every week. in pictures.

I have now had24 treatments ofIntrathecal Herceptin. A few weeks ago, my friend Karin came and took photos. They were for me (because I can ' t see my own head) and they helped me a lot to understand the process. It ' s occurred to me that some of you might like to see them too. Every week, I am placed in a private room. It ' s been the same room every time and I have come to think of it as mine. I get the usual " pre-meds " of intravenous Gravol (dramamine) and Demerol (meperidine) that I have had for years with Herceptin to keep fromhaving a reaction. My oncologist (only doctors are trained to dealwith the Ommaya Reservoir), comes in after the meds have kicked in. This is what it looks like before treatment (after my hair is combed out of the way).Dr. G shaves the Ommaya to sterilize it.Iodine is the next step in sterilization. Rubbing alcohol comes after.  We joke around and laugh a lot at the beginning of every appointment. I look forward to thatpart. The atmosphere turns very business-like during the actual treatment. I appreciate that, too.Before treatment, a sterile cover is put on my head, with a convenient hole in it.The needle is injected in the Ommaya. It doesn ' t hurt. Really (remember, that ' s iodine. I am not bleeding).Before anything can be inserted, brain fluid must be extracted. This, to me, is the really freaky part.I will be getting 60 mg of Herceptin, which is about 30 ml (about 1 fluid ounce), so that amount of cerebrospinal fluid is...
Source: Not just about cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: brain metastasis breast cancer cancer blog herceptin show and tell weird Source Type: blogs