Chemo day one.

02-15-2004, 07:03 AM

I want to keep a journal of my experience about how my chemo goes and try to help people understand the process and maybe help with peoples fears about it. I just started friday and if anyone that has gone through this would like to add their experiences and how they dealt with it, it would be a great help I'm sure.
Before I get started I would like to tell you all that AnAngelsMother is having a very rough time and is in a lot of pain so please let's say some extra prayers for her and her little angel. She wants you all to know that you are in her prayers each and every day and sends you all one of those big hugs, and I'm sure when the time is right she will be back here giving us all insperation and praying right along with us.
For me anyway it seemed the wait was harder than actualy getting started with the treatments. Make sure you take a book or your favorite magazine along because you will have at least two hours to fill.
There is very little pain with the treatment itself and I think the hardest part was seeing all the other people that were coming and going while I was there. Most of the side effects don't come until you are a couple of weeks into the treatment and the chemo starts to accumulate in your system.
For me I felt a little sick to my stomach later in the day and was pretty tired but I think the stress of it all had as much to do with that as the chemo. The next day was a bit rough and I was tired all day and felt like I had been dragged through the mud but it was nothing that a little rest would not take care of and today (sunday) so far I really can't say that I feel any lasting effects from it. I'm sure some of this will be different for others but I am also sure that some of it will be the same. Thank you all for your prayers and I plan to continue with this through the next eight months of my treatments. Like I said at the start, if you have gone through or are going through chemo please feel free to join in on this and maybe we will be helping someone who is just starting or about to start the treatment themselves. You are all in my prayers. rockmon

02-15-2004, 09:41 AM

Hi Rockmon

My husband starts another 6 cycles of chemo this coming Friday. He will spend about 3 hours being infused through his picc line and then come home with the plastic pump attached for another 42 hours continuous dose. He is having oxaliplatin and 5fu. What is your cocktail?

The first 6 cycles he had back in June-August 2003. Same drugs. First cycle was hell as the sickness & diahrea started the next day. The drugs they gave him to overcome the side effects were not strong enough. From then on he took the strongest he could get but he stopped taking them as soon as his pump was disconnected and seemed to recover in a couple of days.

He kept all his hair (including moustache and beard). The only other side effects were general tiredness, reaction to drinking cold drinks or touching cold objects which caused numbness and loss of sensation. He took to wearing a pair of gloves when drinking his cold beer. Where there is a will there is a way

He also had radiotherapy along with chemo for 6 weeks from Nov-Jan. It was just 5fu but 24/7 albeit at a much lower dose. No side effects apart from what the radioT gave him.

Regards
Ktee

02-15-2004, 01:35 PM

felt like I had been dragged through the mud

This is also a symptom of dehydration. Water helps but sports drinks are better at re-hydrating as they also replentish electrolytes. Sports drinks also have flavor. I found that the only flavor I could stand(things taste funny in chemo world

) was orange. Water was not too bad by itself but some days tasted like swamp water.

I also found that after a while I could not take ice chips, they made me nauseous. Keeping the mouth cold while getting chemo helps keep mouth sores from forming. I then sucked on grape or orange flavored popsicles. I bought a whole case for the chemo center and they kept them in their freezer for me. I bought a couple more cases for general use in the chemo center after my chemo was done. I live in a small town though so there were never more than a couple dozen people getting chemo at one time.

the hardest part was seeing all the other people that were coming and going while I was there

Prepare yourself for those people who do not keep returning and whoseames appear in the obituary page. It did happen a couple times while I was in chemo, it strikes a little close to home.

02-16-2004, 01:03 AM

My husband had chemo and radiation together for 6 weeks ending Dec. 24, 2003. (Rectal Cancer) The only side effects he had was tired and a little diahrea. He did not have a PICC line. His oncologist let him take the pill Xeloda instead.

02-16-2004, 12:05 PM

Rockmon, ktee, jaydees and Kate (as well as Angel and her mom):
Thank you for sharing your experiences to help others. It helps me to pray for you better, too. I feel like I know you.
God bless.

02-19-2004, 09:37 PM

Let me start out with saying thank you to rockmon for extending himself in reaching out to all of you and letting you know that I had been continually praying and keeping you all close to my heart during the period I have spent away from here.
Dear Rockmon, I will be following your journal and praying for you everyday. May you have courage and strength to get all of this behind you. I haven't started my chemo yet, since they told me I had colon cancer, and now have found out it is on the outside, not the inside... Changes things a bit for me. Anyhow, my father is recovering from his battle with colon cancer, stage IV. I watched him going through his treatments, and your right, it did take a couple of weeks before he really started to have side effects. His was mostly no appetite. Now, it is very important for you to keep up your appetite. If you are feeling sick, they have meds for it. If you just lose it they have meds for that too. Drink PLENTY

02-19-2004, 09:42 PM

Let me start out with saying thank you to rockmon for extending himself in reaching out to all of you and letting you know that I had been continually praying and keeping you all close to my heart during the period I have spent away from here.
Dear Rockmon, I will be following your journal and praying for you everyday. May you have courage and strength to get all of this behind you. I haven't started my chemo yet, since they told me I had colon cancer, and now have found out it is on the outside, not the inside... Changes things a bit for me. Anyhow, my father is recovering from his battle with colon cancer, stage IV. I watched him going through his treatments, and your right, it did take a couple of weeks before he really started to have side effects. His was mostly no appetite. Now, it is very important for you to keep up your appetite. If you are feeling sick, they have meds for it. If you just lose it they have meds for that too. Drink PLENTY of liquids so you don't dehydrate, water helps to detoxify the liver and flushes your body so that it doesn't accumilate. Those are just a couple of things that I know you should do during this time. Mostly. Be KIND to yourself, enjoy your good days to the fullest and relax on the days you don't feel up to par. Accept the good along with the bad, cause the bad won't stick around forever. I will be keeping you in my prayers, as all of the others that I have missed talking with so much. Never an inconveinence here. ( hahaha inside joke ) All of my hugs to you all.... AnAnglesMother

Chemo day one.

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