Need advice - chemo side effects - Cancer Message Board

ahimsa · 07-28-2005, 04:22 PM

Hello to all,

My husband is in the middle of his second cycle of Hyper-CVAD chemo for a very aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He'll have to have eight cycles total with virtually no recovery time between them. It seems every day brings a new misery. The latest is that his stools are very loose and acidic and BMs are excruciatingly (sp?) painful. The pain was so bad this morning that it made him throw up - he has otherwise mostly been able to keep food down. The onc. clinic has advised using daiper ointment on his rectum and doing warm water "sitz" (?) baths. It was dissappointing that they had no advice for antacids or dietary changes, though we asked. I'm giving him Tums anyway, I figure it can't hurt. Has anyone else suffered through this? Any tips for how to cope? Tricks for minimizing this?

Thanks,
Kristi

BarbieBlueEyes · 07-28-2005, 05:55 PM

I am so sorry your husband is having such a bad time. I imagine the cancer is having a worse time which is good. I do radiation and not chemo but I take Zantak 150 in the morning and evening for my ulcer and digestion problems. I was on them when I started treatments and the Onc said to just stay on then.

Have you gone to the American Cancer Society and checked. If you look them up in the phone book and call your local chapter they may be able to give you some advice or give you a number where you can get some advice. They have helped me so much.

Your husband and yourself will be in my prayers.
Barbara~

mnemosyne · 08-04-2005, 06:59 AM

Kristi,

I hope you've found a solution to this... but in case you haven't, I thought I would add my advice. Okay: I don't think that his loose stools are actually more acidic than normal, I think that they just feel that way because your husband's skin is raw and irritated. If the Tums have helped... I might be wrong, but my guess is that his anal tissue is extremely irritated, and the diarrhea (even if it's low-grade) doesn't give him a chance to heal.

If you still haven't had a satisfactory answer from your oncology clinic, I suggest that you make an appointment for your husband with his GP and ask the GP to "run interference" for you, contact your oncologist, and help manage the side effects.

Maybe your oncologist can recommend medication or dietary changes (for example: try cutting out dairy products for a week - maybe your husband is temporarily lactose intolerant) to help control the diarrhea. At the least, they should be able provide an prescription strength cream and/or suppositories to help soothe and protect the inflamed skin. Also, your GP can tell you how to do sitz bathes - I think it's a combination of Epsom salts and warm water.

You husband should try not to strain when going to the bathroom. I know that it is hard to do when you have diarrhea/loose stools and just want a break, but straining will make the pain and irritation worse.

Good luck to you and your husband. I know how hard this can be.

ahimsa · 08-08-2005, 12:01 AM

Thank you both for the kind replies. He is still inpatient and has received lots of good advice, including some of the dietary changes you've mentioned above. He's also been taking lots of "Magic Mouthwash" which seems to be helping. Lastly, there were a few days where he didn't eat much, just to give the system a rest. We know he's not supposed to do that but he was absolutely desperate. Anyway, he's noticed significant improvement the last few days. Now if only he could get a good handle on the headaches....

ahimsa · 08-08-2005, 12:03 AM

I would really like to hear from anyone who has gone through hyperCVAD. And if you've had the bonus of intrathecals, that's even better