PPC stage IVB--first chemo/Neulasta treatments--not feeling well--what to eat

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lmede64
lmede64 Member Posts: 32 Member
in Ovarian Cancer #1
My sister had her first chemo, carbo/taxol, on Wednesday, then Neulasta on Thursday. She felt fine until Friday at noon (except for increasing hot flashes and chills)--then she took a nosedive. She has had some bone pain and a general feeling of malaise, but it's mostly the nausea that's getting to her, and the medication they gave her (one of them is Atavin,can't remember the other) isn't helping much. Naturally she hasn't been eating very much, and that's a bit of a concern since she is already a bit underweight. I have been looking for advice on nutrition but haven't had much luck relevant to this particular situation. I told her that I thought the BRAT diet would probably be good to follow, at least as far as nauseousness goes, and trying to eat small meals more frequently might be helpful.
Any advice on foods that deliver bang for the buck and are possibly easily tolerated?
BTW--as her non-official, self-appointed researcher, I think this is one of the best resources available. Kudos to all of you--to your strength and the caring for others you show.

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  • LaundryQueen
    LaundryQueen Member Posts: 676
    #2
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    IV nutritional feedings could help
    I would speak to the doctor about your sister's situation...especially since she is underweight to begin with. She sounds like she would benefit from IV nutritional feedings.

    Several women on this discussion board have been treated with IV nutritional feedings. Hopefully, your sister has an infusion port in place--that would make it easier to have the IV nutritional feedings done at home.

    I didn't have a lot of nausea but did suffer from anorexia (no appetite) and over-sensitivity to various strong odors.

    There are several different medications that are used for nausea. If the medication that your sister has isn't helping, I would speak to the doctor and get something else.

    Has your sister picked out a wig yet? It's pretty freaky when your hair is falling out and clogging up the drain. I just cut my hair short and finally shaved my head and wore a cap until my wig arrived.

    Good luck to both of you.
  • poopergirl14052
    poopergirl14052 Member Posts: 1,183 Member
    #3
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    this is the side effect from chem
    these ai.lments are quite common after carbo/taxol they start a few days after chemo. for the naeusa ask for zofran and for joint pain if ibuprofin is not stong enought ask for loritab or something similar. For nutrition have her eat in small amounts of bland food at first until regular foods can be tolerated. She will need some fiber rich foods as chemo tends to constipate. Have oatmeal with honey maybe. Have her eat cooked greens as kale as they provide cancer fighting properties. She will start to feel better in 3 to 4 days. Also in about 2 weeks her hair will start falling out. It will get better after a few more tx. Also a mvi is recommened daily. Good luck and I hope this helps...val
  • lmede64
    lmede64 Member Posts: 32 Member
    #4
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    LaundryQueen said:

    IV nutritional feedings could help
    I would speak to the doctor about your sister's situation...especially since she is underweight to begin with. She sounds like she would benefit from IV nutritional feedings.

    Several women on this discussion board have been treated with IV nutritional feedings. Hopefully, your sister has an infusion port in place--that would make it easier to have the IV nutritional feedings done at home.

    I didn't have a lot of nausea but did suffer from anorexia (no appetite) and over-sensitivity to various strong odors.

    There are several different medications that are used for nausea. If the medication that your sister has isn't helping, I would speak to the doctor and get something else.

    Has your sister picked out a wig yet? It's pretty freaky when your hair is falling out and clogging up the drain. I just cut my hair short and finally shaved my head and wore a cap until my wig arrived.

    Good luck to both of you.

    nutrition and wigs
    thanks for the advice on the IV nutritional feedings. She is feeling a bit better today and has managed to eat. Hopefully it will stay down. It's good to know that if the nausea recurs, there are some other options.

    She got her wig last week--actually 2 of them. One of them was a freebie from the ACS, which was very helpful since her insurance doesn't cover this. The other was so reasonable, $175 incl. any alterations that may be needed, that she can cover it. If anyone reading this needs a wig and lives in the Bonita Springs, FL, area please feel free to email me for a reference to a wonderful and caring place.

    thanks, LaundryQueen--you have good posts!
  • lmede64
    lmede64 Member Posts: 32 Member
    #5
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    poopergirl14052 said:

    this is the side effect from chem
    these ai.lments are quite common after carbo/taxol they start a few days after chemo. for the naeusa ask for zofran and for joint pain if ibuprofin is not stong enought ask for loritab or something similar. For nutrition have her eat in small amounts of bland food at first until regular foods can be tolerated. She will need some fiber rich foods as chemo tends to constipate. Have oatmeal with honey maybe. Have her eat cooked greens as kale as they provide cancer fighting properties. She will start to feel better in 3 to 4 days. Also in about 2 weeks her hair will start falling out. It will get better after a few more tx. Also a mvi is recommened daily. Good luck and I hope this helps...val

    nutrition and pain
    thanks, poopergirl, for the great info, which I will pass on to my sister. I too am a wife, mother and grandmother as well as a dog owner. I never thought I would have as many conversations about poop as I have had this past year. My sister had colon cancer 1.5 years ago, and my mother was bedridden the last months of her life--she died last September. We didn't discuss this in our family--probably why we all have issues with constipation.
  • pattysoo
    pattysoo Member Posts: 170
    #6
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    lmede64 said:

    nutrition and pain
    thanks, poopergirl, for the great info, which I will pass on to my sister. I too am a wife, mother and grandmother as well as a dog owner. I never thought I would have as many conversations about poop as I have had this past year. My sister had colon cancer 1.5 years ago, and my mother was bedridden the last months of her life--she died last September. We didn't discuss this in our family--probably why we all have issues with constipation.

    nausea
    You are right that small, frequent meals help with the nausea. Also, I started most days with oatmeal, molasses and prunes. At my onc. advice, I ate a bit of breakfast on chemo days. I also ate a pretty decent lunch on those days. Maybe those meals helped me weather day 3 when I would crash from chemo. It'd be better by day 5, but I was a bit queasy for several days after. Ativan was a good med for me.
  • Tina Brown
    Tina Brown Member Posts: 1,036 Member
    #7
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    Hello Imede64
    Welcome to the boards. I too have PPC stage IV. I assume your sister is on Carbo/taxol and if so her reactions are perfectly normal for this chemo. I have just finished my 6 rounds, but it always took me 1 to 2 days for the effects to hit me. I would feel really nauseous when I could smell food cooking and even looking at adverts of food on the TV would make me feel sick !!!! But rest assured that this gradually wears off and once she gets to a week she should be feeling much better.
    I would suggest for her to eat whatever she fancies in small amounts. I used to find that in actual fact by eating something helped the nausea to go. The fatigue also improves with each day. Tell her to rest up and let everyone wait on her and pamer her - she deserves it.

    I hope things pick up for her, love Tina xx

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