This is the radiation accelerometer. It takes about 5 minutes daily to give me the required dose.
This is my port-a-cath. It is basically a central line used to deliver drugs that are too toxic to be administered through the veins in my hands or arms. It hooks up to a small bottle on my waist that holds the chemotherapy drugs. The white cigarette shaped thing taped to my chest is the body heat driven pump that delivers the chemo at 1.5ml/hour.
I started a six week stint of combined chemotherapy and radiation on Tuesday. The chemotherapy I'm on now is Fluoracil (also know as 5FU). It gets delivered by a Baxter pump (the white cigarette shaped thing in the picture) which runs off my body heat. It delivers an even dose of 1.5ml/hour for 7 days straight so I have to go once a week to change the bottle. It's not fun having chemo but this setup gives me so much flexibility. I can live my life pretty much as usual. The radiation will be given in 25 daily (Monday-Friday) doses at the Tom Baker centre (Yes, I have to go to the hospital EVERY day!). It is painless and quick to get and the main side effects are fatigue and a sunburn-like reaction in the treatment area (good times!). All of the chemo nurses and radiation techs have been very helpful in providing information and data about the various drugs and treatments. It makes my frequent trips to the hospital (almost!) enjoyable.
This is my port-a-cath. It is basically a central line used to deliver drugs that are too toxic to be administered through the veins in my hands or arms. It hooks up to a small bottle on my waist that holds the chemotherapy drugs. The white cigarette shaped thing taped to my chest is the body heat driven pump that delivers the chemo at 1.5ml/hour.
I started a six week stint of combined chemotherapy and radiation on Tuesday. The chemotherapy I'm on now is Fluoracil (also know as 5FU). It gets delivered by a Baxter pump (the white cigarette shaped thing in the picture) which runs off my body heat. It delivers an even dose of 1.5ml/hour for 7 days straight so I have to go once a week to change the bottle. It's not fun having chemo but this setup gives me so much flexibility. I can live my life pretty much as usual. The radiation will be given in 25 daily (Monday-Friday) doses at the Tom Baker centre (Yes, I have to go to the hospital EVERY day!). It is painless and quick to get and the main side effects are fatigue and a sunburn-like reaction in the treatment area (good times!). All of the chemo nurses and radiation techs have been very helpful in providing information and data about the various drugs and treatments. It makes my frequent trips to the hospital (almost!) enjoyable.
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