UK:

• Go to Marsden – up to the PPMDU (Private Patients Medical Day Unit) 
• Take my hat off as soon as I enter – very weirdly for a cancer hospital, I am one of the very few people who walk around bald…go figure…
• Get called in, tell them (3 visits so far) that taking bloods from the port is not a good idea and can I get them the ‘normal’ way (it’s bad medical practice to take blood from ports….higher risk of clotting) 
• Go back to waiting room and wait to see phlebotomist
• Get bloods done. 
• See a doc in the PPMDU, OR
• Head to see Dr Aloof (every 3 weeks) for my 10 minute waste of time – in different part of hospital
• Head out for lunch while waiting for blood results
• Come back to PPMDU, head to my allocated chair, get excited about being able to electronically move footrest, back etc. The enjoyment never wears off. 
• Wait anywhere from 30 mins to 1hr 30 mins for treatment to start. Lovely nurses but always extremely busy
• Chat with anyone and everyone. Last visit another laugh with ‘it’s crap, is that Ok?’ lady
• Pre meds given 
• I feel stoned and sleepy. Weirdly for an ex junkie, I really don’t enjoy it 
• Chemo on a drip for one hour 
• Severe mood change. Weird skin  colour change to quite yellow. I kind of look like a bad waxwork model of myself 
• Eat everything around me for rest of day/night (thanks to steroids). 6 meals last count
• Go home 

All done in one day, my choice to minimize travel, but minimum 4 – 5 hours in hospital – like a surreal day trip really….

Jordan

• Contact Fadwa, lovely oncology nurse, by Whatsapp to arrange to see doc and have chemo 
• Head in for appointment. Wait up to an hour, then see Dr Isis – always great 
• Take hat off in hospital. Same as above re other people, but it’s not a specific cancer hospital and majority of women in hijabs….
• Get bloods done 
• Come back on chemo day (that was today, first Taxol here)
• Did I mention I take my hat off?
• Find Fadwa and head to ER
• Ask her to use the port for chemo and pre meds. She tells me surgeon told her he  didn’t do the port…:WTF is it with this port?!?!
• Next steps as last 6 above.

Spread over 2 different days, by choice. Actual chemo visit was 2 hours.