Free Essay

The Ritual of Chemotherapy

In:

Submitted By hej0009
Words 940
Pages 4
For six months every three weeks I lived in a set ritual where everything was planned down to the minute and second. It was my ritual of chemotherapy. Everything was always the same from what the doctors did to what I did. I only did this ritual to survive, not by choice.
Upon arrival at the hospital I would go directly to the Oncology Center, better known as the Massoud Clinic. There, I would wait until the nurse who would weigh and measure me called me back, after that she would draw two vials of blood to test my blood cell levels. An hour prior to all of this I would take a strip of saran wrap, with a quarter sized amount of numbing gel, and place it on my port. This would ease the pain when they accessed it. The nurses were always very meticulous when they accessed my port, everything was sterilized twice and once they were sure it was clean they would stick the needle into my chest and begin an intravenous therapy of saline at 999 milliliters per hour. Then, I would walk through the hospital to room 316, get comfy in bed and wait for chemotherapy to begin.
At 10:45 sharp my doctor would come in and begin my first round of chemo, Etopside. It was given through my IV and took a I would wear a blood pressure monitor that would check every fifteen minutes to make sure my heart rate wasn’t getting out of control. After the first chemo was given I would always crave Panera Bread chicken noodle soup, so I would eat a couple bowls of it during my second round of chemo. The second chemo I was given is Adriamycin; it took fifteen minutes to be injected. Between every injection my IV port was flushed out with saline and Heparin. They waste no time and start the third chemo, Cyclophosphamide, as soon as the second is finished. The third takes fifteen minutes and from the time it starts I know I have about one hour before I start to feel nauseous. I eat as much as possible before I start to feel bad, then I go to bed for the night, watching a movie with friends.
Day two of chemotherapy starts at 4 am. I don’t know why they have to draw blood from me at that time, but they do. I only would get three more hours of rest before the next person barged in at 7 O’ clock with breakfast. I would never eat it. Then, 10:30 comes around and they serve lunch! I am still not awake, but 10:45 comes and its time for chemo, again. Only one chemo is given this day. The doctors and nurses come in and check my lines, flush them out, and reapply the bandage over my port. It’s Tuesday, which means at noon a dog should be coming to visit me. The dog visits were always my favorite part about being in a children’s hospital, even though I was eighteen at the time. Around three the second day of chemo the steroids would kick in. At this time my parents would have their own ritual of taking a walk and getting something to eat together, because I was too irritable to handle at this time.
Day three in the hospital starts at four am as well, with the drawing of blood. I only have one treatment left, which causes me to be very anxious to get out. The last chemo is given, and then they come in and draw more blood. They go to test it and, every time, the doctor comes back in the room holding a bag of blood for a transfusion. It is the same conversation every time. I try to tell him I don’t need it; however, he insists. This prolongs my stay in the hospital by at least another four hours. Finally, two nurses come in dressed in their scrubs. They sanitize everything near them, put a mask on me, and proceed to take out the needle from my port, which was put in three days ago. Then, another nurse will give me a Neupogen shot in the thigh and wheel me out to the car, because I might like die or something if I try to walk. I don’t even bother saying bye to all my wonderful nurses and doctors because I will be seeing them again in two short days.
Two days later, for my next chemo, it’s the same old thing. I arrive, I am weighed, measured and the same nurse will draw two vials of blood from me. I am then given a tiny syringe of one last chemo drug. I have it timed perfectly, once that is given and we leave the Massoud clinic, we have just enough time to eat at Olive Garden and get home before my chills and aches render me incapable of moving. Once we are home I make myself comfortable on the couch, and even though it’s the summer, my mom makes me a cup of hot chocolate. I stay on this couch for the next three days until my symptoms disappear.
I will have about a week and a half of feeling normal before I go back to the hospital to start my next cycle of my chemotherapy ritual. Nothing ever changed, not even the room I stayed in or the foods I ate. It was so ritualistic that when it stopped I almost felt a bit nostalgic for it and wanted to go back, but luckily this ritual is over.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Summary Of Body Ritual Among The Nacirema By Horace Miner

...In the article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” Horace Miner tries to make us realize that we should not believe everything in which we are told. This is demonstrated when he mentions that it is sometimes difficult to collect accurate information about a culture when you do not belong to it because the information may be based on assumption. This is also demonstrated when he discusses that Americans always seem to believe what doctors say even though they are not always successful in healing individuals. It is also shown when he mentions that people always believe that they cannot heal without medicine therefore they cannot live without it. Firstly, it is very possible that information given about a culture can be described differently from...

Words: 546 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Speech On Autism

...Life with disabled family members often makes me feel like the I am the poor stranger who walks in on a joke being told, only to realize too late that they are the punchline. The outsider, my face pressed against the looking glass— quietly observing. If my unorthodox life has taught me anything, it is that trips to Walmart and church are not what people consider to be “normal.” Nonetheless, I love our weekly excursions that involve clumsily wielding the grocery cart for my Nana, often murmuring an awkwardly-forced, “Excuse me,” as we squeeze through the congested aisles. And running every which way to catch up with my screaming brother, Remi, who just had to get the Family Size pack of Doritos is a sanctified ritual. At this point the overconcerned sweet nothings and looks from strangers are just a part routine. Though I share these experiences with them, I feel a deep seated guilt because I can never truly put myself in their shoes. The world can be a cold and empty place, and without a support system, the feeling of its weight is overbearing. What is it like to live independently as a blind woman in your old age? How does school seem from the perspective of a young adult with autism? There is a stigma against the differently abled, and it is a...

Words: 568 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Acupuncture Points

...Several experiments have been conducted to help in determining the reliability of acupuncture and what acupuncture treats. “The outcome was the landmark Consensus Statement in which the NIH panel stipulated, without any reliable data, that there was ‘clear evidence’ of acupuncture’s efficacy in postoperative nausea and vomiting, nausea of chemotherapy, nausea of pregnancy and postoperative dental pain. In addition, based on anecdotal evidence, the panel credited its potential use as an ‘adjunct treatment or an acceptable alternative’ for a number of conditions, including addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and asthma.” (Kavoussi, p.3) Acupuncture needles, as seen in the picture below, are placed in areas on the body where pain is emitted or along different meridians which may help to cure the internal problem in the...

Words: 632 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Pot : Calling the Kettle Black

...Each day the medical field is evolving and creating new means of sustaining life by way of medications and treatments to chronically ill patients. Adapting treatments and medications to new medical discoveries is common in medical testing. Many treatments for life-threatening and chronic illnesses have wretched side effects such as nausea, depression, and loss of appetite – these severe side effects are forcing many patients to make the choice to refuse current treatment methods or medications that would otherwise extend or save their lives. Recent discoveries have shown that using marijuana as form of treatment for chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDs, cancer, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis, has shown to have justifiable healing and sedative reprieve without otherwise having to suffer the nasty side effects that other treatments have to offer. Current legalization forces patients with chronic and life-threatening illness to either suffer horrendous medicinal side effects from treatment and illness, or break the law by self-medicating by way of marijuana. Medical marijuana should be legalized for the chronically ill as an alternative treatment method to painful and horrid side effects of current treatment methods that are in place. Marijuana originates from the dried parts of the Cannabis Sativa or hemp plant and is known by hundreds of street names such as pot, weed, and grass. The hemp plant has existed for thousands of years with archaeologists discovering hemp fibers...

Words: 1646 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Jewish Life After Death Research Paper

...“In Orthodox Jewish perspectives on withholding and withdrawing life sustaining Treatment”, Baeke Goedele, Wils Jean-Pierre, & Broeckaert Bert(2011) stated “Jews believe in a God who created human beings according to His image” (p. 836). The authors emphasize that Jewish people strongly belief on God. They belief God create them the same as his image so human beings are a unique creature than other. In Jewish culture there is different perspective in the end of life care especially life-sustaining care at the final stage dying. In “Nursing: A Concept-Based Approach to Learning Volume Two. (2nd Ed.),” Concepts Advisory Panel (2015), mentation that Jew will use all medical care necessary to extend life because there are prescribed Jewish rituals for individuals who are near death and for the time of and after death. (p. 1885). Moreover, in “The Critical Role of Religion: Caring for the Dying Patient from an Orthodox Jewish Perspective” Loike John, Guillick Muriel, Mayer Stephan, prager Kemmeth, Simon Jeremy, Steinberg Avraham, Tendler Moshe, Willig Mordechai & Fischbach Ruth (2010) demonstrated Indeed, in Jewish law a moribund person is likened to a sputtering wick, which should not be touched. For Feinstein, all supportive care – including nutrition and hydration – should be maintained, on condition that it is for the patient’s benefit and does not cause unnecessary pain. (p.839) The authors empathized that in Jewish law show that the patient has a right to receives all basic...

Words: 885 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: Book Review

...The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Book Review by Jerry Cyccone The book I chose to review, “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Huong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures”, by Anne Fadiman, is a non-fiction narrative about the collision of cultural relativism and medicine. The book describes the struggles faced by the Lees, a Hmong family that emigrated from Laos in 1980, to the city of Merced, California. The story revolves around young Lia Lee, the second born from her parents and a sufferer of epilepsy. Difficulties arise when barriers in communication, culture, and religion surface between American physicians and Lia’s parents over Lia’s treatment. These barriers, further enhanced by both side’s ethnocentric beliefs and failure to work together, resulted in creating a series of events that would eventually determine the fate of poor Lia Lee. Lia had her initial seizure at the young age of three months old. In an unfamiliar country and not fluent in English, yet concerned by Lia’s seizure, the Lees brought Lia to Merced Community Medical Center. From the beginning, the inability of both Lia’s parents and the doctors to communicate with each other, made it almost impossible for Lia to even be diagnosed properly. In fact, the first diagnosis of Lia was that she was suffering from a “bronchial infection” (p. 26). Yes, Lia did have breathing issues, but because of the language barrier, the doctors didn’t realize until...

Words: 1830 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Culture Paper

...Muslims believe in the integration of daily prayer, spiritual medicine practices, and reading of the Qur’an, the religious text of Islam, with modern medical treatment. Therefore, healthcare beliefs are informed by their religious views and practices. Health is essential to Muslims because their faith compels them to maintain optimal health by practicing everything in moderation such as praying, exercising, working, and eating. On the other hand, illness can be indicative of penance of sin or a test of a Muslim’s faith. When illness occurs, the patient seeks conventional medical treatment and prays to Allah for a cure. Prayer is also an important factor of Islam. As nurses, we can facilitate a Muslim patient’s prayer ritual by providing running water for the ritual cleansing and an area for them to pray (Townsend, 2014). In regards to Muslim folk medicine, the Qur’an states, “Allah did not create a disease for which...

Words: 3008 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

Do the Benefits of Routine Cancer Screening Outweigh the Drawbacks?

...Do the benefits of routine cancer screening outweigh the drawbacks? Living in the twenty-first century with all the medical technology available you would think one would be indestructible. Am I right? Scientist keeps coming up with cures, and modern machines seem to detect diseases early on. Or do they? Have you ever been given bad news just to find out later it was false? This has happened to most all of us sometime in our life. Somebody is being told today they have cancer. They have instantly been thrown into a sea of emotions, caught and knocked down by every wave of evil thought. They are eventually relieved that they had denied treatment only after finding out the test was wrong. All the worry this family went through could have been avoided. Some would go ahead with treatment, finding out later that they shouldn’t have. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great benefit to have all the modern updates of medical science at our fingertips. But, have we come to rely on the answers of machines rather than our own self-exams and our own intuition? Instead of being on a roller coaster of emotions, or taking dangerous amounts of unnecessary treatments, shouldn’t we wait until there’s a reason for concern and then use the force of science to combat the enemy? Until the ratio of routine screenings rise to meet a level of accuracy, I feel they are hardly as necessary as one is lead to believe. Routine cancer screenings bring too many false positives with premature and over...

Words: 1136 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Grand Avenue Movie Review

...Grand Avenue Movie Paper Melissa H…. School of Social Work SWK 501 Professor Jones May, 8, 2015 Grand Avenue Movie Paper Family systems are complex and multifaceted due to the various personalities, presenting issues, dynamics, and outside influences. In the field of social work, the family system will be the backbone of effective intervention as it is the primary agent of socialization that our society is built upon. The movie Grand Avenue depicts a multi-generational view of Native American families who are struggling to assimilate into American life while maintaining cultural beliefs and traditions. The families of Molly, Steven, and Anna will be explored looking at the different relationships and the stressors each family is faced with, their strengths, and their goals, that they want to accomplish in life. I will analyze Molly’s family first. Molly has three children; Justine, who is the oldest, Alice and Sheldon who is the youngest. They historically resided on a reservation in New Mexico with her husband Jack. Shortly after Jack passed away, Molly was asked to leave the reservation with her family. Molly returned to her hometown with her cousin Anna, who found Molly an old run down house for the family to rent on Grand Avenue. Grand Avenue is a very rough neighborhood with different races and personalities that in combination with each other result in increased gang activity and violence. It is evident that Molly loves her children, but she does not know...

Words: 2216 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Young Blood

...| Marijuana should be legalized | | Chioke s. Woodley | | 03/512 | Marijuana a preparation made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the cannabis plant, usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria. A strong-smelling plant from whose dried leaves a number of euphoria and hallucinogenic drugs are prepared. The most commonly used illicit drug; considered a soft drug, it consists of the dried leaves of the hemp plant; smoked or chewed for euphoric effect. Unfortunately, however, the financial costs of marijuana legalization would never outweigh its benefits. People may not realize it, but the United States spends billions of tax payers dollars fighting the so called “drug war” when there are so many more important issues at hand. I mean, let the people who want to smoke marijuana smoke marijuana peacefully, how is it bothering you? If the fact that you are not earning any tax dollars off illegal sales is bothersome, then just legalize it and tax it. Since 0.5 grams of marijuana is sold on the streets for about $8.60 and its production price is only $1.70 – that means that the legal selling price could be much lower than the street selling price, giving people incentive to purchase legally. A research company estimates that the industry is worth roughly $10 billion a year. Increase in marijuana prevalence resulting from legalization would probably increase the already high costs of marijuana use in society. Accidents would increase, health-care costs would...

Words: 1930 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Epidemiology (Chicken Pox)

...EPIDEMIOLOGY Paper Grand Canyon University: NRS-427V Abstract This paper will provide an overview of the Chickenpox disease process and the effects it has on the population. The paper continues to review how the epidemiological triangle is used and will include the host factors, agent factors (presence or absence), and environmental factors. The writer will try to review the determinants of health and explain how those factors contribute to the development of this disease, and also will see the roles and responsibilities of the community health nurse. In the end the paper discusses the associations, organizations, and national agency that addresses the chicken pox and contributes to resolving or reducing the impact of chickenpox disease. Chickenpox It is studied that 95 % of Americans get chickenpox by adulthood. Chickenpox is highly contagious. According to CDC 4 million people are infected by chickenpox every year. About 120,624 people in the USA were infected in 1995; it decreased to a tremendous 46,016 cases in 1999 in USA [Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), 1999] Earlier before the chickenpox vaccine was discovered,each year about 11,000 people needed hospitalization for chickenpox in the U.S, and about 100 to 150 people died each year of chickenpox. With the vaccine, cases of chickenpox have dropped by about 90%. Cause Chickenpox is a transmittable illness induced by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Babies, adults and individual...

Words: 2175 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Btec Level 3 Health and Social Care Complimentary Therapies 23a

...Explain the factors that affect access to complementary therapies Factors that could affect access to complementary therapies could stem from many sources. These could consist of physical barriers, geographical barriers, socio-economical barriers, cultural barriers, educational barriers and the barriers that may be face by referral systems. Physical Barriers includes whether or not a service user can access the building in which the CAM therapy is to take place. For example the individual may face mobility issues such as being in a wheelchair, or other health problems such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) which may result in breathlessness. Geographical barriers would include aspects of an individual’s life associated with where they live which may determine how easy it is to get to and from places in which complementary therapies take place. Various transport options may have to be considered, does the individual drive, or is there reliable access to public transport? Socio-economical barriers arise in association with how financially secure potential service users are. Whether or not an individual can attend a complementary therapy service is dependent on how much the therapy costs, and whether it can be afforded by the individual. Cultural barriers stem from the beliefs of an individual, and whether a particular type of practice is acceptable in relation to their religion or culture, but may also be a result of perceived efficacy of the therapies...

Words: 1698 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Music Research Essay

...is through music. Music can sometimes have a very calming and soothing quality to it. Other times music can inspire us and pump us up for certain situations in our lives. Music is also used as therapy for illnesses. Whether their illness is a psychological disorder or cancer, music has been proven to ease some of the symptoms that these people may have. People who are suffering from any kind of illness are under tremendous stress, confusion, and sometimes they can feel lost. Music therapy can help with all of these problems. Music has been used in medicine for thousands of years. Ancient Greek philosophers believed that music could heal both the body and the soul. Native Americans have used singing and chanting as part of their healing rituals for millennia. The more formal approach to music therapy began in World War II, when U.S. Veterans Administration hospitals began to use music to help treat soldiers suffering from shell shock and to help cope with the tragic events they witnessed during that time. In the remainder of this paper I will be discussing music therapy and the effects it can have on people that are suffering from an illness. Music therapy is becoming a very common practice around the world. In 1944, Michigan State University established the first music therapy degree program in the world. Today, more than seventy colleges and universities have degree programs that are approved by the American Music Therapy Association. A musical therapist must have a college...

Words: 1608 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Legalization of Marijuana

...Name Lecturer Institution Course Date Legalization of marijuana Introduction In most regions, the use and possession of marijuana are considered illegal. Marijuana is also known as cannabis. For many years, cannabis has been termed as an illegal drug. Today some countries in the world have legalized marijuana. To be specific, a small amount of cannabis has been legalized in regions such as Europe, South America and North America. In USA, some states such as Washington and Colorado have also legalized the possession and the usage of marijuana for medical reasons. Most countries in the world have great penalties for the usage and possession of cannabis. It should be observed that these penalties range from very simple to severe punishments. The punishment for the small amount of marijuana is not the same as the punishment for the possession of a large amount (Earleywine, 2005). The paper does explain as to why cannabis should be legalized. Lack of evidence The main reason as to why the legalization of marijuana should be lawful is that there is lack of evidence for its legalization. From a philosophical point of view, people have the right to make choices and decision for themselves. Of course, it is the function of the government to limit those choices and decisions if the action that is taken by a person does not affect with the rights of other persons. Persons who choose and decide to use cannabis do so because of their free will. Marijuana should be legalized because for...

Words: 1795 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Legalizing Marijuana

...4% of 12th graders in 1979 had used marijuana at least once in their lifetime. There were 2.6 million new users in 2001 and 47.8% of 12th graders in 2002 had used marijuana in their lifetime. Thirty six percent of those students had used it in the past year, and 21.5% of those had used it in the past month. We should look to the reason Marijuana is outlawed by the United States Federal Government (USFG). It might be for its terribly addictive nature and ability to destroy the life of those who attempt to use it as a recreational drug. Smoking marijuana is one’s own choice and in some cases a religious aspect. A person can have the freedom to smoke tobacco and drink alcohol, how is that different from smoking marijuana? Some religious rituals even include the of use marijuana. In some places, it is a “Holy Plant” and is said to be a gift from God. In Shintoism (Japan) marijuana was used to bind together couples in marriage. In the Rastafarians (Jamaica and elsewhere) are a contemporary religious group that uses "ganja" as its sacred sacrament to communicate with God (Jah). There are cases of religious people being arrested for possession of marijuana. It’s a person’s choice whether or not they smoke marijuana; give them...

Words: 1718 - Pages: 7