What can people with cancer expect during their first chemotherapy appointment?

What should I expect during my first chemotherapy infusion?

People about to begin chemotherapy treatment often have questions about what to expect. To help you prepare, you may want to see if you can visit the infusion center and meet with the staff ahead of your first infusion. This can give patients the opportunity to ask questions about what they need to do before the appointment and to bring up any special concerns, such as difficulty with transportation, unique mobility needs or language preferences.

Before the first chemotherapy infusion, a nurse typically checks the patient’s vital signs and records their height and weight. Clinicians use these measurements to calculate the medication dose, which is often prepared the same day. The nurse also may check for redness or swelling near the IV site in your arm or around your port, which is a device implanted under the skin that is used to deliver medications. While some centers run blood tests a day or two ahead of time, other clinics will run these tests the same day as the infusion. These lab tests check blood counts, electrolyte levels, and kidney and liver function to make sure it is safe for you to receive chemotherapy.

You likely reviewed your treatment plan with your oncology team, but the infusion center nurses typically provide additional education about the medication and your treatment schedule. You may want to take this opportunity to ask how long regular visits will take. For example, while the infusion itself might last 30 minutes, you may learn the whole process can take two hours or more when factoring in the time it takes to receive lab results and for the pharmacy to prepare your medication.

At most infusion centers, patients sit in a recliner as they receive their infusion. You will likely be in a shared space with curtains or a partition for privacy. You can rest, listen to music, read, eat, chat with a companion, or do other quiet activities. Bring items like headphones, books, magazines, snacks and a blanket. If you have a rolling IV pole, you may want to get up and go to the restroom or take short walks, so consider wearing walking shoes with good traction to avoid slips and falls. In addition, you may want to wear loose-fitting clothing so nurses can easily access your port or IV site.

The infusion center care team typically monitors patients for any infusion reactions, but you should inform them if you feel short of breath, nauseous or otherwise unwell during or after the infusion. The infusion team usually discusses potential side effects, such as nausea or fatigue, and medications you can take at home to manage those symptoms, as well as what to do if side effects occur.

For the first chemotherapy treatment, you may want to bring a companion to keep you company. Many people can drive themselves home after an infusion and go about their daily activities. However, you may feel sleepy, tired, overwhelmed or worn out from treatment, so you may want to enlist friends or family members to help with child care or other obligations. It is important to focus on yourself as you begin treatment, so clear other commitments if you can.

FIRST INFUSION // Dana-Farber Cancer Institute offers a video that explains what to expect on the first day of chemotherapy. // Patient Power explains common adverse reactions to chemotherapy.