How Chemo is made!

I thought my chemo just came in a bag already made up for when I got there but I was completely wrong. Each person’s chemotherapy drugs are made when they get there. This is because they go on your blood count, weight, height and type of cancer. So everyone’s drugs are completely different.

You arrive for the day and have your blood taken. The blood is then sent to the lab to be checked to make sure your count is fine and you are able to have the treatment. The drugs are then made in a special room that is off limits. However I was allowed to go in and film the process for my dissertation.

It first begins in room one where the pharmacist sorts out all the things she needs to make the chemo, like different types of needles, containers, the drugs measurements and so on. She has to make sure she has everything she needs as once she has gone through room two and into room three she can not come back out again, unless she wants to do the process all over again.

She then washes her hand with different soaps and starts to clean all the items she has sorted out to take with her. She cleans the boxes that she is going to put the things in, and then wipes each item over. She then does the same process for a second time. They are then passed through a sealed hatch into room three.

The pharmacist then goes into room two and puts on a special coat to cover her clothes, a hat to cover her hair, gloves for her hands and some crocs for her feet. This is because everything that goes into room three has to be sterilised. I actually got to do all this myself, so I certainly looked a picture when I was suited up ready.

Room three is where the drugs are made. All of the items that were cleaned in room one and passed through the hatch are cleaned all over again. Even the telephone and measurements sheet is cleaned and placed inside clear bags. They are then left for two minutes and this is actually timed with a stopwatch.

The drugs come in liquid or powder form and are placed inside a special container that is locked for another two minutes. Once the time is up, the pharmacist can begin to make then up. They are made in a container that has two hand holes so the pharmacist can sit in front of the glass with her hands into the container. After she has made them up she rings the pharmacy to get another pharmacist to make sure she has made the right drugs and measurements. This is called a volume check. They are then placed inside a final container for two minutes. The last thing to do is attach a sticker with the patient’s details onto the drugs.

I now know why it takes so long for them to make the chemo drugs. I never realised how much preparation went into making them and found it really interesting to see the process.