Just like clockwork, just before 10:30am Alex was at my door, then wheeling me down the hall in my loaner walker to his dad’s car in the garage.  We make the roughly 30 minute drive to the BC Cancer Agency in Surrey, Found a pakring spot quite quickly.  While I straighten out my car, Alex goes in to see what the process is to get a wheelchair.  The young man at the Check-In desk there is most helpful and Alex is back with a wheelchair for me to use today.  Our appointment is at 12:15 and by 11:10 we are parked and checked-in and sitting in the waiting room for the second treatment of the new (to me) chemo drug, Sacituzumab,  Pronounced similarly to Sacsayhuaman in Cusco, Peru (Greg & Leslie, do you remember Sacsayhuaman,  it is a citadel on the northern outskirts of Cusco, they pronounce it like “Sexy Woman”  So yes, I am indeed still a Sacsayhuaman!! 😅🤪🤣😂

Alex asks if they normally call me in early.  I am ALWAYS early!  It comes from living with Stu for so many years.  It has established itself in me too!  I tell him that in the over year or so that I have been coming there rarely call me in early and especially not this early.  Very shortly after I tell him this, a nurse comes out and calls “Patricia”, we look at each other and laugh!!  Up we get, the nurse introduces herself and we do the same,  We stop on the way to Pod 5 to weigh me.  Down a little bit.

We go through the standard pre-Chemo questions on how I’m feeling, aches, pains etc.  Nothing other than the nasty pain comes to mind  The nurse is delighted that my port is already accessed by the Medical Daycare nurses and RMH yesterday.  They are always happier when they do not have to poke you!  After a few more items to check off, the nurse comes back and askes how I organize the the blood draw from my port.  Everyone always yes, it is possible, but no one knows how.  It is a multi-step process and as she had found and I had found no one seems to have documented it.  It is quite complex really, so here is what I have been doing.

1. Get your oncologist to write “orders” for port access, flushing and sealing with Heparin, an anticoagulant or bloodthinner.
2. Make many appointments with Medical daycare at your local hospital, in my case Ridge Meadows Hospital (RMH) going out a couple of months.
3. Then, (this is for Fraser Health, I would guess it is similar in other health regions of BC, but I do not know for sure.)  Here the lab MUST prepare the tubes.  They create the labels for the correct tubes in the correct order of draw, this is their expertise.  These are then sent via the pneumatic tube system in the hospital to the Medical Daycare department, where they have qualified Registered Nurses RN to do this accesss.  Not a Licenced Practical Nurse LPN.  They inject saline into the port, then do a discard tube, that is obviously discarded after, then draw the tubes required for the tests.  Make these appointments first as they have fewer available spots than the lab.  Once they Daycare spots are booked, then…
4. Book appointments with the lab in the same hospital as the Medical Daycare where you have booked previously.  Make these appointments an appropriate amount of time before the Medical Daycare appointment so that the tubes are able to be delivered in time for the blood draw.  I book mine 20 minutes prior to the Medical Daycare appointment and this has worked well for me.  You may need to lengthen or shorten depending on the facility. Then…
5. Again this is Fraser Health, you must register at the Hospital Registration Desk for the procedure with the Medical Daycare.  They swipe your Care Card and ensure you are indeed in the system for today.  The first time they will give you a medical bracelet (I keep mine in my purse for subsequent visits, so I don’t have hundreds of them to dispose of eventually).  Put on the bracelet.  Then…
6. Go to the Medical Daycare unit where your procedure will take place.  They may ask your name, DOB etc to confirm your are who you say you are!!  Once the tubes are drawn the Medical Daycare will send them back to the lab using the pneumatic tube system.  Then..
7. ALSO, if you are having treatment soon, you can ask them to leave the port accessed and it can be used within a few weeks for chemo!!!  BONUS Then…
8. Shortly see the results on MyCareCompass.

Just a few steps that do seem daunting, but soooo worth it.  Especially if you can arrive at chemo with your port already accessed and ready to go.  It is much easier on you than being poked constantly.  It still doesn’t hurt as much and a can possibly avoid a second poke!!  Just a WIN/WIN situation in my opinion.

One other thing I learned is that initially I was scheduled for chemo on Fridays, so I would book the lab/medical daycare appointments on Thursday and that worked great.  However, then next set of treatments were scheduled for Tuesday.  That makes an ideal bloodwork day a Monday.  But during the summer especially, Holiday Monday’s can affect things.  The Medical Daycare works 24/7 (at least in Fraser Health), but the Lab takes the Statutory Holidays.  So if the Lab can not produce the tubes, the Medical Daycare can not fill the tubes AND I do not get a chemo appointment time for Tuesday until Thursday.  If I waited until Thursday to make an appointment for bloodwork, there will be none available.  What I have done in these circumstances is, book a number of provisional Lab appointments at various times during they day of treatment and when I get the appointment time I cancel the redundant appointments.  I feel badly about blocking the appointments for others, but I NEED the bloodwork in order to proceed with treatment.  It only happens a few times a year, so unless there is a drastic change in the way this can be accomplished, I will continue to do it.

Today the drugs were delivered efficiently, without any issues at all. 

The nurse that I had last week stopped by for a chat and mentioned the resemblance between us. We see each other so often, we don’t usually see that. It was cool to hear it from her!!

Alex and I were able to do some chores on the way home.  It was really wonderful to have his company today!! 

Tomorrow there is nothing on my calendar except Cataract Eye drops.  Nothing too strenuous.  I think I can handle it!  ❤️❤️❤️

I am feeling so much better today than yesterday!!