Tips and Tricks I will add as i go through Chemo to try and help

Hello! My name is Travis,

 

I was first officaly diagnosed with stage 2C Seminoma Testicular Cancer 9/2017, this is due to the cancer spreading to my retroperitoneal Lymph nodes but not outside of them even though the tumor is 21cm. My oncologist has given me a 95% with a very good prognosis. My first round of chemo started the end of october and 6 days after that I became neutropenic with a WBC of .2 . I was was placed in the ICU for 3 days and then was transfered to the oncology wing for 3 days. It was there I learned the importance of being specific with what I was experiencing. 

I had been have trouble tasting food. It was like ash in my mouth, No taste to wet foods and most foods I attempted to eat went dry. It was like trying to swallow dirt. It was at this point I got an oncology nurse who had been in the field for 26 years. Her name is karlene and she was so nice and helpful, she actualy spent so much time answering questions, and giving advice I was at a loss. That was when I mentioned my problem with foods. She quickly remembered a drug that would help produce saliva that she though might help, but she could not remember the name. The very next day a very tired looking Karlene came back in with the name, Caphosol, She had spent 3 hours of time she should have been sleeping to help me. This drug helps moisten and will help with saliva production for 4 hours. I ended up taking it 30 min before every meal as it takes time to fully work. The first night at 4 am I was eating my first sandwhich in over a week. I was able to eat bread (Not easliy but I could), I could taste the turkey mostly and it did not turn dry in my mouth, and the more i used it, the more i could eat.

Now this probably is not going to be a miracle drug and it may not work for most, but it is worth trying, there are OTC items out there like biotene which i am currently using. It is not as good as caphosol but it works to some extent. I still have an easier time eating and drinking things at room temprature and not everything tastes like it used to.

 I will add to this list as I continue on this long journey. All I hope from this section or list is to be able to help some of you have an easier time with your chemo. Good luck, never give up hope and if you have found something that has truly helped you, please add it!

Sincerely,

Travis Bouldin

P.S. If it works for you as well please let me know! not sure if there is a private message function here as i am still new but i will find it if it is there.