New to Group

Dawn4Him

Hello to all of you wonderful people who are part of this support group. I have been reading posts, but this is my first one. My mom was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in December. She had surgery to remove a 7cm tumor and is now following up with chemo (just completed her second round this week). She doesn't have a computer (refuses to get one), so I am here to ask some questions. She has experienced cold intolerance with this week's chemo. Can't even hold an egg to crack it for scrambled eggs, without using a glove (which resulted in several landing on the floor). Everything she drinks tastes metallic. She is using gloves, avoiding all cold drinks/foods, keeping herself warm (not hard to do - we live in FL), and forcing down 80 ounces of water per day. This symptom has her very upset. Is there anything else I can tell her to do that will help? A friend suggested asking the doctor about Cymbalta and/or Neurontin.

Also, she is very, very tired. Just stays in and sleeps. She was so active before this, it is hard to see this change. Her attitude is good, though. I don't know if I should be encouraging her to get out of the house anyway, or encourage her to give in to the fatigue.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks :-),
Dawn

KathiM

All of this is normal, sadly. Congrats on the water! This will help flush the stuff out faster....

Ask her onc about Vitamin B6, although many won't agree till after the treatment is over....

Tell her this is temporary. Plan a place for her to go after all treatment is over, and when things get tough, as they sometimes do, have her think about the place she is planning to go. Got me over a few nasty humps....I went to Palm Springs to a spa for 3 days after my treatments...

Hugs, Kathi

(PS, welcome to the group, although I wish I didn't have to meet you this way!)

NWGirl

KathiM is right - all normal, sad but true. I have the sensitivity to cold as well. It seems to last several days after the treatment and then gets better; but I have heard it has a cumulative effect as treatments go on. If you know the name of her chemo medicine, look it up on this group and review some of the previous posts on it. That helped me a lot.

As for fatigue, I think you just have to go with the flow. I was also very active and it kills me to lie on the couch and feel like it takes a monumental effort just to breathe. She will likely have good days and bad days - just try to take advantage of the good days without over doing it and plan on having down days - especially during "chemo week" as I call it.

Make sure she stays hydrated and watch the diahhrea - it sneaks up on you and can really do a number on your system. Make sure she talks to her oncologist about side effects so they can help her as well. Hope this is of some help.

Dawn4Him

NWGirl said:

KathiM is right - all normal, sad but true. I have the sensitivity to cold as well. It seems to last several days after the treatment and then gets better; but I have heard it has a cumulative effect as treatments go on. If you know the name of her chemo medicine, look it up on this group and review some of the previous posts on it. That helped me a lot.

As for fatigue, I think you just have to go with the flow. I was also very active and it kills me to lie on the couch and feel like it takes a monumental effort just to breathe. She will likely have good days and bad days - just try to take advantage of the good days without over doing it and plan on having down days - especially during "chemo week" as I call it.

Make sure she stays hydrated and watch the diahhrea - it sneaks up on you and can really do a number on your system. Make sure she talks to her oncologist about side effects so they can help her as well. Hope this is of some help.

Thank you, Kathi and NWGirl, for the advice and words of encouragement. I have already called my Mom and read your messages to her (she says thanks - and, btw, Kathi, she is planning a trip to Vegas for September with my two oldest boys). She is already taking B6. Neither of you commented on the Cymbalta for the neuropathy, so I'll assume you have not heard anything on that. I'll take your suggestion and search it. I also appreciate the advice about resting if she needs to (I won't push).

Thanks again,
Dawn

jams67

The fatigue is the most prevalent of all the symtoms. It does get better the second week of chemo and after it is over. I remember drinking a milkshake on the way home from chemo, and it literally froze my tongue and cheeks so that I slirred my speech. Learn to use a kitchen towel to remove things from the fridge. Is she experiencing problems with the first bite of her food? This sounds gross, but tell her to just taste a tiny bit or even lick her food, before eating and just eat tiny bites. Check the search for any mouth sore issues. There is some good information about mouth sores and sore hands and feet. The time will pass quicker than she thinks, and the drugs are more effective now than they used to be. There is a lot of info in the search window and anything else you may want to know can usually be answered by someone on this site.
Jo Ann

2bhealed

hi Dawn,

What a wonderful daughter you are coming here on your mom's behalf.

I can't comment on the chemo side effects since I opted to not do any chemo (stage 3 lymph pos) but I can recommend a really good book to help:

Beating Cancer with Nutrition by Patrick Quillin.


He has so much info on supplements that help with chemo. Oncologists are not always going to know and from what I have read on here (been here over 6 years) their opinions are sometimes different.

So welcome to the boards and a welcome to your mom to the Semi-colons!

peace, emily

jerseysue

Hi I agree with all the others I couldn't touch or drink anything cold thru out my treatment. I remember when I had to miss a week of treatment due to low count and I remember drinking a slurpee that was terrific. Fatigue always happened normally a few days after chemo. Never heard anything to use for the neuropathy but have your mom check with her onc before she takes anything new. Glad she has a good attitude and welcome.

Dawn4Him

jerseysue said:

Hi I agree with all the others I couldn't touch or drink anything cold thru out my treatment. I remember when I had to miss a week of treatment due to low count and I remember drinking a slurpee that was terrific. Fatigue always happened normally a few days after chemo. Never heard anything to use for the neuropathy but have your mom check with her onc before she takes anything new. Glad she has a good attitude and welcome.

Thank you so much. I just spoke with my Mom again and read her all of your responses. She appreciates your kindness and support. JoAnn, she will try the "tongue test"; she cried when I read her your experience with the milkshake. I think she is a bit overwhelmed right now with the newness of all of this. I took her into the hospital on December 3rd with stomach pains that we all thought were probably due to appendicitis and a few hours later she was being operated on for colon cancer. No warning, no time to think or plan. Emily, I will get the book for her. I am a supporter of all avenues of treatment, having been down to the Bahamas myself (with a family member) many years ago to an Immunology Clinic for Cancer Treatment (successful, I might add).

She is going to her onc tomorrow and will ask about the Neurontin and Cymbalta for treatment of the neuropathy symptoms. I will also do a search of the site, as you guys suggested.

Thanks again, and have a very blessed day :-).

In His Grip,
Dawn

vinny3

Dawn4Him said:

Thank you so much. I just spoke with my Mom again and read her all of your responses. She appreciates your kindness and support. JoAnn, she will try the "tongue test"; she cried when I read her your experience with the milkshake. I think she is a bit overwhelmed right now with the newness of all of this. I took her into the hospital on December 3rd with stomach pains that we all thought were probably due to appendicitis and a few hours later she was being operated on for colon cancer. No warning, no time to think or plan. Emily, I will get the book for her. I am a supporter of all avenues of treatment, having been down to the Bahamas myself (with a family member) many years ago to an Immunology Clinic for Cancer Treatment (successful, I might add).

She is going to her onc tomorrow and will ask about the Neurontin and Cymbalta for treatment of the neuropathy symptoms. I will also do a search of the site, as you guys suggested.

Thanks again, and have a very blessed day :-).

In His Grip,
Dawn

The cold intolerance and fatigue are common with the chemo. I found that little naps helped alot. I also used golf gloves to handle items that were cold (like the milk bottle) as you still get a good sense of touch with them. I would recommend avoiding drugs like Cymbalta or Neurontin for the side effect of neuropathy. They won't help the cold intolerance and have toxicities of their own. If things get too bad the dosage of the oxaliplatin can be reduced.

Your mother is very lucky to have you in her corner. ****

Dawn4Him

vinny3 said:

The cold intolerance and fatigue are common with the chemo. I found that little naps helped alot. I also used golf gloves to handle items that were cold (like the milk bottle) as you still get a good sense of touch with them. I would recommend avoiding drugs like Cymbalta or Neurontin for the side effect of neuropathy. They won't help the cold intolerance and have toxicities of their own. If things get too bad the dosage of the oxaliplatin can be reduced.

Your mother is very lucky to have you in her corner. ****

That's a good idea about the golf gloves. I think she kept dropping the eggs because the gloves I gave her were too thick.

Thank you!