have questions about chemo

don09
don09 Member Posts: 108
in Anal Cancer #1

I went through chemo/radiation for lung cancer 6 Yrs. ago, I seemed to breeze through the chemo, never got sick or had a lot of the side effects others had. I've been told by two of my Dr.s that this treatment for anal cancer is nothing like what I went through for the LC, I guess because having been told that I am more nervous this second time than the first time.  I have read some of the posts on other web sites and there seems to be a lot of people who really had problems from not only the radiation but the chemo as well.  I would think the radiation is bad enough to endure, but having problems with the chemo too just seems overwhelming.  Did any of you have difficulty with the chemo, and if so what can I expect and what can I do to elevate it.  Any input would help.

Comments

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #2
    don09

    I had two rounds of chemo (Mitomycin and 5FU), along with 30 radiation treatments.  I will have to say that the radiation caused me worse  side effects than the chemo.  However, I did experience some nausea, loss of appetite, thrush in my mouth, fatigue, and some hair loss because of the chemo.  My nausea was managed with anti-nausea meds and I never vomited.  The thrush was treated with a solution called Magic Mouthwash (nasty, but effective).  The other side effects were just things I had to deal with.  I did have low blood counts, so I got one infusion of Neupogen after my first round of chemo.  My counts also dropped really low during the second round, but I was so close to being done with treatment that my doctors decided not to do another round of Neupogen. 

    Staying well-hydrated is very important, so drink lots of water.  Report any and all side effects to your doctors, as there are meds that can help.  If your med onc is like mine was, you'll have blood work once a week so that your counts can be monitored.  You may have a loss of appetite like I did.  My doctor told me to eat whatever sounded good to me to keep my weight up.  I still had weight loss, to the point where he threatened to put me in the hospital if I lost any more weight.  I managed to stay out of the hospital, but eating was difficult for me. 

    I wish you all the best as you head into treatment.  It won't be fun, but it is totally doable.  Let us know how we can help you get through this.

    Martha

  • nonichol
    nonichol Member Posts: 170
    edited October 2016 #3
    Treatment

    Don, 

    i thought radiation was harder than the chemo by far. Hang in there!

    Norma

  • mxperry220
    mxperry220 Member Posts: 493 Member
    edited October 2016 #4
    nonichol said:

    Treatment

    Don, 

    i thought radiation was harder than the chemo by far. Hang in there!

    Norma

    Agree With You

    I agree with you.  The radiation was by far the worst even though the burn effect was much less for me than others I have read of on this site.  I did not have any blistering.  My radiation doctor said I had extra healthy skin tissue which somewhat minimized the burn effect.  I was diagnosed with Stage 2 anal cancer in 2008.  I have been cancer free since tratments ended in January 2009.

    Mike

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