I get my first round of chemo Monday. Any advise?

[bearfan454]

Mrs bearfan is going with me the first time.

[pangaia]

1. Need more info.

I had chemo in 2012 for lymphoma, so that is my only experience..

Had it at the Wilmot Cancer Center at Strong Hospital in Rochester, NY. --4 sessions... I basically sat in a 'lounge chair' for maybe 4-5 hours with an IV in my arm bored out of my skull. I was VERY LUCKY. Others at the infusion center were worse off than I was to begin with..

Yes. lost my hair, but it grew back..sometimes got tired, but was back at work pretty stready... They gave me pills for vomiting but never had to take any.

But, every chemo 'recipe' is different.. Mine was R-CHOP. (It's the P (prednisone) that can play games with your stomach.,.. but as I said, wasn't an issue...


Also had 4 lumbar punctures and a bone marrow aspiration....

[bearfan454]

2. adnocarcinoma stage 1

They want to shrink the mass first with chemo, do the Whipple procedure, then chemo again.

[pangaia]

8. I am not familiar with it, but stage one ANY cancer is a plus !!

[bearfan454]

7. The oncologist said they are using 4 chemo drugs

One is anti nausea and one has a steroid and I take a pump home that runs for 46 hours then I go back and have the pump unhooked or whatever they do. I had the port put in 10 days ago.

[pangaia]

13. Wishing you good luck...

[Frustratedlady]

3. Good luck!

[Staph]

4. I've been through chemo twice, for endometrial cancer.

Both times it was four to six hours in the chair, six times with three weeks in between each session. I brought an audio book, an e-book or some other form of distraction, along with a blanket - it gets cold! (The radio series Cabin Pressure was my favorite distraction - it made me laugh!) Sometimes, I simply slept. Neither time did I get sick to my stomach - partly because they put anti-nausea meds in the IV and partly because I have a cast iron stomach.

The first time I lost my hair; the second time I did not. A difference in chemo drugs, I'm told. And losing your hair is a good thing. Chemo drugs attacks fast growing cells in the body, and hair follicles are among the fastest growing. As a woman, it was wonderful to no longer have to shave my legs, but I hated losing my eyebrows and eyelashes. It made me look like a bald rabbit.

The chemo made me tired. I would frequently come home and take a nap.

And despite what the professionals will tell you, chemo brain is a real thing and I can prove it. I've taken the Jeopardy online test five or six times. The only time I was not invited to an in-person audition was the year that I took the test three weeks after finishing chemo. Your mind will slow down; you won't be able to recall quickly. I luckily was able to take medical leave from my job. I would not have been able to teach software classes to adult professionals.

[mopinko]

5. are you in chicago?

not real big on alternative medicine myself, but i have a lot of turkey tail mushrooms at my farm. i would be happy to get them to you. s'posed to enhance chemo.

[bearfan454]

6. I'm not

I live in Texas. I’m getting the chemo at the VA in Temple. Thank you anyways.

[Skittles]

9. just that there is always someone here on DU

*always*

we are here for you

PS I am a fellow Bears fan, also currently in Texas

[bearfan454]

11. Thanks Skittles

It’s about to get real for me.

[Karadeniz]

10. My husband had chemo...elected to have the optional treatment they were collecting data on.

He was always tired and lost some weight, but no acute effects. Sooo glad you caught this at stage 1! I'm hopeful for a good outcome with the protocol they've lined out. Still...not as good as not having to undergo anything! Take a kindle, charged up and loaded with your favorite reading. Right now, my husband's having 3 hr. treatments to improve his immune system and he gets hungry, so he brings a sandwich and drink. Good luck and all the best!❤

[More_Cowbell]

12. Good luck!

I'll be sending you good thoughts on Monday.

[marble falls]

14. It get bad, but thats when you know its going to get better.

[aka-chmeee]

15. So many different drugs with different effects.

I had cisplatin. Infusions were Mondays, given fluids first, Dose of Emends (for nausea), and then the cisplatin. Process usually took about 5 hours. First time, I thought "This ain't so bad." but Mondays were the good day. Thursday thru Saturday were the bad ones. But, as time goes by, the real memories of that time get dimmer and dimmer. I sincerely hope it ALL goes well for you.

[bearfan454]

17. These are what I'm supposed to get:

Oxaliplatin, Irinotecan, Leucovorin, and Fluorouracil along with something for nausea and a steroid. I have to do this no matter what.

[aka-chmeee]

18. Yours sounds much more intensive than mine.

Mine was once a week for two months. There's a whole tribe of agents ending with "platin" so I suspect that first one is related to what I got. I was so puny when I went in for last infusion, Doc switched it to Carboplatin because it was a little "kinder".Again, I wouldn't want to do it again, but looking back at it, it doesn't seem like it was even real (5 years out). Will be pulling for a positive outcome.

[alfredo]

21. I became a pro at barfing. It only hurts if you fight it.

Cisplatin was my poison. I was scheduled for three, but they stopped at two. Those pesky white blood cells didn’t like Cisplatin at all. I was seventy one at the time, and had a compromised immune system from Crohn’s disease.

Radiation left the most visible damage.

[aka-chmeee]

22. Yep, have to agree on the radiation.

Had 37 radiation treatments and it left the only continuing effects. However, it must be said, it also helped destroy the cancer. Hang in there, alfredo!

[alfredo]

23. I figure it wa worth it. The Fentanyl patch was a strange way to spend three days.

I had 35 sessions. Taking a shower after the first dose was a hair losing experience. Glad it's over

[alfredo]

25. I seem to have most of my taste buds up and working.

Made cauliflower pizza crust today, and I could taste it!

It’s nice to be able to cook and eat again.

[alfredo]

16. Chemo is not fun, but it's bearable.

Make sure you have a bucket with you, you will barf. It isn't the gut twisting barf, it comes up easily. Take you anti nausea medicine, stay hydrated, and sleep.

You might not like the side effects, but remember, it is better than surrendering to Mr C.

My wife took the whole experience worse than I did. Give your partner permission to do something good for themselves. They can feel helpless.

Stay hopeful, and be a happy warrior. You will find you are tougher than you think.

See if you can wrangle some of these. Get one for the car and at least one for the home. When I wasn't barfing in them, I used them to water the house plants.

[bearfan454]

19. It'll be every time

There's no way I could have driven home last time. Monday is round 2. It takes me about a week to start feeling halfway normal again. I had a nurse at the VA who stabbed me 3 times trying to put the connection into the port. I will request anyone but this guy Monday. The first 2 bags weren't that bad but the third one made me nauseous but I didn't puke. I had the bucket right there just in case. One of the medicines has a very strange side affect. If you touch something cold in the icebox or freezer it feels like you are outside in below zero weather and you touched something steel with no gloves on. It stings your fingertips. Another side affect is if you drink something cold the inside of your mouth, cheeks, tongue, and throat feel like you're gulping a frozen slurpee. Weird, huh? The pump with the last medicine you leave with runs for 46 hours. I woke up in the middle of the night completely soaked with sweat. I had to change pajamas. After getting that pump removed the next day I went back home from the VA and slept for 14 hours. They gave me generic(VA) Phenergan and it works pretty good for nausea. It also just about knocks you out. You could actually use it for a sleeping pill.

I'm wondering if the potency percentage is going to be higher as each treatment happens. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[alfredo]

20. Those first three days can be tough, but you will find you are tougher.

[bearfan454]

24. I had some chemo and the Whipple surgery

Me and Mrs bearfan meet with the radiation doctor Wednesday. The VA chemo doctor said he has to know how the radiation doctor wants to treat me before he can do his treatment plan. Normal is 8 to 12 weeks of chemo and then radiation. If the radiation doctor wants to do both of them together then it'll be chemo once a week and radiation every day except weekends for 4 to 6 weeks. If they do it the second way the chemo makes the radiation work better.

[alfredo]

26. Yeah, that's how I did it

Scurrying from the VA and chemo, to U of K hospital for radiation was character building. My wife had to pour me into a wheelchair so we could make it at a reasonable hour..

[sheshe2]

27. A hug.

[dewsgirl]

28. I am sending you positive vibes.