Cisplatin and Radiation begin Tuesday question??

Typically...your first

session is the longest....not only do the do everything mentioned above, but they are watching you for any type of reaction, and therefore the drip is set to a slower speed.  I don't know what a weekly infusion time frame is, as I got my Cisplatin in the large dose, every 3 weeks....it was ALWAYS 8 hours...the first one was 10 hours.  I'm sure next week, you'll be seeing much less time, tho.

p

A few of us are going through it together

jakesaround and myself are going through, probably the same routine. strength in numbers! (in this case it's not to have numbers but it can be morally encouraging).

Everyone is quite different, and a few things to consider are:

- location of your tumor, dosage, and chemo chemical

- types of foods you consume/eat

- other pre-existing issues

- etc

For me, I'm on a 40mg/m2 cisplatin and at radiation 16/35 (half way!) and my biggest issues are bloating (indigestion), grade 2 mouth sore (with some thrush), some insomia, and occasional ringing in ears. I did lose my sense of taste but it hasn't been the major issue. Bloating and mouth sores were bigger issues as that can significantly impact your intake. I also don't really have an issue (yet), with nausea. You may experience other side effects.

So, my advise may be biased due to my issues, can just say while you're on this journey try to care about what you choose to eat - the rule of thumb is avoid any acidic, spicy, or overly fatty foods. Even simple stuff like ketchup, spaghetti bolognese, 'harmless' strawberries, or even adding lemon in your water, or even banana (has latex which sticks to the GI lining). I made some of those benign mistakes in my first week and could have contributed to where I am.

My guess would be about 4.5 hours for your first one

Hey Karen,

Me you and Kenny are on the bus together with this one. They are moving fast with you since you just had your surgery a week or so ago right. When are your rads suppose to start?

my experience with the weekly lower dose cisplatin is as follows. I recieved the 40mg/m^2 dosing amount which for my height and weight ended up be 74mg per week. It's a volume measurement so everybody's will be a little differen. They started out with labs as they will every week. Then you wait for the labs to process so that you can meet with your doc and look over the numbers and ask any remaining questions of the day. Then you head back to the chemo room, pick a chair, and hopefully a very experienced nurse will come start your IV. All that takes 30 min or so. They start me out with 1 liter of IV fluid takes about 2 hours to inject. Then I get my pre meds which is a couple anti nausea meds and a steroid this takes about 1 hour then comes the cisplatin IV which is the last thing I get and takes about another hour.

All that roughly adds up to about 4.5 hours for my first one but I think the last couple times I have been in it has taken less than 4 hours. 

A couple things to mention, it does get cold so check with your clinic but mine provides warm blankets and pillows. Also bring some snacks and entertainment to keep you occupied in case you don't have anyone to chat with.

Most importantly getting chemo is not suppose to hurt or burn at all. So if at any time during the administration of your cisplatin drug it starts itching or burning get a nurse right away to check your IV and if need be they will take it out and start a new one. If cisplatin gets in your tissue outside of your veins it can and probably will cause necrosis (meaning tissues death) in the surrounding tissue which can get severe if enough cisplatin leaks out.

also you can double check with your doc or nurses but don't wait to start your anti nausea meds until you start feeling sick from the chemo. What I do is wait 24 hours after my chemo treatment and start in with zofran twice a day 8 hours apart and every 4 hours in between that I take compazine twice daily 8 hours apart.

i will be pulling and praying for you.

jake...

kdot2003 said:

Has anyones hair fell out?

Has anyones hair fell out?  Actually I am OK with it.  I dont want a wig just a pretty soft hat/cap thing.  But it looks like people have hair...   

I was blessed to learn my primary is my Pyriform Sinus and all other sites negative...that they biopsied anyways.  That makes a III although MD said treatment was the same for III as IVa.  I am going to find out my exact dose of chemo and rad.  Havent even asked yet.  Well they said 39 treatments...not sure the dose.

 

Karen

My husband lost hair but

I really think it was from the radiation and not the Cisplatin. More importantly watch out for mouth sores. I did read somewhere that if you can tolerate sucking on ice chips during the infusion it may lessen the severity of mouth sores...but cold really bothered my husband and he had mucositis from the radiation already. Might be worth a try?

Did your doc order a baseline hearing test? Cisplatin can cause hearing loss. My husband was starting to lose his hearing in high frequencies before his diagnosis, but I think the Cisplatin hurried it along. he now has a 50% loss in both ears and is being fitted for hearing aids...no longer has any excuse for not hearing what I say now! Thankfully he didn't get any of the tinnitus (ringing) in the ears side effect.

Good luck...I'll be thinking extra good thoughts for you on Tuesday.

Barbara

Depends

I recall my first session was about 5 hours. After that, shorter. Sometimes I would wheel my meds into radiation for my treatment. 

Positive thoughts and prayers

"T"

 

Cindy511 said:

I'm 8 days ahead of you

This is my first post. I've been reading the posts on this forum since late July when I was diagnosed with Stage IVa, scc, HPV+ tonsil cancer on the left side of my necK  and I just wanted to share my experience. I've had surgery to remove the tumor and surrounding tissue and 40 lymph nodes (5 of which were malignant, showing spread). I have just completed my 8th radiation treatment and 2nd round of cisplatin.  right now I'm getting 50 ml of chemo but before that I get quite a bit of fluids, steroids, and nausea meds.  The cisplatin takes about 30 minutes but after that I get more fluids to flush my kidneys. After blood tests and stuff I usually get the IVs started at 9:00. Today I finished up around 11:30. My first treatment took about 30 minutes longer. 

You definitely need to take something to do and you will get cold (I took my own blankey today). Last week the day after chemo was the worst for nausea. This week I've got new meds and will try to stay ahead of it. Other than increased mucous and a horrible taste in my mouth that ruins everything, I haven't started having horrible effects.  I've got a PEG and am trying to use it. I'm being a bit stubborn and have just quit eating. I think it's my way of just being really pissed that I'm having to go through this. But I'm already losing a lot of weight and know I have to stay nourished so I'll try be better. 

I hope your treatment goes well. 

Thanks to all of you network members for providing the best information I've found anywhere along with a care and support that can only come from someone who's "been there, done that".

 

my best to you all-

cindy

welcome

 

Cindy,

Welcome to the H&N forum, so  sorry you are here.

No matter how upset you become, getting plenty of nourishment and staying hydrated need to be at the top of your list.

We want you to be successful, very kill the cancer, be able to eat and drink successful.

Team Cindy,

Matt