needle in his chest hooking his port to a tube we can use for IV access. I get to clean the connector, admisiter “SASASH” (the original acronym was “SASH” and they didn’t come up with a new one when they added to steps): which is

• saline (to flush the line)
• anzamet (short lasting anti-nausea medications)
• saline (to clear the anzamet)
• a-something—they use a generic term for chemo—I just think ARA-C or antimetabolite (since most ALL, and other cancer, meds are antimetabolites)
• saline (to clear the poison from the tube)
• heparin lock (to prevent clotting in the catheter in Spencer’s neck)

It’s pretty straightforward. One needs to wash carefully and try to stay sterile, but it’s not difficult. The only hard thing for me is that with the medication they give me 3 pairs of nearly elbow length blue thick rubber gloves for handling the cytarabine (ARA-C). The message then is “whatever you do, don’t touch this incredibly poisonous cytotoxic antimetabolite while you are preparing to inject it into your child” which is not so much a message I like. I don’t wear the gloves. I left them with the pharmacist. I stick with regular sterile gloves to protect Spencer.

The de-access went reasonably well. It took more force to pull the needle out than I anticipated, so it took me to tries to pluck the needle from his chest. Fortunately, I did “almost as well as Jennifer” so Spencer is considering allowing me to try again next week if Dr. Sharp will write the orders that way.