I was admitted to Singapore General Hospital on 13th Oct 2008 for my first chemotherapy and I have to stay for 4 days. Dr. Lim told me that it will be ICE chemotherapy. Although I read some infor from the internet, I was still worried about the pain (my threshold of pain is very low) and side effects. I stayed in a ward meant for chemotherapy, where the nurses are professionally trained to handle the drugs. A doctor came to insert a plug into my vein so that a thin plastic tube can be connected to infuse the drugs. Oh no, this is my most worried moment….  I asked the doc to use my left hand as I’m a right hander. The problem was that the doctor could not find a “good” vein as mine was very fine and not visible enough. I made it worst as I was too tense up. The doctor asked me to relax. She has to use my right hand if she cannot find a “good” vein on my left hand. I tried very hard  to relax…. Eventually, she manged to find one that she was satisfied..Hooray! It was not too painful when she poke in the plug (may be my joy overrides the pain..hehe..).

ICE stands for the 3 drugs used and they are Ifosfamide, Carboplatin and Etoposide. Each drug was infused to my body via the vein at different timing and lasted for different period of time. It was already evening when nurse Elaine infused Etoposide into me. Prior to that, she has injected 2 anti-sickness drugs. All drugs were injected into the plug so it was convenient and no pain. Elaine told me  to alert her if I feel any pain on my vein. This was because the drugs used were very toxic and should flow smoothly through the vein without pain. She had installed a Y-Plug to infuse both Etoposide and drip for hydration. I had to urine on a commode for the nurse to measure to ensure that my kidney functions well. I had a good night sleep.

The next day, Dr Lim came with medical officer Dr. Soo and Dr. Chay to check on me. Dr. Lim was surprised that I shaved my head and he could not recognise me..haha..  I was fine without the side effect of nausea, sore mouth and I have good appetite. Senior Staff nurse Ms. Lim AB then came to infuse Carboplatin to me. She injected Saline into my vein to check that there is no blood clot in my vein. I told her that I feel intermittent pain on my vein. She was very concerned as there must be no pain at all. I might need to change to another vein if the pain continued. She then massaged my hand before injecting the anti-sickness drugs very slowly. Fortunately, I don’t feel pain anymore. When I told her this was my first chemotherapy, she patiently explained the whole process and the side effects. She even printed out the information leaflet of the 3 drugs for my reading. When she knew that I have appointments on 15th and 16thOct at the Radiology Dept, she changed both appointments to 16th so that I don’t have to travel 2 times. She is the best nurse that I have ever met. Nurse Jia Ming came to do a blood test for me and I don’t feel any pain at all. I remembered her name and will ask for her in future should I need to do blood test.

Each plug can only infuse 2 solutions but I will need 3 – Infosfamide, Mesa (to prevent bladder irritation and bleeding) and drip for hydration to run simultaneously for 24hrs. As a results, a doctor came in the afternoon to insert another plug for me. I asked the doctor to have it on the left hand together with the first plug. Her concern was that too many plugs on the same hand could cause the hand to swell. I asked her to go ahead and will insert another plug if my hand really swell. It took her quite some times before she found a “good” vein. I prayed hard for my 2 veins to work smoothly until the last day of chemo…

When nurse Li Li came to inject the anti-sickness drug into my first vein, I can feel sharp pain. She had to dilute the drugs and inject slowly but I still feel intermittent pain. She thinked it was too dangerous to continue using the first vein for chemo. Therefore, she switched to the 2nd vein for chemo. She continued to use the first vein for hydration and calcium (blood test shows my calcium level was low). Luckily, there were no pain after the switch.

On the 3rd day, my fingers swell slightly. The nurse encouraged me to move my hand and do some exercises to improve blood circulation. They also elevated my hand to prevent water retention. Just one more day to go, I have to protect my veins. I started to massage and do hand exercise. The last thing I want was to have another plug on my right hand…..

Finally, the long awaited day 4 has came for me to be discharged. I don’t have the side effect of nausea and sore mouth. Appetite had slightly worsened and I had constipation. Dr. Soo said it was normal and I will have some medication for constipation. I can eventually go home.

I wonder if there is any way or exercise to increase the thickness of the veins on my hand and to make them more visible. Please let me know if anyone has any idea. I still have 6 weeks before my second chemo.