under the knife

Chemotherapy is so strong that if it is put in veins it would eat it, like putting battery acid in your veins you just don’t do it. So in order to receive treatment they need to be able to put the chemotherapy where it won’t melt your arm off. And what is the strongest muscle in your body? Your heart. So how do you get chemotherapy from an intravenous bag (IV bag) to my heart? The answer is a portacath (A portacath consists of a reservoir (the portal) and a tube (the catheter). The portal is implanted under the skin in the upper chest. It may appear as a bump under the skin in thin patients, less visible in patients with thicker subcutaneous fat. The catheter runs in a tunnel under the skin, going over the collar bone and then enters the large vein in the lower neck (the internal jugular vein). Since it is completely internal swimming and bathing is not a problem. The septum of the portal is made of a special self-sealing silicone rubber. It can be punctured up to one thousand times and therefore can be used for many years.) (http://www.sir.net.au/portacath_pi.html) In order to get this item I had to go under the knife. On Monday the 17^th of December I went down to Pediatric Anesthesia Clinic the trick is they’re not going to put me asleep, just make me forget all about it. So around three o’clock I meet the surgeon and all the people that are going to be in the operating room with me. About Four o’clock they put the feel good medicine in me and took me to the OR. When I went down the room had a table and a huge TV for the x-rays that they were going to take to make sure that they cut in the right place. So I’m lying on the table when they say that they’re going to start covering me in iodine. But then they do something that I really didn’t love, they covered my face with the paper for surgery and that is the last thing I remember. The next thing I remember is waking up and seeing my dad and moms smiling face. And then I look at the area where the port is now under my skin, its covered in iodine and there is an IV needle accessing the port, providing me with much needed pain medication (see picture).

Then about an hour later I’m back to the room I call prison. On pain meds cause how sore the surgery place is and I just fall asleep and they start my first treatment of chemotherapy. They cheek my stats about every four hours. And check the surgery site. That was the basic thing they did for the next 6 days. Which were also the most boring in my life. I had my dad stay the first night. Then mom and dad alternated for the next 6 days, receiving chemotherapy off and on. And another thing the doctors started me on is Dexamethasone (steroid drug). This drug is for fighting the cancer. But the side effects, may include: Psychiatric disturbances, including personality changes, irritability, euphoria, mood swings, Osteoporosis, Muscle atrophy, negative protein balance, Elevated liver enzymes, Cushingoid, Depression of the adrenal gland, Hypertension, fluid and sodium retention, edema, worsening of heart insufficiency, Dependence with withdrawal syndrome, Increased intraocular pressure, Dermatologic: Acne, allergic dermatitis, dry scaly skin, ecchymoses and petechiae, erythema, impaired wound-healing, increased sweating, rash, striae, suppression of reactions to skin tests, thin fragile skin, thinning scalp hair, urticaria, and Pronounced night sweats. Needless to say, it’s wrecking havoc on more than just the cancer.