What Should I Bring to Chemotherapy?

Infusion days can be long, so it helps to pack for comfort. Ask your team how long yours will take. Bring warm layers, snacks and water, something to pass the time, chargers, your medications, and your written questions. Ask ahead whether a companion can join you, and whether you'll need a ride home.

Every center works a little differently. Many check you in and may draw blood before your treatment starts. There is often a wait between check-in and the start of your infusion. Bringing something to do during this wait, not just the infusion itself, makes the day feel shorter.

• Ask how long your infusion usually takes, including the wait beforehand.
• Check whether you can bring someone with you, and for how much of the visit.
• Ask whether you should arrange a ride home, and what is safe for you.

• Comfort: a blanket or warm socks, a small pillow, layers you can adjust.
• Food and drink: snacks and a water bottle, checking first for any restrictions.
• Time-passers: a phone or tablet, headphones, a book, a charger or power bank.
• Practical: your medication list, ID and insurance card, lip balm, hand lotion, tissues.
• Your questions, written down, for the nurse or your care team.

Choose comfortable clothing with easy access to your arm or your port, such as a top with loose sleeves or buttons. Warm layers help if the room feels cold.

Every infusion center is a little different. Some provide warm blankets and snacks; some have stricter limits on visitors. A quick call to the center ahead of your first visit answers most of these questions and can lower first-visit anxiety.

• How long will my infusion usually take, start to finish?
• Can someone stay with me during the infusion?
• Should I arrange a ride home, or is driving myself okay?
• What symptoms during the infusion should I report to the nurse right away?
• Is there anything specific I should eat, or avoid, beforehand?

• Call 911 or go to an emergency department if your breathing tightens, your face, lips or throat swell, or hives spread across your body after you get home. Do not drive yourself.
• Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if you have black or tarry stool, you vomit blood or material that looks like coffee grounds, you have bleeding that will not stop, you suddenly cannot urinate at all, or you are suddenly confused or hard to wake. Do not drive yourself.
• Call your care team right away, day or night, if your temperature reaches 100.4°F (38°C) or higher after an infusion, or you have chills, a sore throat, mouth sores or burning when you urinate, even with a normal temperature. CDC says to call your doctor right away for a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher and calls a fever during chemotherapy a medical emergency. If you cannot reach anyone quickly, go to an emergency department and tell them you had chemotherapy.
• Call your care team right away, day or night, if the skin over your port or catheter becomes red, sore or swollen. NCI says to watch for signs of infection around your port or catheter.
• Call your care team the same day if flushing, itching or a rash shows up after your infusion, or the anti-sickness medicine you were sent home with is not holding the nausea.

While the drip is running, tell the nurse right away if you feel unwell in any way. Do not wait to see if it passes. They can pause the infusion.

• National Cancer Institute — Chemotherapy to Treat Cancer.
• National Cancer Institute — Infection and Neutropenia During Cancer Treatment.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Fever and Cancer Treatment.