Different chemotherapy agents are given in different ways. Some are given daily, some weekly, some every three weeks. Some are given for longer periods and some for shorter periods. Without knowing what chemo agents he is being given, it's hard to say whether this is more intensive or not. Also, is he being given just one, or a combination?
However, since it's being given every 3 weeks, I would suspect that at least one of the agents might be taxol. Taxol is typically given every 3 weeks for 6 treatments. It is often given in combination with carboplatin.
Some things to check into: Make sure he's going to be given an anti-nausea medication such as Zofran or Kitrel(sp?) intravenously BEFORE he has the chemo infusion. Carboplatin, especially, can make one nauseous. He should also have oral anti-nausea medication to take for the 3 days immediately following the chemo, and possibly also Compazine suppositories, just in case he does get nauseous and can't keep the oral medication down (although, if given the IV treatment, he's much more likely to be able to take the oral meds and be fine.)
Also, taxol can cause some serious joint and muscle pain...it varies from person to person, but for me it was kind of like I'd been run over by a truck and every bone crushed. But then, I also have fibromyalgia, which combined with the taxol side effects made the pain much worse. It's weird, though...usually you're fine on the day of chemo and for about 36 hours, then it hits. So, if he's having taxol, make sure he has a prescription for pain medication and that it gets filled BEFORE he has the chemo. I found that if I started taking the pain medication about 4 hours before I knew the pain would hit, it didn't get quite as bad. I had to take the pain meds about every 3 1/2 hours around the clock from the evening of day 2 through the evening of day 3, then cut back to every 6 hours on day four, then only to sleep on day 5, then none. By day 7 I was back to normal.
Taxol can also cause some other problems, like neuropathy. I had some in my fingertips and feet, and it got worse with each treatment. After I stopped treatment, the neuropathy gradually went away...within 6 months I hardly noticed it at all, and in about another six months it was totally gone.
As bad as all that sounds, taxol has proven to be a miracle drug for many cancers. Although my cancer wasn't at stage 4, it was stage 2, and a type that used to have only a 14-month survival in 20% of people...since taxol, the odds are somewhat better, but still only about 20% survive 5 years. Thank God, I am in the 20%....it's been 7 /12 years with no recurrence. I pray your uncle gets as good results!
Ruth
P.S. I realize that I'm making a huge assumption here, that your uncle is on Taxol....please do post back and let us know for sure what type of chemo he's going to be having.
Linear Mode
