The short answer
Your first chemotherapy infusion day involves check-in, blood draws to verify blood counts, pre-infusion medicines to prevent nausea and allergic reactions, the chemotherapy infusion itself, and a review of home care instructions before leaving.
First infusion days run longer than later visits, because of lab work, pre-meds, and safety monitoring.
Pre-medications (anti-nausea drugs and steroids) are given before chemotherapy begins.
Infusion suites are designed for comfort with reclining chairs, blankets, and space for a support person.
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The full explanation.
Immediate Answer
Your first chemotherapy infusion day usually runs longer than the visits that follow. The day moves through a clear sequence. You check in at the clinic. Blood is drawn to confirm your counts are safe for treatment. You get pre-medications for nausea and reactions. Then comes the chemotherapy itself, a short monitoring period, and a review of your home prescriptions.
Chemo Day Timeline
[ Check-in & Vitals ] ➔ [ Blood Lab Work ] ➔ [ Pre-medications ] ➔ [ Chemo Infusion ] ➔ [ Home Instructions ]
1. Check-In & Blood Work
A nurse checks your vital signs when you arrive. That means blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, and weight. Blood is drawn from an arm vein or from your port. The lab checks that your blood counts and organ function are safe for treatment.
2. Provider Check & Orders Released
Once the lab results come back, your oncologist or nurse practitioner approves your dose. The pharmacy then mixes your medicines.
3. Pre-Medications
Before chemotherapy starts, you receive premedications by mouth or through the IV. These often include:
- Anti-nausea drugs, such as ondansetron or palonosetron.
- Steroids, such as dexamethasone, to reduce inflammation and prevent reactions.
- Antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine, for certain drugs.
4. Chemotherapy Infusion
Chemotherapy goes in slowly through an IV line or a port. Most infusion rooms have reclining chairs, warm blankets, and room for one person to sit with you. You can read, sleep, listen to music, or watch videos.
5. Discharge & Home Care Review
Before you leave, your nurse goes over your anti-nausea medicine schedule, how much to drink, and which numbers to call.
4 Essential Safety Tips for First Infusion Day
- Report any IV discomfort: tell your nurse right away if you feel burning, stinging, tightness, or swelling near your IV or port.
- Stay hydrated: drink plenty of water before and after your infusion to help your kidneys clear the drugs.
- Take anti-nausea pills on schedule: take your prescribed pills as directed, even if you feel fine at first.
- Have a driver: premedications such as diphenhydramine can make you drowsy, so arrange for someone to drive you home.
When to get help sooner
Chemotherapy lowers your white blood cell count in the days after an infusion. That makes infection the main urgent risk. A fever may be the only sign.
- Call 911 or go to an emergency department if you have trouble breathing, swelling of the lips, face, or throat, chest tightness or pain, a fast or pounding heartbeat, or you feel faint.
- Call your care team right away, at any hour, if you have a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or shaking chills. Fever during chemotherapy counts as a medical emergency, and it needs assessment and antibiotics within hours, not at the next opening. If you cannot reach them quickly, go to an emergency department and say you are on chemotherapy.
- Call your care team the same day if you have vomiting or diarrhea you cannot control, no urine for many hours, or burning, swelling, or leaking at your IV or port site.
- Call your care team within a day or two if you have mouth sores, unusual bruising or bleeding, numbness or tingling in your hands or feet, or nausea that your medicine is not controlling.
Do not take acetaminophen or ibuprofen for a fever before you call. These medicines can lower a fever and hide a serious infection. Get the after-hours number before you leave the clinic.
Sources
Words to know
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Common questions
Will chemotherapy burn or hurt while it is infusing?
No. Intravenous chemotherapy should not burn or hurt. If you feel sting, burning, or swelling near your IV site or port, notify your infusion nurse immediately, as the IV may need adjusting.
Can a friend or family member stay with me during chemo?
Most infusion centers allow one support person to sit with you during treatment. Check your clinic's visitor policy beforehand.
Questions to ask your doctor
Being prepared helps you get the most out of your appointments. Save or print these questions.
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Your next step
Check comfort items to pack for infusion day.
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Last updated: 2026-08-18Next planned review: 2027-07-23
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How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes. We do not employ clinicians and do not intend to — our work is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and checked line by line against the sources listed on it. That confirms the sources support what the page says. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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