Starting 3rd week of treatment for anal cancer

vette123
vette123 Member Posts: 4
in Anal Cancer #1
Hi! Just started 3rd week of treatment for anal cancer. I was wondering how long after the second round of Mitomycin and 5FU do the side effects last. The first round was OK. I mostly suffered with diarrhea and mouth pain and soreness. I read earlier that the second round causes much more N/D and weight loss. Can anyone comment. Thanks Yvette.

Comments

  • Cheyenne
    Cheyenne Member Posts: 77
    #2
    My biggest reaction to the
    My biggest reaction to the chemo was hair loss at the end of the third week. (Two weeks after the first round ended.) I did have more weight loss towards the end of the five weeks of treatment but I think a lot of it might be due to the radiation. Another poster said that they were told the radiation ramps up your metabolism. I know that I continued to lose a little bit of weight after treatment ended. I am now 6 1/2 weeks post treatment and the weight is coming back some. Part of that is due to working out and lifting weights. I felt like I lost a lot of muscle tone during treatment.
  • vette123
    vette123 Member Posts: 4
    #3
    Cheyenne said:

    My biggest reaction to the
    My biggest reaction to the chemo was hair loss at the end of the third week. (Two weeks after the first round ended.) I did have more weight loss towards the end of the five weeks of treatment but I think a lot of it might be due to the radiation. Another poster said that they were told the radiation ramps up your metabolism. I know that I continued to lose a little bit of weight after treatment ended. I am now 6 1/2 weeks post treatment and the weight is coming back some. Part of that is due to working out and lifting weights. I felt like I lost a lot of muscle tone during treatment.

    Thanks
    Thanks for responding. If I do lose any hair, I hope it comes back curly like yours( it looks great). I have always loved curly hair. Also, I read something very disturbing today in the doctors office in a cancer magazine. Unfortunately I was unable to finih it. I read there is an increase of HPV related oropharangeal cancers. I thought it said something about a vaccination. I wonder if they mean you can take Gardacil vaccine as a preventative measure as an adult. If you or anyone else has information about this, I would love to hear from you. Thanks a bunch, Yvette
  • Cheyenne
    Cheyenne Member Posts: 77
    #4
    vette123 said:

    Thanks
    Thanks for responding. If I do lose any hair, I hope it comes back curly like yours( it looks great). I have always loved curly hair. Also, I read something very disturbing today in the doctors office in a cancer magazine. Unfortunately I was unable to finih it. I read there is an increase of HPV related oropharangeal cancers. I thought it said something about a vaccination. I wonder if they mean you can take Gardacil vaccine as a preventative measure as an adult. If you or anyone else has information about this, I would love to hear from you. Thanks a bunch, Yvette

    I don't know anything about
    I don't know anything about the vaccine. I thought it was something that had to be given to teenaged girls but I have no info.

    The picture of me was from the beginning of May before treatment started. I do still have some curls but a lot less of them. My hair thinned A LOT! Many members here have indicated that their hair grew back curly and healthier than it was. I'm not yet two months out of treatment so I'm still waiting for it to grow back.
  • vette123
    vette123 Member Posts: 4
    #5
    Cheyenne said:

    I don't know anything about
    I don't know anything about the vaccine. I thought it was something that had to be given to teenaged girls but I have no info.

    The picture of me was from the beginning of May before treatment started. I do still have some curls but a lot less of them. My hair thinned A LOT! Many members here have indicated that their hair grew back curly and healthier than it was. I'm not yet two months out of treatment so I'm still waiting for it to grow back.

    thanks
    Thanks for your reply. I hope you are right about the hair. I chopped mine off short, short in anticipation of any loss. I would love healthier, curly hair. Sorry I had to get "A__ __ hole cancer" to get it. Ha Ha! We'll talk soon I hope. Yvette
  • MyHopen413
    MyHopen413 Member Posts: 38
    #6
    vette123 said:

    thanks
    Thanks for your reply. I hope you are right about the hair. I chopped mine off short, short in anticipation of any loss. I would love healthier, curly hair. Sorry I had to get "A__ __ hole cancer" to get it. Ha Ha! We'll talk soon I hope. Yvette

    I lost my hair twice in a
    I lost my hair twice in a year because I had two complete rounds of treatment. I had hair to my waist and that had been my style for 25 years. My hair is coming back gray/silver with beautiful wave. Even strangers comment on how beautiful it is. So I hope you too get the curls you want.
    My second round of chemo was tougher, but also the radiation can have a cumulative effect. Drink lots of water, take sitz baths and if you start to really get uncomfortable burns, then let them know. I took a combination of Lomotil and Immodium for the diarrehea. You lose a lot of fluids with diarrehea, more than people realize.
    Good luck to you. You are on your way to be finished with treatment and onto healing.

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