PICC line and R-CHOP Chemotherapy

In advance of the chemo, they need to put a PICC line in my arm. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. It turns out, its actually through the cephalic vein in the arm. The PICC line is similar to a cannula which is like a usb port to which they can attach any drip into a vein and put stuff in or take blood out. It differs from a cannula which would normally go in the back of your hand in that it goes on the inside of your bicep and is a tube fed up the vein inside the shoulder to near the heart where any drugs will go very quickly round the body. The doctor guides the tube up the vein using ultrasound which sees everything except nerve clusters which she apologised in advance if she hit one. Blimey that hurt! And in a completely different place to where the line was. The PICC line is quite a permanent thing and can be kept in for 12 months. Its very useful and avoids a multitude of jabs.

My dad took over from my mum as I went in to the chemotherapy room. A room of about 12 comfy lazyboy chairs with drips going into unwell people.  I was to join them as an outpatient for about 6 hours where I played chess with my dad and dozed and sat.  There was a young gentleman and his wife opposite me having the same treatment and at one point his wife noticed the drip bag was leaking and some of the chemo drug was in a small puddle on the floor. The duty nurse moved him then put on goggles, facemask, gloves, overshoes and a white SOCO overall to attend to the puddle. What the hell is this stuff they’re pumping into my veins that they need such protection from?!!! 

At the end I was given a bag of tablets including syringes and a timetable of when to take the tablets each day which totalled about 11 a day and injections along with added complications of some tablets to be taken with meals, some without eating, some not with other pills, some on day 3 to 7, some on Mondays and Thursdays etc. My mother and I drew up a calendar of what to take when.  Something was keeping me awake, I think it was the Philastrim injections.