Full Body Hyperthermia

Hooked up and ready to go, originally uploaded by DPC Tutt.

Well, on Monday I had the full meal deal, the full body hyperthermia. It went very well. As I explained briefly before the whole process takes about 4 hours from start to finish. FIrst they get you out of your clothes and partially covered with what they called a towel and I would call a wash cloth. Then they weigh you to see how much you weight you loose through sweating and pop you on the table. The table is actually made of a hammock-like mesh that supports you over some infrared lights. There are also infrared lights that are lowered from above once the procedure is started. Before they get you really going they stick thermometers all over you. Under you back, in your arm pit, on your ear, under your knee and yes, up your arse. That way they can tell when you're cooked. I was half expecting them to jam a pot roast thermometer in there somewhere. You know the ones that come in the roast from the butcher where the little red bit pop out when the roast is done? Luckily they were a little more technically advanced than the butcher shop in that respect.

Once all the prep is ready they put you to sleep. They don't use a general anesthetic just a propofol drip (yep the same stuff that killed MJ). It works well but it takes more to put me to sleep than most other people since I've had it so much so there was a few minutes spent half awake, half asleep babbling like an idiot. Penny said I asked her if I could get a motorcycle. When she said yes I apparently asked her if I will have to ride on the back... Stupid drugs.

So the next thing I remember is being hoisted out of the bed, naked and sweaty and bandaged up with very cold creme and dressings. I guess I had a few sunburn-like red blotches on my back, elbows and legs. They are all gone now and things are good in that respect but for 24 hours I looked like a cross-dresser with a whole bunch of fish-net like gauze stuff holding my bandages in place. Luckily there is no photographic evidence of that particular phase!

During the hyperthermia they got my core temperature up to 40.9 degrees C. and held it there for about an hour. Once I reached that temperature they infused my irinotecan chemotherapy. Giving it to me at my hottest temp supposedly increases the effectiveness of the chemo. They gave me the same dose as I get at home so the past few days have been sort of crappy. The side effects are way less intense here but I still feel sluggish and sickly. The night following the whole body hyperthermia and last night I got infusions of another chemo, 5FU. The infusion during the night decreases the side effects and increases the effectiveness of the chemo.

The plan for the next few days is to continue with my normal daily treatments (local hyperthermia, magnetic field therapy, massages, and ozone therapy) and start on a detox protocol. That should put me in a good position to leave here this weekend and head home to see the little ones. Leaving a week early will allow me to do a round of chemo at home (for free!), recover in my own house, maybe go to work and save a little $ for another trip back here to the kilinik in about a month for another round of whole body hyperthermia.

I know, I know. The "towel" in the picture doesn't cover nearly enough. Sorry about that.