@sassy3 I did a range of stuff so my timings were quite different across the various chemo appointments. Like @under_the_sea says, the first appointment was longer due to longer gaps between each drug, for me it was also about 9-3.30 as I was also cold capping. For the second EC, it was about 45min to an hour shorter as although the gaps between drugs was a bit shorter, I was still cold capping. With cold capping you have the cap on for a while (can’t remember how long) before treatment and about 45 mins after. For the 3rd and 4th EC, I decided cold capping wasn’t for me after all, appointment started at 9 and finished about 1.30.
For Paclitaxel, the first couple were slightly slower but in general a much quicker appointment. I seem to remember being done within about 2 to 2.5 hours…but the antihistamines meant I was away with the fairies so I might be a bit out with the timings.
I thought it would seem like a long time but - chatting with my chemo buddies (who I still meet for cake and coffee),
- reading,
- crocheting (badly, but no-one can tell me it’s rubbish because I did it during chemo so that would be mean🤣),
- having a cup of tea,
- getting the next installment of gossip from the nurses,
- snoozing
- designing a board game
made it go really quickly.
I would also say be prepared for some slight delays. For example, if a nurse needs to attend to another patient first, if the chemo machine decides to sit and beep for a bit instead of actually administering chemo (they do that occassionally).
Sorry, that was a much longer answer than i thought it would be. Hope it helps though.