Melphalan, What a let down

In my last post I talked about getting the B-E-A of the BEAM protocol. In this short little post I'll talk about melphalan. Melphalan is supposed to be the meanest, baddest chemo given during the transplant. In my experience it was kinda lame.

The rules to melphalan are:

1. Chew ice chips for 10 mins before infusion
2. Chew ice chips during infusion
3. Chew ice chips for 20 mins after infusion
4. And of course, hydrate

The ice chips are supposed to protect your mucosa from the melphalan and avert mouthsores. hydration is a standing order for all chemos, enough said on that.

The infusion lasts about 30 mins and in very unremarkable, I had no nausea or any adverse reaction. As of this posting, I'm glad to report that there are no signs of mouth sores.