The manner in which you will prepare for chemotherapy has to do with which drugs you will be given and the method by which they will be administered. Your physician will provide you with explicit instructions as to how you can ready yourself for the treatments.
If you will be having your treatments intravenously (which means they will be introduced into a vein), your healthcare provider may recommend to you that a device be surgically inserted before the treatment takes place. The device may be a catheter, pump or a port. Whatever item is to be used, it will be surgically implanted into a vein that is large in size. Most commonly used for this purpose would be a vein found in the chest. The drugs would be delivered by this method.
To prepare for chemotherapy, it would be wise to have your blood tested for certain types of genes. Individuals who have certain kinds of genes in their cells may process the drugs in a different way than those who do not posses these genes. This can lead to side effects that are above and beyond what would be expected from the therapy.
Your physician may recommend that you have a blood test done to find out if you have any of these genes. If you do, there may be drugs that you will not be able to take or they may have to be given to you in smaller doses.
It is important to know that your body is healthy enough to be able to cope with the chemotherapy sessions. To find this out, the doctor may schedule some preliminary procedures and tests for you. Testing the blood will provide insight into liver function, while tests on the heart will determine if it is in good shape. If a problem is found, the physician may decide to delay the therapy or he may choose a different drug and dosage that he knows will prove safer for your system to handle.
Before you start to have chemo treatments, it would be a good idea to schedule an appointment with your dentist for a check up. He can examine your teeth and rule out any serious problems or any infections. Treating an infection that is found may minimize the potential for complications to arise when the chemotherapy is taking place, because the treatments will reduce your immune system’s ability to fight infections.
Knowing what side effects you can expect to occur during and after your appointments will help you to be prepared. For example, if you know that your hair will fall out as a result of the therapy, you can plan ahead by purchasing a wig or some other form of head covering.
Make arrangement at home and at your place of work. In most instances, you will be able to continue to work and to go about your regular activities because your treatments will take place on an outpatient basis. It is hard to predict however, how you will feel in accordance with what you are going through.