[quote=Charm2017]
As for Chemo, I brought both an MP3 player and good books. I was not interested in watching the daytime crap on TV, although I could hear the shrieks after the DNA paternity tests on Maury Povitch from the other TVs. The Benadryl never made me sleepy enough to nap plus even if I had the beeping from the pump whenever a bag of saline or potassium emptied would have woken me up. My advice is to have someone come with you if possible. Even at my CCC, the staffing ratio is such that you are not constantly attended and little things like the beeping or getting up and dragging everything including the chemo pump and pole and bags into the bathroom are up to you to fix. I would have had to wear Depends if my wife did not come to chemo with me and one poor guy a few chairs down from me who was alone ended up pissing himself. The poor nurses do their very best but the hospitals overload them. My nurse had to check the chemo orders, call in the orders to the pharmacy, pick up the chemo, heat up the towels , hook up the IV, load up the saline, administer the Benadryl, start the potassium drip, take our lunch orders, check the chemo flow for 5 patients concurrently and still distribute our lunches. She could not abandon another patient in midstream to focus solely on me. With the exception of that one poor guy, every chemo patient had a caregiver to help out and they made it clear that was their expectation. [/quote]

Wow Charm,

Our experience was so different. Bill had treatment at an Oncology Center and we could not have been treated nicer. In fact, the caregivers/companions/drivers were encouraged to go home or run errands, in other words...take a break. I did stay sometimes to help Bill with his "lunch" of supplement thru his PEG but otherwise he was in terrific hands and there were plenty of nurses to help and they were not overwhelmed at all. He was made to feel very comfortable and all requests were met promptly. The surroundings were bright, pleasant, and welcoming. Once I got over the shock of what we were there for, I felt very blessed.

So sorry you had such a hard time, but I want people to know that they might have an option where they receive chemo/rt treatments. We were under the watch of Moffitt CC in Tampa but received treatment here at home with their blessings.

Deb