started Folfox today

Kathleen808

Hi Everyone,
**** started Folfox6 today. He ended up not being in the Stage III Erbitux study which simplified things. He went to our local hospital and was able to drive himself there and back. He was there for about 4 hours. He did not have a bolus 5Fu, instead they are doing it all over 48 hours. He has been home for 3 hours and feels good. He is wearing the fanny pack and was getting ready to walk the dogs. He did say the tap water felt like Wintergreen going down his throat so he will drink it a bit warmer. We are at the very beginning of chemo. Thanks for all the information you have all shared with us over the past 2 months. We feel like we are not in the dark. We'll let you know how the week goes. (only 11 more to go.)
Aloha,
Kathleen

pamalama

Glad to hear from you
Hey guys,
Sounds like things went well. We went to Orlando today to pick up Jerry's Mom she's visiting for 2 weeks from Ireland. It's will be nice for all of us but especially for the kids and Jerry to have his mom here. Jerry will be back on chemo after a 2 week break because of the rising enzymes and a cat scan to make sure the liver was okay-- it is thank God! He'll start number 5 tomorrow and he has returned to feeling pretty normal during the break which is encouraging since once chemo is over he should be feeling normal after he's done. Best of luck to **** I know you guys will get through this keep the faith, keep living and laughing and enjoy those precious girls as much as possible.
Pam

lisa42

thanks for the update
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for the update on **** starting chemo today. Sounds like so far, so good.
I know he already knows to watch out for the oversensitivity to cold- hopefully it won't be as bad for him as for some. Thankfully, your weather there is probably fairly warm now & it won't be an issue like it is for someone who lives in a cold climate.
One thing I noticed after the first couple of treatments is that I'd get specific symptoms fairly predicatably on specific days. Like, I'd get the hand/foot syndrome from the 5FU 2-3 days afterwards (I got chemo and hooked up to the pump then on Wednesdays- by Friday night or Sat. a.m., I'd often be hobbling around because the skin on the soles of my feet grew very oversensitive and it felt like bad blisters, even though no blisters were visisble (just once they were, actually). That particular symptom would usually last 1-1/2 to 2 days & then it would go away as suddenly as it came on, which was really weird. You'd think if you had the normal kind of blisters on your feet that it would take time to gradually go away. Nothing's "normal" with chemo- I mean there are side effects that are "common", but everyone reacts a little differently within those known side effects.
If you get the sore feet, if you don't take it easy on your feet during that time, it will hurt more. Although it wasn't too bad on the hands for me, some people do get it bad on their hands too- my skin on my hands darkened and they got very dry and started peeling, but I didn't actually have pain in my hands like I did my feet.
Just something to be aware of, in case it happens- hopefully it won't!!

Best wishes!
Lisa

CherylHutch

#1
Hey Kathleen (and waving to ****)!

So the chemo part of the journey has begun!! That's great that he is doing so well on Day 1. I think he has that gorgeous Hawaiian weather going in his favour... and he will be very happy for that. Ya... the drinking of anything cold is going to be a real bummer because while in Hawaii, you want to be able to have a refreshing cool drink after being out in the sun... even if it's just walking the dogs. I don't know if **** is normally one who sweats a lot in the sun, but he might find that he breaks out into heavy sweats while wearing the fanny pack. I'm not sure if it's the Oxy or the 5-FU... but I remember when I'd be doing our outdoor box office (and this was in the evenings when it was considerably cooler than during the day), I would break into a sweat where my hair would be soaking wet... and my face would be flushed The people buying tickets would comment "Ooooh, someone looks like they got a little too much sun today!" and I'd just smile and say, "You'd think I'd learn, wouldn't you?"

Anywho... **** should do fine. I had not found this board when I was just starting, or when I had been dx'd and went through the surgery... so as much as I had a kajillion friends around me at all times... I felt isolated and didn't really understand what was going on or what I could expect. My doctors did a great job of telling us, but call it chemo brain or denial or whatever... it just wasn't sinking in. Since finding this board and reading others stories and symptoms, I realize that I would have had a lot easier time had I found this board before I started my journey. So I think **** is well-prepared and he won't freak out when/if a symptom hits... and that makes it so much easier to take when you know what is happening.

Huggggggs,

Cheryl

Kathleen808

thanks
Hi Pam, Lisa and Cheryl,
Thank you so much for your words once again. **** has done well the rest of the day but he has had a few side effects. Thanks to all of you I let him know that it was all normal. He mentioned the metal taste, the weird throat feeling and the jaw pain. He said at this point they were all just a bit. Lisa, thanks for letting us know that different days may bring on different side effects. It is all a big unknown right now.
Hopefully **** will be able to sleep tonight.
Aloha,
Kathleen

daydreamer110761

Kathleen808 said:

thanks
Hi Pam, Lisa and Cheryl,
Thank you so much for your words once again. **** has done well the rest of the day but he has had a few side effects. Thanks to all of you I let him know that it was all normal. He mentioned the metal taste, the weird throat feeling and the jaw pain. He said at this point they were all just a bit. Lisa, thanks for letting us know that different days may bring on different side effects. It is all a big unknown right now.
Hopefully **** will be able to sleep tonight.
Aloha,
Kathleen

Did he sleep?
Just in case - I went through the first 4 not being able to sleep on the tuesday and Wednesday, then would crash Thursday nearly as soon as the pump came out. For number 5 I took an advil PM and slept fine both nights and the crash wasn't as bad. I asked, they said it was ok. It's just that although I slept those nights, my mind kept spinning like an electric meter and kept me waking up, never got a good night in.

Annabelle41415

****
Glad that **** seems to be handling it ok and is able to get out and walk the dogs. Also glad that he is feeling well. Just keep counting those sessions down and they will end before you know it. Good luck!

Kim

msccolon

Glad **** is doing well!
It's great to hear **** is having only minor side effects and is still able to enjoy taking his dogs for a walk! Hopefully this will be a sign of what is to come, and you will both have a great weekend!
mary

VickiCO

Good for ****!
Glad he is doing well. I start on 5FU Bolus next week...my final mop-up chemo, 4 rounds. Hopefully the side effects will be minimal, as I have 3 weeks off between rounds. Here's hoping he gets the same results I have - no more cancer. They haven't said NED yet, but did use the word "cure" at my last visit!

Vicki

Buzzard

VickiCO said:

Good for ****!
Glad he is doing well. I start on 5FU Bolus next week...my final mop-up chemo, 4 rounds. Hopefully the side effects will be minimal, as I have 3 weeks off between rounds. Here's hoping he gets the same results I have - no more cancer. They haven't said NED yet, but did use the word "cure" at my last visit!

Vicki

God Bless ya both....
You as caregiver Kathleen and **** as patient.......The Man upstairs can do miracles....keep the chin up and keep the prayers going......

Kathleen808

you make my day
HI,
It is so good knowing we have the support of all of you. You have been there or are there and you know what is going on. **** slept well last night. This morning he was up and about hoping to have a refreshing day. He is going to try gentle yoga (with the pump). I'll let you know how it goes. He said he was a bit nauseous but ate fine this morning. We both know things could change at any minute so he is taking each hour step, by step. Thank you so much for your thoughts, support and prayers.
Aloha,
Kathleen