Aggressive Lymphoma (NHL) - Stage IV
dad will be undergoing 6-8 cycles of treatment and each cycle is 3 weeks. medication is infused and consumed on the 1st day of each cycle (RCHOP - rituximab, cyclophosphamide, cytoxan, doxorubicin, vincristine, corticosteroids).
1st Treatment - Day 01
arrived at tan tock seng hospital for admission around 1 plus in the afternoon, 1 day prior to treatment. 1st treatment has to be given inpatient as they have to keep dad under observation. the doctors (ward's MO, kenneth koh.. and hematology team, joseph and sreekanth) dropped by at 9 in the morning to brief us on dad's situation, the treatment that follows, what to expect and look out for.
medicine arrived at 2 in the afternoon and dad transformed.
much as we have heard so much about the pain and agony of going through chemo, not many of us have the chance to see for our own eyes, much less going through the whole process. 1st treatment is important as it gives us an idea of what to expect as reaction to the medication depends on individual.
nurse qianling was assigned to give my dad the treatment, patient, nice and from the looks, young girl. dad was given anti-nausea and anti-allergy medication together with paracetamol to minimise/eliminate the possible side effects. treatment started with infusion of rituximab at 50 millilitres per hour. i stepped out to meet kenny, mum and 三表哥 went for coffee at the lobby level since dad fell asleep due to the anti-nausea medication (causes drowsiness).
the medication flow was increased by 50 every half an hour. when we returned to the ward, it was already at 150. dad mentioned that he felt breathless at one point of time while we were all away and got a scolding from us for not telling qianling. all was well till he suddenly complained that it was very cold and his whole body started to shiver. this is one of the common side effects and i informed qianling who immediately stopped the medication. took dad around 10-15 minutes to recover with constant feeding of warm water. he was advised to rest and have his dinner before they resume the treatment.
it was around 8 in the evening when the medication is being infused into dad's body at 50 millilitres per hour again. he was taking it well and qianling increased the flow to 100. not long after the increment, dad asked me to switch off the fan as he was feeling cold again. i went to inform qianling and the treatment was paused. this time, we covered dad with 2 layers of blanket and he slowly recovered from the cold. treatment was resumed and i guess it was too soon as it got worse this time. dad's body temperature rose and hit a high of 40.4. we constantly used wet iced cloth to cool him down but it was not enough. dad complained of nausea, giddy and started to speak incoherently probably due to the fever. he subsequently puked his supper out. we asked mum if she could stay at the hospital tonight as i was worried for my dad. he is one who does not like to trouble others and has a high threshold. even nurse qianling who initially said we could go home and visit again tomorrow changed her mind.
they currently stopped treatment for dad till the night shift doctor comes in to check.
countdown to wedding day : 190
dad will be undergoing 6-8 cycles of treatment and each cycle is 3 weeks. medication is infused and consumed on the 1st day of each cycle (RCHOP - rituximab, cyclophosphamide, cytoxan, doxorubicin, vincristine, corticosteroids).
1st Treatment - Day 01
arrived at tan tock seng hospital for admission around 1 plus in the afternoon, 1 day prior to treatment. 1st treatment has to be given inpatient as they have to keep dad under observation. the doctors (ward's MO, kenneth koh.. and hematology team, joseph and sreekanth) dropped by at 9 in the morning to brief us on dad's situation, the treatment that follows, what to expect and look out for.
medicine arrived at 2 in the afternoon and dad transformed.
much as we have heard so much about the pain and agony of going through chemo, not many of us have the chance to see for our own eyes, much less going through the whole process. 1st treatment is important as it gives us an idea of what to expect as reaction to the medication depends on individual.
nurse qianling was assigned to give my dad the treatment, patient, nice and from the looks, young girl. dad was given anti-nausea and anti-allergy medication together with paracetamol to minimise/eliminate the possible side effects. treatment started with infusion of rituximab at 50 millilitres per hour. i stepped out to meet kenny, mum and 三表哥 went for coffee at the lobby level since dad fell asleep due to the anti-nausea medication (causes drowsiness).
the medication flow was increased by 50 every half an hour. when we returned to the ward, it was already at 150. dad mentioned that he felt breathless at one point of time while we were all away and got a scolding from us for not telling qianling. all was well till he suddenly complained that it was very cold and his whole body started to shiver. this is one of the common side effects and i informed qianling who immediately stopped the medication. took dad around 10-15 minutes to recover with constant feeding of warm water. he was advised to rest and have his dinner before they resume the treatment.
it was around 8 in the evening when the medication is being infused into dad's body at 50 millilitres per hour again. he was taking it well and qianling increased the flow to 100. not long after the increment, dad asked me to switch off the fan as he was feeling cold again. i went to inform qianling and the treatment was paused. this time, we covered dad with 2 layers of blanket and he slowly recovered from the cold. treatment was resumed and i guess it was too soon as it got worse this time. dad's body temperature rose and hit a high of 40.4. we constantly used wet iced cloth to cool him down but it was not enough. dad complained of nausea, giddy and started to speak incoherently probably due to the fever. he subsequently puked his supper out. we asked mum if she could stay at the hospital tonight as i was worried for my dad. he is one who does not like to trouble others and has a high threshold. even nurse qianling who initially said we could go home and visit again tomorrow changed her mind.
they currently stopped treatment for dad till the night shift doctor comes in to check.
countdown to wedding day : 190