Update - and Gratitude!

Fitlisa
Fitlisa Member Posts: 99
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi all,

I thought I would post an update on me and give a thank you to you. Had I not found this site, and read the stories of other survivors such as myself I know my road would have been a much harder one to hoe - THANK YOU EVERYONE! We are all the strongest people we will ever meet, without doubt.

I am now half way through Folfox 4 for the stage III colon cancer that I was diagnosed with in May, 2004. I had a horribly rough go with nausea and fatigue after my first two treatments. The past 10 have been a breeze, again thanks you to. I read a post on this board that talked about changing the infusion rate of the Oxal. and I asked my onc about it (I was being given it over 2 hours initially). We decided to change the infusion rate to 3 hours and add extra Magnesium for the neuropathy (I had it quite badly). It has made a world of difference. Since then, I have no fatigue whatsoever, no neuropathy, no nausea, nothing actually except burning in my mouth with doesnt seem to want to disappear and the sensitivity to cold which also now lasts the entire 2 weeks between treatments.

For any of you out there strugging with nausea and/or fatigue - ask your onc about changing your infusion rate -granted, it makes for a long day for me (I am now a total of 5 hours infusing on my first day but only 2 on the second, wearing the pouch of course) but the results have truly been life changing - I now have a life thru chemo which, if I was still feeling like I did at the start, I wouldnt have had much of one for these 6 months.

I have had a pet, cat and ultrasound which all show NOTHING (Thankfully) and my blood work has not changed at all throughout the chemo so far, i.e. no anemia, nothing! I am so very grateful for how this is going, I just cant express it enough.

Sorry for my rambling, but gratitude is good for the soul and I wanted to share my experiences with you as you have shared your's with me.

You are all, as am I, heros!

Lisa

Comments

  • bsrules
    bsrules Member Posts: 296
    #2
    Lisa,
    Congratulations to you for being such a trooper!!!!! It gives me hope for my husband knowing that there might be something I can ask them to do to help him get through this awful chemo. He has had 15 treatments which I know many have had more. He is really getting down in the dumps as to feeling to tired all the time. They have had to chang his chemo as the last one he was on stopped working and this new one is really kicking his ---. It is really hard to try to keep him upbeat when he is feeling so badly. We are throwing a big family reunion this weekend as we always do as he wanted to cancel and I asked him why and he said that no one wants to be around him as he isn't any fun anymore. I told him he was wrong!!!! Everyone has made special trips up here to help get things ready and that has seemed to change his tought about this. So now all we have to do is get him feeling somewhat better before then. He is resting alot which is good but I still give him jobs to do to keep him involved. So Thank You for your ray of hope that you are sending my way. Sorry for the spelling I am getting tired and my fingers don't want to work. Thank You again!!!! Sue and Bob
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #3
    Way to go, Lisa! Keep 'er so!
  • scouty
    scouty Member Posts: 1,965 Member
    #4
    From one Lisa to another!!!!

    What a lovely message. Keep up the good fight girlfriend!!!!!!

    Lisa P.
  • kangatoo
    kangatoo Member Posts: 2,105 Member
    #5
    scouty said:

    From one Lisa to another!!!!

    What a lovely message. Keep up the good fight girlfriend!!!!!!

    Lisa P.

    Great stuff Lisa!!!! It is good to hear that a change in med. procedures alleviated the nausea.
    Gratitude???---hey--what r friends for!!!!!!

    Hullo Sue n Bob---I felt the same way as Bob did for a while Sue--it does hit hard thinking that we can be no fun anymore. Sometimes I guess some friends atittudes, for me anyway, seemed a little standoffish but I came to realise it was more a feeling for them of being "helpless" --they just didn't know how to deal with my illness. That will change in time Sue--in some ways it is better if Bob can talk freely to his friends about his cancer--some can be easy to talk to , others not. It just makes life a little tough for us.
    Our best to yu and Bob, Sue.
    kanga n Jen

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