Starting Chemo, nervous

mskautz
mskautz Member Posts: 30
Hi All, I am new on here. I had a diagnosis on feb 14, then a resection on march 28, which i'm still not feeling great from. i was going to start radiation 5 weeks later but they found a tiny leak at my resection and cancelled that. had a port put in last wednesday and not sure what day im supposed to start chemo, but sure they will let me know. the thing is they said i was stage 3 and biopsided 48 lymph nodes at surgery and found it in only 1. they say the chemo is preventative. i have read some things on here and really the chemo scares me more than the surgery. i have an appointment to go to the city of hope next tues in duarte ca. for a second opinion to see if i should go through with it. dont really know what my question is , not sure of the name of the chemo at this time although the dr. said it will be a cocktail. so really just looking for encouraging words i guess. anyone??...
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Comments

  • tommycat
    tommycat Member Posts: 790 Member
    Hi and Welcome
    Hello,
    Finding cancer in one lymph node is enough for concern. Chemo is not easy, but in a sense it's like liquid gold---it is precious and can eradicate cancer, or extend your life.
    I was nervous too, but you CAN do it. Just one step at a time, one treatment at a time, and you will do it.
    The City of Hope is one of the best places you can go so you are fortunate in that regard. There is also a huge support system embedded in there.
    You can do this.
    Believe it.
    Take care, and glad you found this site :)
    Tommycat
  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375
    Welcome aboard!
    Hi MsKautz :)

    First, welcome to the board, although it would sure be nice if we were meeting on a different board for totally different circumstances, like say, "Owners of New Puppies" Support Board :)

    Ok... let's start with your main concern right now... and that is your fear of chemo. That the chemo scares you more than the surgery. Let's start by putting that fear right to rest. Let me put it another way... if you had chronic, painful, migraine headaches, and your doctor said, "Well, I can give you a prescription for a pain killer cocktail that you may (or may not) be on for the rest of your life, but it is for preventative therapy... to prevent you from getting the headaches again. No guarantees, but it has been known to be a very good cocktail of pain meds that has worked on many people. There are a few potential side affects... nausea, fatigue, diarrhea, and possible loss of appetite... but everyone is different and there's absolutely no guarantee you will get any of these side affects, let alone all of them." Would you then say, "OMG! I am terrified of taking this pain killer cocktail for preventative reasons... I mean, is the risk of never having another migraine headache WORTH a bout of nausea or diarrhea... and maybe I won't even get those? My guess is that anyone who has had experience with migraine headaches would jump at the chance of preventing them and would deal with "possible" side affects when and if they occur.

    That is how you have to look at chemo. Chemo, after all, is a drug... made of various chemicals, depending on what kind of chemo you are getting... but is a drug therapy (aka chemo-therapy). Sure, no one wants to become dependent on any kind of drug and certainly doesn't look forward to putting drugs/toxins in their bodies... but if that is the chosen path you are taking to either cure or prevent cancer from taking over, you can look at it as a life saviour, in the truest sense of the words :)

    Stage 3 is not as simple as Stage 1, but not as complicated as Stage 4. Stages 1 -3 are what they consider "curable"... and they (the medical world) will recommend treating your cancer aggressively, even if they are pretty sure they've removed all signs of it. The reason for treating it aggressively (IE: surgery AND chemo) is to give you the best chance at curing your cancer and you not becoming a Stage 4.

    Stage 4 is what is known as "incurable". To get a Stage 4 classification, your cancer will have spread to a different location/organ from where it originated. For example... I'm a Stage 4. I was diagnosed with colon cancer where the tumor had perforated through the intestinal wall. They thought they had removed the tumor and all affected tissue around it... so then proceeded to treat it aggressively with chemo. What they didn't know at the time, and there was no way of finding out, some of those cancer cells had already started traveling about and landed in my lungs to start taking root. CT and PET scans are brilliant technology, but even they can't see the teeny-tiny cancer cells until they've gotten to be a certain size. The chemo I took after my surgery, didn't kill off these puppies so by the time they grew to where they could be seen, that automatically made me a Stage 4. Now, the treatment changes... it is no longer "aggressive" for preventative measures, but still they go after the cancer with more treatments. Even though I'm no longer "curable", we are doing whatever we can to put us into "stable" mode... meaning stop any growth... and if we are really lucky, shrink what growth we have.

    It's a long, long journey.... but definitely, if I were staged as a 1-3, I would say, "hit me with the big guns!!" :) And then just take it one treatment at a time... and I think you will be pretty surprised to find out that the worst treatment is never as bad as your imagination thinks it will be :)

    Hang in there... there are lots of us of all different stages around to answer questions :)

    Cheryl in Vancouver
  • thxmiker
    thxmiker Member Posts: 1,278 Member
    Welcome! We are all sorry to
    Welcome! We are all sorry to hear about you dx. The Big C can be a nerve wrecking time. Our thoughts and prayers are with you for a speedy recovery.

    The things that helped me the most was the information of those whom told me what to expect during and after chemo. This made me less afraid of the unknown because I knew what was coming. I got it in my head that this is a new normal for me. I know it is temporary and I will be able to cope.

    My advice: Get healthy before continuing with chemo. It made it a lot easier for me to fight one battle at a time. (Unless the Cancer is aggressive.) Get soft toilet paper, alcohol free baby wipes and nupercanal previous to chemo. Electrolyte replacement, bananas, ginger of any and/or all types for the nausea helped me a lot! A sense of humor will help. Exercise, exercise, exercise! no matter how bad I felt from chemo I would get out and walk. I always felt better after my walks! No more chemical foods! Read labels and you will be amazed at what we all were eating previous to cancer. One does not want their family to be eating components for rocket fuel, and yet we are buying that every day! Learn about healthy diet, because your body will get depleted from chemo. Juicing Diets make sense because one's body is under stress from the surgery, and then they start chemo. Juicing allows more food surface area ie: nutrition contact. Simpler to digest, better nutrtion, and less depleted.

    (OK, I am off of the soap box. lol)
    Best Always, mike

    PS. Seriously read read read and be proactive in your treatment.
  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    Treatment
    So sorry to hear of your diagnosis. Treatment can be scary because you don't know how you are feeling, but many people here going through it while working full time. Every treatment affects people in different ways. Get a second opinion, but just be sure if you decide to not do the mop up treatment that you can be completely comfortable with. Good luck.

    Kim
  • mskautz
    mskautz Member Posts: 30

    Treatment
    So sorry to hear of your diagnosis. Treatment can be scary because you don't know how you are feeling, but many people here going through it while working full time. Every treatment affects people in different ways. Get a second opinion, but just be sure if you decide to not do the mop up treatment that you can be completely comfortable with. Good luck.

    Kim

    starting chemo, nervous
    Thank you everyone for taking the time to answer my post. It really helps, I am going to get the chemo for sure but anytime I take anything I worry about the side affects but will keep your words with me when I go to chemo. The other thing about chemo is I still don't feel good from the resection, sometimes ok, but other times still real crappy so I just picture feeling bad from the chemo mixed in with the crappy I still feel and...I think too much. Anyway thank you again and will keep you posted. Kathy
  • Sonia32
    Sonia32 Member Posts: 1,071 Member
    Hugs
    and welcome. Very understandable that you are feeling nervous at the moment, been there and done that, and got the duffle coat saying done it lol. Just stay talking to us ok? that's very important. Why because on this journey you will find yourself asking a lot of questions, and this is the best place to be for them. You'll find support from amazing people. I'm stage 3, 10/11 lymph nodes in remission. Just take each day as it comes, take advice on board, but at the end of the day it's up to you what you do.
    Hugs again.
    Sonia
  • mskautz
    mskautz Member Posts: 30
    Sonia32 said:

    Hugs
    and welcome. Very understandable that you are feeling nervous at the moment, been there and done that, and got the duffle coat saying done it lol. Just stay talking to us ok? that's very important. Why because on this journey you will find yourself asking a lot of questions, and this is the best place to be for them. You'll find support from amazing people. I'm stage 3, 10/11 lymph nodes in remission. Just take each day as it comes, take advice on board, but at the end of the day it's up to you what you do.
    Hugs again.
    Sonia

    starting chemo, nervous
    Thank you Sonia, I was feeling pretty good today and then when I was driving I had this weird pain in my neck, and then another one a little later and by the time I got home I was panicked got real hot and started sweating. Had to take a tranquilizer. I think it was because the first thing I thought of when I had that pain was that now I have cancer in my neck. So the rest of the day I am not feeling well and soo depressed. I read hope on these pages but then I see other scary stuff. I feel so bad for everyone. My doctor's office moves really slow, I was supposed to go to a chemo class last week, the dr's office didn't set it up so I called them today to find out about it. Seems some dr's move fast but not mine. Anyway I'm blabbering, too many thoughts, it's taking over my life but I'm pretending it's not for my daughter. Hugs back to you and everyone, Kathy
  • Slookabill
    Slookabill Member Posts: 1
    Hi there.. I know how you
    Hi there.. I know how you feel. I was diagnosed March 18th 2011. Stage 4 advanced. Had an ostomy done. My cancer had spread to my liver, my lymph nodes. I also had a softball size tumor in my pelvis. From there it went to my ovaries. I started Folfox chemo April 11. I was scared too. But it went really well. Side affects were not as bad as I was expecting. I lost some hair but not all. I had 12 rounds of that. I had a small complication with fluid build up in my left ovary. Made me look like I was preto. Lol .. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. My first surgeon was not very optimistic. She basically told me to get my affairs in order. That there was nothing they could do for me. She said my liver was going to take my life. Even though the 6 spots had gotten smaller. I found a new surgeon who said it was complicated but he felt he could help me. I had major surgery last October. He cut 8 inches of my colon, cut out 4 spots and burned 2 in my liver, he took out all the lymph nodes, took my ovaries, and took a pint of fluid from the left one. For good measure he took out my appendix. he also reversed my ostomy and put me back together.. He pretty much took out all my cancer. I had two new spots show up in liver last January so I started another round of chemo. Last April I had another scan and they could see any more cancer anywhere. So I'm just doing some maintenance chemo. I'm feeling great. A year ago my surgeon told me I probably wouldn't be here for my sons graduation. He graduates in 2 days, I'm celebrating my 26 th wedding anniversary and I am cancer free. So just know that miracles happen. I know that the prayers of my friends and family kept me going and gave me the strength to fight. God spared my life and I am very thankful. Stay positive. Keep focused on the good things. Let friends and family help you.. That was hard and humbling for me but I was greatful for all the support. Take care. I will be praying.
  • steved
    steved Member Posts: 834 Member
    Normal feelings
    Your anxieties are perfectly normal and we have all had them. IT is such a strange world you are entering into and it carries a lot of attached ideas we all have as preconceptions as to what chemo and cancer is about. I was stage 3 after my resection and because of the 2 lymph nodes that had cancer in them I went through post op chemo. It really wasn't oo bad- I used to go in the morning for it and then go back to work and only missed a couple of days work in the treatment period. I was tired and needed rest and diarrhoea was difficult though I had a stoma then which strangely made it easire- no need to rush to the toilet.

    In truth it is a short part of your life no matter how hard it is and in the long run is worth sacrificing a period of feeling crappy to gain the potential of a longer future. You will feel scared and overwhlemed at times but that is what this site is for- dump all that here and carry on as best you can in your day to day life keeping as much normality as you can between all the appointments and treatment.

    Just to correct another post above- stage four is not 'incurable'- t is just less likely to be cured than stage 3 but can still sometimes be.

    steve
  • janie1
    janie1 Member Posts: 753 Member
    steved said:

    Normal feelings
    Your anxieties are perfectly normal and we have all had them. IT is such a strange world you are entering into and it carries a lot of attached ideas we all have as preconceptions as to what chemo and cancer is about. I was stage 3 after my resection and because of the 2 lymph nodes that had cancer in them I went through post op chemo. It really wasn't oo bad- I used to go in the morning for it and then go back to work and only missed a couple of days work in the treatment period. I was tired and needed rest and diarrhoea was difficult though I had a stoma then which strangely made it easire- no need to rush to the toilet.

    In truth it is a short part of your life no matter how hard it is and in the long run is worth sacrificing a period of feeling crappy to gain the potential of a longer future. You will feel scared and overwhlemed at times but that is what this site is for- dump all that here and carry on as best you can in your day to day life keeping as much normality as you can between all the appointments and treatment.

    Just to correct another post above- stage four is not 'incurable'- t is just less likely to be cured than stage 3 but can still sometimes be.

    steve

    speaking of Stage 4
    I don't say Stage 4 is incurable. That was more accurate 20 years ago. With the right variables..... surgeries (and I mean usually more than 1 or 2), out-of-the-box thinking doctors (or just doctors who take the time to think), OTHER good TEAM players (radiologists)......throw in some good nutrition, a good probiotic, and a lot of exercise (even just long-distance walking), and there is much valid HOPE.
    Don't give up. You can do this. :)
  • glinka65
    glinka65 Member Posts: 132

    Welcome aboard!
    Hi MsKautz :)

    First, welcome to the board, although it would sure be nice if we were meeting on a different board for totally different circumstances, like say, "Owners of New Puppies" Support Board :)

    Ok... let's start with your main concern right now... and that is your fear of chemo. That the chemo scares you more than the surgery. Let's start by putting that fear right to rest. Let me put it another way... if you had chronic, painful, migraine headaches, and your doctor said, "Well, I can give you a prescription for a pain killer cocktail that you may (or may not) be on for the rest of your life, but it is for preventative therapy... to prevent you from getting the headaches again. No guarantees, but it has been known to be a very good cocktail of pain meds that has worked on many people. There are a few potential side affects... nausea, fatigue, diarrhea, and possible loss of appetite... but everyone is different and there's absolutely no guarantee you will get any of these side affects, let alone all of them." Would you then say, "OMG! I am terrified of taking this pain killer cocktail for preventative reasons... I mean, is the risk of never having another migraine headache WORTH a bout of nausea or diarrhea... and maybe I won't even get those? My guess is that anyone who has had experience with migraine headaches would jump at the chance of preventing them and would deal with "possible" side affects when and if they occur.

    That is how you have to look at chemo. Chemo, after all, is a drug... made of various chemicals, depending on what kind of chemo you are getting... but is a drug therapy (aka chemo-therapy). Sure, no one wants to become dependent on any kind of drug and certainly doesn't look forward to putting drugs/toxins in their bodies... but if that is the chosen path you are taking to either cure or prevent cancer from taking over, you can look at it as a life saviour, in the truest sense of the words :)

    Stage 3 is not as simple as Stage 1, but not as complicated as Stage 4. Stages 1 -3 are what they consider "curable"... and they (the medical world) will recommend treating your cancer aggressively, even if they are pretty sure they've removed all signs of it. The reason for treating it aggressively (IE: surgery AND chemo) is to give you the best chance at curing your cancer and you not becoming a Stage 4.

    Stage 4 is what is known as "incurable". To get a Stage 4 classification, your cancer will have spread to a different location/organ from where it originated. For example... I'm a Stage 4. I was diagnosed with colon cancer where the tumor had perforated through the intestinal wall. They thought they had removed the tumor and all affected tissue around it... so then proceeded to treat it aggressively with chemo. What they didn't know at the time, and there was no way of finding out, some of those cancer cells had already started traveling about and landed in my lungs to start taking root. CT and PET scans are brilliant technology, but even they can't see the teeny-tiny cancer cells until they've gotten to be a certain size. The chemo I took after my surgery, didn't kill off these puppies so by the time they grew to where they could be seen, that automatically made me a Stage 4. Now, the treatment changes... it is no longer "aggressive" for preventative measures, but still they go after the cancer with more treatments. Even though I'm no longer "curable", we are doing whatever we can to put us into "stable" mode... meaning stop any growth... and if we are really lucky, shrink what growth we have.

    It's a long, long journey.... but definitely, if I were staged as a 1-3, I would say, "hit me with the big guns!!" :) And then just take it one treatment at a time... and I think you will be pretty surprised to find out that the worst treatment is never as bad as your imagination thinks it will be :)

    Hang in there... there are lots of us of all different stages around to answer questions :)

    Cheryl in Vancouver

    cheryl
    great post girl, and well put, im stage 4 as well...no cure but hope!!! you put it just the way it is and god bless you!!!!
  • joemetz
    joemetz Member Posts: 493
    life has changed
    Greetings MsKautz!

    sorry to hear your news of cancer and sorry to hear how nervous you are.

    but, being nervous is part of the battle.

    We've all been there and "done that". But, now we're here to help you get through this, as others have helped us.

    Use this time as a time to gather facts, and begin to prepare your mind and body for a battle ahead that will change your life. and, believe it or not... this process will change your life for the better.

    For me, I have many side effects from Chemo. Some include tingling in the hands and feet (Neuopathy). Sores in the mouth and nose. Watery eyes, runny nose. Nausea and some loss of hair and other crazy things in the hands. But, through all this... my best side effect is the love and care of family and friends.

    My world is so blessed through the people around me who have been there for me and my family. Open your mind and heart to others and let them help you.

    Yes, its a scary journey! there are many unknowns ahead of you right now, but continue to ask questions and look for answers. And, if you don't like the answer... Look for other answers.

    Be positive in all you do and cherish every moment of every day.

    Some people get hit by cars or the greyhound bus syndrom... we have cancer and we have a choice to face it with a super positive attitude or to deal with this as if it will kill us. Be that person who fights and wants the drugs... every ounce, as that's whats going to kill your cancer and NOT kill you!

    when you read the statistics on cancer survival rates, remember that they say the 5 year survival rate... and to me that means that the data is 5 years old... or older!

    for me, I am stage IV with 30 mets to the liver. My first doctor told me to "get my affairs in order". I fired that guy and moved onto a doctor who wanted to help me beat this... a doctor who wanted me to be the 8% that DO survive, not the 92% who don't.

    be positive. be curious. be grateful for the goodness of life.

    my best

    Joe
  • danker
    danker Member Posts: 1,276 Member
    mskautz
    The reaction to Chemo is different for everyone. I had 5 weeks of radiation concurrent with the chemo. My only side effect was diarrhea
    which was controlled with LOMOTIL. Now 2 years later am NED, living a normal life. You can too. Good luck!!
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    At my first chemo, I burst into tears before they could start
    It is terrifying, going in to get all that stuff pumped into your body, knowing that if there is any leakage of chemo, the hazmat (hazardous materials) kit comes out. And they're putting that into my IV!

    You're normal, as is the reaction to every pain - is it more cancer?

    Things get better, and people do react to chemo differently so my experience won't be yours as will anybody else's. There are similarities, but some people get through it much more easily than others. I fell into the rarest of side effects, but that happened to me every step of the way. However, I'm now in full remission (stage 4, multiply resected - 3 places) and functioning normally. Yes, eventually the bowels start to work again. I'm also living a "normal" life - full activity. I went through a year of hell to get here, and then had more surgery 2 years later, but all is good now.
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member

    Welcome aboard!
    Hi MsKautz :)

    First, welcome to the board, although it would sure be nice if we were meeting on a different board for totally different circumstances, like say, "Owners of New Puppies" Support Board :)

    Ok... let's start with your main concern right now... and that is your fear of chemo. That the chemo scares you more than the surgery. Let's start by putting that fear right to rest. Let me put it another way... if you had chronic, painful, migraine headaches, and your doctor said, "Well, I can give you a prescription for a pain killer cocktail that you may (or may not) be on for the rest of your life, but it is for preventative therapy... to prevent you from getting the headaches again. No guarantees, but it has been known to be a very good cocktail of pain meds that has worked on many people. There are a few potential side affects... nausea, fatigue, diarrhea, and possible loss of appetite... but everyone is different and there's absolutely no guarantee you will get any of these side affects, let alone all of them." Would you then say, "OMG! I am terrified of taking this pain killer cocktail for preventative reasons... I mean, is the risk of never having another migraine headache WORTH a bout of nausea or diarrhea... and maybe I won't even get those? My guess is that anyone who has had experience with migraine headaches would jump at the chance of preventing them and would deal with "possible" side affects when and if they occur.

    That is how you have to look at chemo. Chemo, after all, is a drug... made of various chemicals, depending on what kind of chemo you are getting... but is a drug therapy (aka chemo-therapy). Sure, no one wants to become dependent on any kind of drug and certainly doesn't look forward to putting drugs/toxins in their bodies... but if that is the chosen path you are taking to either cure or prevent cancer from taking over, you can look at it as a life saviour, in the truest sense of the words :)

    Stage 3 is not as simple as Stage 1, but not as complicated as Stage 4. Stages 1 -3 are what they consider "curable"... and they (the medical world) will recommend treating your cancer aggressively, even if they are pretty sure they've removed all signs of it. The reason for treating it aggressively (IE: surgery AND chemo) is to give you the best chance at curing your cancer and you not becoming a Stage 4.

    Stage 4 is what is known as "incurable". To get a Stage 4 classification, your cancer will have spread to a different location/organ from where it originated. For example... I'm a Stage 4. I was diagnosed with colon cancer where the tumor had perforated through the intestinal wall. They thought they had removed the tumor and all affected tissue around it... so then proceeded to treat it aggressively with chemo. What they didn't know at the time, and there was no way of finding out, some of those cancer cells had already started traveling about and landed in my lungs to start taking root. CT and PET scans are brilliant technology, but even they can't see the teeny-tiny cancer cells until they've gotten to be a certain size. The chemo I took after my surgery, didn't kill off these puppies so by the time they grew to where they could be seen, that automatically made me a Stage 4. Now, the treatment changes... it is no longer "aggressive" for preventative measures, but still they go after the cancer with more treatments. Even though I'm no longer "curable", we are doing whatever we can to put us into "stable" mode... meaning stop any growth... and if we are really lucky, shrink what growth we have.

    It's a long, long journey.... but definitely, if I were staged as a 1-3, I would say, "hit me with the big guns!!" :) And then just take it one treatment at a time... and I think you will be pretty surprised to find out that the worst treatment is never as bad as your imagination thinks it will be :)

    Hang in there... there are lots of us of all different stages around to answer questions :)

    Cheryl in Vancouver

    Hey
    As you know I was diagnosed at Stage 1, and I was talked to about chemo, but my oncologist didn't recommend it. I was asked if I felt good with that course, and I did. Just hope I never regret that decision!

    *hugs*
    Gail
  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,459 Member
    mskautz said:

    starting chemo, nervous
    Thank you Sonia, I was feeling pretty good today and then when I was driving I had this weird pain in my neck, and then another one a little later and by the time I got home I was panicked got real hot and started sweating. Had to take a tranquilizer. I think it was because the first thing I thought of when I had that pain was that now I have cancer in my neck. So the rest of the day I am not feeling well and soo depressed. I read hope on these pages but then I see other scary stuff. I feel so bad for everyone. My doctor's office moves really slow, I was supposed to go to a chemo class last week, the dr's office didn't set it up so I called them today to find out about it. Seems some dr's move fast but not mine. Anyway I'm blabbering, too many thoughts, it's taking over my life but I'm pretending it's not for my daughter. Hugs back to you and everyone, Kathy

    I'm going through the exact
    I'm going through the exact same roller coaster. In the last few weeks, I've had brain cancer (I've been having memory trouble for years) and breast cancer (pain in two spots for years). Got a PET scan done because I needed to feel relief. Shocking, I only have rectal cancer. I do a lot of reading and it's how everyone reacts. Several of my friends have told me that I'm being paranoid. I told them to let me know when someone tells them they have cancer, otherwise zip it. They've caught on. It's a bumpy ride and I'm just out of the gate along with you so hold on. And as far as doctors, they're all slow, the squeeky wheel gets the oil. I'm being politly squeeky and getting what I need. You are one patient in thousands so call them and don't wait for them to call you. That's why most of them have an automated system because they get lots of calls so it's divided into categories. I've had to call the doctor's office so much in the past few weeks, I feel like I should have him on speed dial.
  • fatbob2010
    fatbob2010 Member Posts: 467 Member
    Me Too
    When I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer, that was secondary to Colon Cancer treated with a resection, 3 years ago, I was less than pleased to say the least. Within a month I had a port and was on Chemo pending, what I see as draconian, surgery to remove a large portion of liver. However, as others have pointed out there is much to live for in this life; and if it helps me to continue to share in those benefits of family and profession; then it is worth it to me. Hang in there since outcome has, at least to me, a lot to do with attitude and being a proactive member of the care team. Hugs of encouragement and comfort
  • marbleotis
    marbleotis Member Posts: 720 Member
    You Can Do This
    Sorry about your Dx. I was Dx 1/13/12 with stage 3B with 3 nodes involved but in no other organs (Thank God every day for this). Chemo - I am on #8 of 12. I had the porta cath implanted which is a dream, it makes it so easy. On chemo day try ginger ale and saltines. Your appetite on chemo week will be light. My Onc has added mag and calcium pre and post infusion to help with the neuropathy (numbness / pins and needles in hand feet and teeth with me). This really helped. Chem is cumulative so with each infusion it builds up so you will be more tired (exhausted beyond words) as time goes on. Make sure to sleep when you are tired. I have lost 60 pounds in the 7 months I have been on this journey - which is common because of the side effects (diarrhea), but there are many great meds that help with that. Make sure you keep the staff updated with all / any issues. I had a fever of 103.2 that started at 99.1 and spiked quickly. They put me in the hospital overnight to check for infections. There were none, just a nutty reaction I had to the chemo. I keep a notebook of each infusion and log the info. I hope this info helps. As much as you are dreading this it truly saves our lives. You will get through it. The board is here for you and has helped me many times. Keep us updated. Alice
  • mskautz
    mskautz Member Posts: 30

    You Can Do This
    Sorry about your Dx. I was Dx 1/13/12 with stage 3B with 3 nodes involved but in no other organs (Thank God every day for this). Chemo - I am on #8 of 12. I had the porta cath implanted which is a dream, it makes it so easy. On chemo day try ginger ale and saltines. Your appetite on chemo week will be light. My Onc has added mag and calcium pre and post infusion to help with the neuropathy (numbness / pins and needles in hand feet and teeth with me). This really helped. Chem is cumulative so with each infusion it builds up so you will be more tired (exhausted beyond words) as time goes on. Make sure to sleep when you are tired. I have lost 60 pounds in the 7 months I have been on this journey - which is common because of the side effects (diarrhea), but there are many great meds that help with that. Make sure you keep the staff updated with all / any issues. I had a fever of 103.2 that started at 99.1 and spiked quickly. They put me in the hospital overnight to check for infections. There were none, just a nutty reaction I had to the chemo. I keep a notebook of each infusion and log the info. I hope this info helps. As much as you are dreading this it truly saves our lives. You will get through it. The board is here for you and has helped me many times. Keep us updated. Alice

    starting chemo, nervous
    I can't thank everyone enough for taking the time out of your day to answer. I will read and reread your words. Your answers are uplifting to me although I went to the first post today about the person who was going to refuse oxi, cant think of the whole word, but the answers he was getting scared me, so I guess I shouldnt look at certain boards. I go to the city of hope tomorrow and will make a list of questions to take with me, then will come home and schedule my first treatment. I wanted to ask if anyone else has pain long after their resection? Wishing everyone a good day. Be back soon, Kathy
  • mskautz
    mskautz Member Posts: 30
    mskautz said:

    starting chemo, nervous
    I can't thank everyone enough for taking the time out of your day to answer. I will read and reread your words. Your answers are uplifting to me although I went to the first post today about the person who was going to refuse oxi, cant think of the whole word, but the answers he was getting scared me, so I guess I shouldnt look at certain boards. I go to the city of hope tomorrow and will make a list of questions to take with me, then will come home and schedule my first treatment. I wanted to ask if anyone else has pain long after their resection? Wishing everyone a good day. Be back soon, Kathy

    Had first chemo, has anyone had this weird symptom??
    Hi All, Finally had my first chemo thingy yest. The only thing that I find that is weird so far is when I take a first few bites of something I get pain in my jaw on both sides. It will go away after like the fourth bite. Now the only other time I used to get this pain in my jaw is when I would drink alcohol, which I don't do. Am seeing the chemo people to get my pump off tomorrow but in the meantime wanted to find out if anyone else has had this. Thanks, Kathy