Katie_C
Life in Perspective!
Aug 10, 2010
Yesterday I had to go and have an Iron Infusion. Something many WLS patients have to do at one time or another. The process was not that bad. I was there for 4 hours, I received a test dose, and had to wait 30 minutes to see if I had any adverse reactions. Then once that was over and I was fine they gave me the actual dose which takes three hours to drip into my system. The process was not that bad at all, I had the IV in my right hand which stunk, and hurt a little, but if that was all that I had to deal with that was fine.I was sent to Florida Cancer Institute - New Hope in New Port Richey, FL to have my infusion done. Being sent to a Cancer Center will mess with anyone's head, but it was sitting there that really put life in perspective for me.
When I got there they seemed a little busy, they told me to take a seat in the third of three sections of recliners. There were already a lot of patients there, but the big difference between me and all of those other patients was that they were all there for Chemo treatments. The nurse came over and asked me if I was a guest, and I told her that I was here as a patient. She didn't have my chart yet, and asked me what kind of cancer I had. I told her that I was here for an Iron Infusion, then another nurse came over with my chart and test dose to get me started.
I was sitting next to this woman, she was maybe at an age where she could be my mom and she started to tell me that this was her first chemo treatment. I instantly felt sad, as that means that most likely she was recently diagnosed and just learned of her cancer. She asked me if this was my first treatment, and I told her that I was here because I was anemic and needed iron. I could tell from her voice that she was a bit afraid of the unknown, since this was her first treatment.
There was another woman there sleeping and you could tell that this was not her first go at treatment, as she had no hair and looked so frail. when she woke up she started talking to the person across from her where I learned that she had Lung cancer once before and this was her second bout of cancer, which type this time I am not sure. She was person number three that asked me what kind of cancer I had.
As I was sitting there, test dose over and my IV drip dose just started this guy came over and sat next to me. At first I wasn't paying attention, but he was here as a patient also. Apparently he has been a patient here for some time, as all of the nurses knew him by name and talked to him as if they were old friends. What I learned next I can't seem to get out of my head... this guy is 27 years old and was diagnosed with rectal cancer. He went to the doctor back in March because he thought he had hemorrhoids, and low and behold he had cancer. He goes to get chemo every other week for three days a week. He also wears a machine that attaches to his port that delivers a constant dose of chemo 24-7. He is 27 years old!!! He has no family history of cancer... he was person number four to ask me what kind of cancer I had.
The next guy that I was chatting with this was also his first cancer treatment. He got up to go to the restroom, which is no easy task, as you have to bring your IV Machine with you. There was a display of wigs near the rest rooms, and they all happened to be ladies wigs. When he came back he joked... how come there are no men's wigs? I laughed and said because most men don't look half bad bald. He then proceeded to tell me and the 27 year old next to me that he thinks that he would look terrible bald, but he knew that he was going to find out. He was told that by treatment three he would start to loose his hair very fast. He said that he was planning to shave tonight, and that he was thinking of shaving his mustache off. He then said, and you can her the sadness in his voice that he has had that mustache for over 40 years, it is going to be very hard to get use to not having it. He then asked me if I had ever lost my hair, where I again had to tell someone that I didn't have cancer.
After talking to person number three, I was not giving any information about myself unless I was asked. I started to feel guilty that I was sitting there and didn't have cancer. Don't get me wrong I am not at all sad about that fact, I just know that those people were only asking me because I was there, and they thought that this was the one place where they would have something in common with the others around them. I know that they only wanted to talk to someone, to see if what they are going through was the same as what another person was going through, and I was not able to help them in that manner. That is what I felt guilty about.
I have volunteered for the American Cancer Society for many years, and one thing that I always remember them talking about is that Cancer doesn't discriminate, not that I didn't believe them, but when you see things in this light it changes things... Just in the 6 other people that were sitting around me, not to mention the other sections of patients I didn't get to meet... that could have been my mom, my aunt and uncle, and my brother... I have been very lucky that I have not had to deal with a lot of cancer in my family (knock on wood here).
Other than that my infusion went well, I should start to feel a lot better in the next day or so...
All I know is that things look a little different to me today.
Katie
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About Me
Land O Lakes, FL
Location
29.0
BMI
Surgery
02/25/2009
Surgery Date
May 23, 2008
Member Since
