Chemotherapy Pills

Chemotherapy pills are nothing but drugs that can be consumed orally. The chemotherapy treatment can be given intravenously or orally. The cancerous cells multiply in the body several times faster than the normal cells. In case the treatment is given intravenously, it is usually given by a drip in a hospital.

As long as the chemotherapy treatment is given, the patient has to remain in the hospital as inpatient or as outpatients. This depends on the type of drug and the duration of administration. However, if these drugs are available in form of pills, they can be easily taken at home.

Both ways have their advantage as well as disadvantage. The main advantage is that the patients can have these drugs at home and do not have to visit the hospital. However, there are patients who may not take these pills on time or may even stop them without the consent of their oncologist when the side effects occur. The regimen for these drugs is decided by the oncologist and depends on various factors like stage and type of the cancer, age and health of the patients and so on. If the patient does not have these pills in accordance to the regimen decided by the doctor, the treatment might not be very effective.

The side effects that these patients may have after having these chemotherapy pills include nausea and vomiting, low blood counts, mouth sores, hair loss, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, skin rashes and so on. The doctors usually recommend a good diet for chemotherapy patients; this helps them to manage these side effects to some extent. They usually ask the patients to drink plenty of fluids, eat cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables. Take plenty of rest during the treatment.
Ask your health care provider to give you some health care tips during chemotherapy treatment. Also ask what side effects should be immediately reported to your doctor. In case you miss the dosage of your prescribed pills, do not hesitate to seek advice from your doctor.

ICE chemotherapy

ICE chemotherapy is used to treat Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In this type of treatment, three types of chemotherapy drugs are used. I came to know about Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, when my friend was diagnosed with it.

Peter (my friend) was prescribed with three types of drugs namely:

Ifosfamide
Carboplatin
Etoposide

The method of giving these drugs was quite simple; he was admitted in the hospital for a short period. Before the treatment began his doctor took a sample of his blood to check if the count of red blood cells and white blood cells in his blood are normal or not. If the count of the red and the white blood cells are not normal the doctors first give medicines to make the count normal before administrating the drug. After diagnosing the blood sample the pharmacist prepares the chemotherapy drug. It takes few hours to prepare this drug.

The drug is given in the form of a liquid through a thin plastic tube that was inserted in the vein near his collar bone. This drug can also be given intravenously or through the collar bone. It does pain for a while and one feels uncomfortable after the needle is inserted but after some time the discomfort goes away. The patient may feel sick after the drug is given, so the doctor gives him some anti sickness tablets to overcome it.

Side effects of the treatment

Like other cancer chemotherapy, there are some side effects in the ICE chemotherapy as well. Some side effects may be minor while some side effects can be major. Peter was lucky to have some minor side effects like:

Feeling sick (nausea/vomiting)

After the ICE chemotherapy is given the patient feels sick but there is nothing to worry as there are anti sickness drugs that can be given to the patient. If the patient still feels sick, he must tell the doctor so that he can give more effective drugs. The possible side effect of anti sickness drug is constipation. If this happens the patient must inform the doctor immediately.

Lowered resistance to infection

The ICE drug also causes a possibility of infection. This is because it effects the production of white blood cells in the bone marrow, which protects us from infection and various other diseases. Usually after the first dose of chemotherapy is given, the doctor checks the patient’s blood for the drop in the cell count. If he finds the count to be extremely low, then he may delay the 2nd dose.

Hair loss

This is a common side effect of cancer chemotherapy. After two doses of ICE Peter went through a considerable hair loss but thankfully it stopped after the treatment was over.

CPR Card

CPR or cardio pulmonary resuscitation is the emergency procedure opted to save the life of the person suffering from cardiac arrests or gasps. It is the emergency procedure that can help the patient to stay alive till the medical help arrives. The CPR provided for adults is different from that provided to infants. This is the procedure that should be learned by every individual. It can help someone in trouble. Many countries have the CPR card system to identify the healthcare facilities given to the person previously. This CPR card can also be used as the proof for opening a bank account, getting insurance, paying your salary, using government services, etc.
The CPR procedure can be provided in two ways – chest compressions and artificial respiration. The person providing CPR should be certified to provide this emergency procedure. In emergency situations, person having slight idea about the technique can also prove helpful. The CPR certification card is received by the person after completion of the CPR program. Some countries are making it compulsory for every person in the country to learn the CPR techniques. They are provided with the unique CPR card that holds the information of the person. This CPR card is also called as health card or medical card.
The CPR card provides you with the unique CPR number that enrolls you in the National Register of persons. After registration and providing the necessary details, the CPR card is sent to your address by mail within 5 days. You receive the yellow card that has the unique number assigned to you. It will provide you the unique identification number just like your PAN number.
The CPR card has a 10 digit unique identification number. It is separated into the group of 6 digits and 4 digits. The first part of this number is your date of birth and the last 4 digits are your personal identification number. For example, if your number is 140188 – 1661, then first part of the CPR number represents your birth date i.e 14th Jan 1988 and the remaining number ‘1661’ is your unique CPR number. The last 4 digits even indicate the sex of the card holder. If the last digit is even, it indicates that the card holder is female while if the last digit is odd it will indicate vice-versa.
The CPR certification card can act as your proof of identity and can be used wherever you need to provide the proof of identity. This is your permanent number and cannot be changed. You will have to exchange your CPR number if you move permanently to the area 15 miles away from your current location. CPR card is a must to work in some countries.

CPR Infant, CPR Child

CPR is an abbreviation of Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It is the process of giving breath to the person whose heartbeats or breathing has been blocked. This process is also called as the life saving process. It consists of two components called as chest compression and mouth to mouth ventilation. The aim is to provide breath for the victim.

CPR can be conducted if the infant drowns, chokes, suffocates or has some injuries. If due to any reason the blood flow stops, death can take place. In such cases of blood flow, in order to avoid death, one should continue the above process of CPR till some medical help arrives.

Rescue breathing provides oxygen to the infant. Hands-only is also a useful process which helps to save the life of the victim.

Those who take care of CPR child or infant should know the following.

Here are some causes of giving CPR to the infant.

· If the blood flows to a large extent in case of any injury

· In case of drowning

· If a child gets an electric shock

· If an infant has any kind of heart disease

· If a child gets suffocated

· If a child gets poisoned

· If the breathing system of an infant gets blocked or choked due to the some reasons

How to apply the CPR on a child

· First check for the responsiveness of the CPR infant. For this, you can move the child for knowing whether it is giving any response

· If you find that the child is not giving any response, then you can shout for help. You can dial 911 for help, but do not leave the child till you give two minutes of CPR

· Put the infant on his or her back. Note, that the infant may have spinal injury. Try to open the airways by tilting the infants head backwards. Try to hear the breathing of the infant by putting the ear on it’s mouth. If you don’t find him or her breathing just give two breaths to the child

· Give two breaths to the infant and see whether the chest is performing or not. Remove your mouth after giving breathing so that the child can release the air. After that give air one more time. So, the breath flow will start continuously

· Furthermore, give the child chest compression. Put your fingers between the nipples if the child. Push the chest straight down. Perform it thirty times almost twice per second

· After this, give two breaths to the child. Continue this process for two minutes.

· Repeat the process of thirty compressions and two breaths for two minutes and call for the medical help by dialing 911

Some tips on CPR process

· You can put something like a book or notebook below the head for keeping the child’s head tilted back

· Use CPR mask while giving rescue breathing

· When you request someone to dial 911, tell this person the existing situation, so the person can tell the dispatcher. Now, the dispatcher may tell this person some instructions regarding the rescue process

The above process of giving CPR may save the life of CPR infant. Just keep in mind while performing the process to do it properly and perfectly.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a technique to revive a victim suffering from cardiac arrest or respiratory problems. This procedure is done in hospitals as well as out side. CPR is a method to create artificial air and blood circulation by applying rhythmic pumps on the chest called chest compressions and exhaling into the victim’s mouth.

To be able to perform CPR one has to undergo CPR training. The training involves classes, which train you to intervene when a victim has lost consciousness, due to heart attack. These classes are followed by certification of the person gone through this training that certifies him/her to perform CPR.

To get certified in CPR, you have to go through two types of tests after you have completed your CPR course. This involves two tests- written and skill test. In the written test you are asked to answer a few questions based on the CPR procedure and protocols to ensure that you know how to perform and when to perform CPR. The skill test is the practical test, wherein they give you a situation and you are supposed to show them how to revive the victim. The resuscitation is done on a specially designed CPR manikin.

To make sure that the same effective procedure is applied everywhere in the world, the American Heart Association sets the CPR guidelines, which decide the CPR steps to be performed on a victim. Till 2005 the CPR steps in the CPR guidelines included:

Call 911 emergency

Check if the victim is conscious or not

Give two full breaths to the victim

Give 30 chest compressions

The latest CPR guidelines were updated in 2010, which enable the bystanders who are not willing to give the mouth-to-mouth respiration, to omit that step and just give the victim the chest compressions. This also allows the common man who is not trained in CPR to help revive a victim of cardiac arrest.