Post chemo update

They finally sent the drugs up from the pharmacy after 2 but due to some other issues in the ward they did not start the session until around 4:20. It seems that for a ward that rarely sees much action there was a lot of activity and even a patient that requires constant supervision. There were also a number of patients who needed to be sent off for various tests and since there are two nurses, one assistant and no receptionist they have to handle all the scheduling and transportation things that come up. Yes, you do call transport when you need to have a patient go from point A to point B and just like calling a cab or AAA, sometimes you can be waiting a really, really long time!

The first part of the chemo was a decadron drip along with some heavy duty anti nausea drug that starts with an A (I will eventually remember it) and has 5 letters in total. Once that was done, the IV was flushed and the Alimta was given. The distribution rate of the Alimta is quite fast and it takes about 10 minutes to distribute. After that was done, the IV was flushed again and then the Carboplatin was given. That is distributed at a much slower rate, so it took 35 minutes.

Now, a brief description of the two cancer drugs and what they do. Hopefully I can explain it so it makes sense. Keep in mind I failed chemistry and my biology grades weren't much better (mostly because I could not draw what I saw in the microscope even if I can still picture what those silly cells look like today).

Alimta is an antimetabolite drug. Antimetabolite drugs contain things that are similar to substances we have in our cells. When the cells absorb the Alimta into it, they are unable to divide so they will die without reproducing. Alimta likes folates, hence the reason why patients who take it must supplement their diet by taking Folic Acid. Alimta targets cancer cells at a specific point in their cycle which has to, by definition, be different then what the other drug does. There are ongoing clinical trials now where they are actually looking at using three different types of drugs each targeting the cells at a different point in their cycle. I think Alimta targets it when the cells are active.

Carboplatin (yes it does have platinum metal salt in it) is an alkalyting agent. Carboplatin causes cells to commit suicide among other things. This drug targets the cells when they are in the resting phase, thus preventing them from ever reproducing. I have no earthly idea how the drug knows whether a cell is resting, dividing or active, but the more aggressive a cancer is (ie the more rapidly the cells divide) the more cells it will kill and thus the more likely we are to notice a reduction in the size of the tumor.

Chris tolerated the treatment very well and had an ensure as soon as the treatment was over. I will go see him later in the morning tomorrow to see how he's feeling.