Sore

Monty4
Monty4 Member Posts: 7
in Peritoneal Cancer #1
My mom was diagnosed with PPC in April. She has had 6 rounds of chemo and after the 5th round she started experiencing some significant side effects. Her legs ached (large bones), her swelling was highly abnormal (saw a cardiologists and everything is fine). Now after the 6th round - very fatigued, excessive nausea, no appetite, and sore on tongue. Are sores on tongue, normal?? Also, can a chemo patient get the flu shot? Just looking for others opinions.....Thank You

Comments

  • TexanByChoice
    TexanByChoice Member Posts: 44
    #2
    Sore
    Sorry to hear your mother is having side effects. I don't know if it's "normal", but I had difficulty the first round of chemo with the same problem. Actually, on certain days, my body would take turn in where the aches and pains were going to present...arms one day, legs the next and of all places my teeth another day. In my case, the surgery and chemo left me very low in blood platelets and red & white cell counts. Unfortunately this went untreated for three months resulting in a blood transfusion to get my platelets back up. This time around, I didn't have a big issue with pain in my legs. As for mouth sores, I read in a book written by two onc nurses that rinsing your mouth with baking soda & water really helps. As I've always brushed my teeth with a baking soda type toothpaste, I escaped a lot of that. Good news is that your mother's strength will return. It's been said that protein is very important during this rebuilding/replenishing stage. Best of luck to her.

    She's very lucky to have you for support.

    TexanByChoice
  • Best Friend
    Best Friend Member Posts: 222
    #3
    it's normal but that doesn't make it any easier
    I will just let you know that every pain u describe my mother has gone through at some point. She suffers alot from the neulasta shot which is the one given for the white blood cell count. Makes her ache very bad. Last chemo she had such shooting pain in her head even to touch the spot hurt. They took her in for a catscan and it was normal. The doc said it's ok to worry because u never know but pretty much every time she worried about a pain it ended up being a normal side effect. It is a terrible thing. It's basically what kills alot of people. My mom' counts were all down too...platelets, red blood cells, white blood cells so she had a transfusion. It just gets bad and just when u think they can't take anymore, they have to. Eventually my mom will start to feel ok and than they do another chemo so who knows. And mouth sores are one of the major side effects that is on the doc's list the day you have ur first chemo....nausea, hair loss, weight loss, weight gain, neuropathy, mouth sores, etc.
  • SOPHIE333
    SOPHIE333 Member Posts: 92
    #4
    Unfortunately yes
    Hi,
    My mum has ppc stage IV diagnosed in february this year. And unfortunately yes, the symmptoms you describe, my mother has experienced too. She has most pain on day 10 after chemo and she has now done 6 rounds in a row with 1-3 weeks apart depending on blood transfusions etc for recovering. But in the end, she gets herself on track again and is now ready for round 7... I think she is a hero. She complains, she has pain, she has a cholostomy (bag on her tummy) and is only 62. What could you expect? As long as she wants to fight, I will be there for her 24h. And she is doing good after all. As Best Friend said, mums CA125 is going DOWN, her symptoms from the cancer itself are gone and everything look better. I believe she can live some more years now and for us that is great. I hope everything will go well for your mum too!

    Love,
    Sophie
  • Monty4
    Monty4 Member Posts: 7
    #5
    TexanByChoice said:

    Sore
    Sorry to hear your mother is having side effects. I don't know if it's "normal", but I had difficulty the first round of chemo with the same problem. Actually, on certain days, my body would take turn in where the aches and pains were going to present...arms one day, legs the next and of all places my teeth another day. In my case, the surgery and chemo left me very low in blood platelets and red & white cell counts. Unfortunately this went untreated for three months resulting in a blood transfusion to get my platelets back up. This time around, I didn't have a big issue with pain in my legs. As for mouth sores, I read in a book written by two onc nurses that rinsing your mouth with baking soda & water really helps. As I've always brushed my teeth with a baking soda type toothpaste, I escaped a lot of that. Good news is that your mother's strength will return. It's been said that protein is very important during this rebuilding/replenishing stage. Best of luck to her.

    She's very lucky to have you for support.

    TexanByChoice

    Thank You
    Thank you for your response. Since my last post, Mom was in the hopsital for high fever, dehydration, and excessive coughing. All the anitbiotics took the sores away. Thanks for the extra advice. She is much better, white blood cell count was 1.3, we got her up to 10 and her CA 125 is also a 10. We are blessed....
  • Monty4
    Monty4 Member Posts: 7
    #6
    Best Friend said:

    it's normal but that doesn't make it any easier
    I will just let you know that every pain u describe my mother has gone through at some point. She suffers alot from the neulasta shot which is the one given for the white blood cell count. Makes her ache very bad. Last chemo she had such shooting pain in her head even to touch the spot hurt. They took her in for a catscan and it was normal. The doc said it's ok to worry because u never know but pretty much every time she worried about a pain it ended up being a normal side effect. It is a terrible thing. It's basically what kills alot of people. My mom' counts were all down too...platelets, red blood cells, white blood cells so she had a transfusion. It just gets bad and just when u think they can't take anymore, they have to. Eventually my mom will start to feel ok and than they do another chemo so who knows. And mouth sores are one of the major side effects that is on the doc's list the day you have ur first chemo....nausea, hair loss, weight loss, weight gain, neuropathy, mouth sores, etc.

    adjusting
    It has been an adjustment, and we are learning how her body is responding to the chemo. And yes we have had almost all of the typical side effects. When I read mouth sores, I just never imagined on her tongue. Her sores fortunately went away with antibiotics. Thank you for your support!
  • Monty4
    Monty4 Member Posts: 7
    #7
    SOPHIE333 said:

    Unfortunately yes
    Hi,
    My mum has ppc stage IV diagnosed in february this year. And unfortunately yes, the symmptoms you describe, my mother has experienced too. She has most pain on day 10 after chemo and she has now done 6 rounds in a row with 1-3 weeks apart depending on blood transfusions etc for recovering. But in the end, she gets herself on track again and is now ready for round 7... I think she is a hero. She complains, she has pain, she has a cholostomy (bag on her tummy) and is only 62. What could you expect? As long as she wants to fight, I will be there for her 24h. And she is doing good after all. As Best Friend said, mums CA125 is going DOWN, her symptoms from the cancer itself are gone and everything look better. I believe she can live some more years now and for us that is great. I hope everything will go well for your mum too!

    Love,
    Sophie

    Thank
    Thank you for your support and I hope everything goes well for your mom as well.

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