My Welcome

Luensmann4

Just turned 50 this year and went to the ER for a pain in my left shoulder thinking I had something going on with my heart. After the CT scan, come to find out all was good with my heart but found a 9cm mass in my pelvic area. Next came the Ultrasound and MRI. Then the appointment with a Gynecology Oncologist and a full hysterectomy. Final pathology report came back and showed Stage IIA Grade 2 Endometrial Cancer of the right ovary. Now I’m scheduled for 6 cycles of chemo. I’m scared to death, having a hard time wrapping my head around all this.

ilovedaisies

Welcome! I’m so very sorry…. You’ve had SO very much going on! It had to have been dizzying. There’s lots of good folk on here who’ve also walked in your shoes. Some sound like downright experts, even with manuals on the differing grades that I saved.

But it’ll take time. I pray each day coming you find more answers and more comfort, as you continue to walk this confusing path. Please do be sure to ask all your questions. You might even find some already answered under other subject headings.

My prayers are with you!

Luensmann4

Thank you for kind words and prayers!
I’m terrified of what side effects I may have from the chemo. I’m a very nervous and anxious person already. I don’t deal nausea well.

Fridays Child

What a shock that must have been! Sounds like your doctors have you on the right track. Please try not to worry too much about the chemo. Many of us here have done it, and they have so many ways to control the side effects now. They put a drug in my IV when I had chemo that controlled nausea for up to five days. They also gave me Rx pills to take if I needed them. Be sure to tell them that's a major worry for you and they'll do whatever they can to prevent/control it.

Best of luck to you!

NoTimeForCancer

Luensmann4, try to take a breath. It IS a lot and definitely overwhelming.

I will say this is all a journey and try to take it a step at a time. Starting with chemo, first there are great anti-nausea drugs out there they will give you or add that to your list to ask for (I'm sure you have a million questions) I don't think I knew Friday's Child had the 5-day drug, but things are always changing!

I think many have found that chemo is "doable" - meaning I expect worse but as long as you focus on basic step - again that journey - you will do it.

Are you sitting down to talk about that with the gyn onc's office? I was provided a really nice little calendar schedule since there were steroids to take and how to step them down. Since chemo is constipating for many, Miralax is a miracle, and check with the office as I took more than the bottle said (and I was told that was ok) but it is a juggling act to figure it out. I think I took it the night before and then the next few days, but again - you need to figure it out for you.

Don't be afraid to call the dr's office with questions. I guarantee you that they have heard them before. I will share this, the first day I found out I went to a friend's office where I worked as she had been through breast cancer. I said to her, "I can't wrap my head around this." Her response, and it is something I will always remember, "you can't today." She was right. All these years later and even now I can't understand it.

I did have a friend give me a notebook when I started, and I still use it today. When I was going through chemo I took notes on start, stop times, was there any issues that came up I wanted to remember for any future treatment - and that was helpful.

Hugs dear one. You are not alone!

Luensmann4

Thank you all for your comments! The support from you all will be major turning stone for me. I appreciate each and every one of you.

From what I understand my treatment will be 3hrs of Paclitaxel and 30mins of Carboplatin. Have any of you had these meds? And what was your experience?

NoTimeForCancer

Those are pretty standard chemos for this treatment. The paclitaxel (often referred to as Taxol) is harder on your body so they will monitor you when you receive that. If I recall correctly, I had that one first. I did get hydration via IV before treatment, in between the two chemos, and then again at the end.

For me, after the first 5 days or so of the first round it felt like I was hit by a ton of bricks. It was crazy. Some people are brought in for a Neulasta shot afterwards. After the first round of chemo, I never really experienced that again.

If there is a dietician at your cancer center, see if you can meet with them. I was told to 'push the protein' (and apologies to all who have read this before). What does that mean???!!! I really appreciated talking with the dietician, but that didn't happen until I had my radiation, which was half way through the chemo. I would have been nice to have that on the front end.

Some women have suffered neuropathy, so maybe search for icing on fingers and toes. I didn't, and I didn't know better and just got lucky, but there is a lot on here.

I promise you - you will surprise yourself!

Luensmann4

I have chemo teaching scheduled for next week, medi port placement and 1st round of chemo. Going to be a crazy week. I have a list of questions for the chemo teaching. And I will add one about protein.
Did you get IV hydration at the treatment center or on your own?

NoTimeForCancer

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1723168#Comment_1723168

The hydration was just a short thing in between the chemos - nothing long at all. Good on getting the port. I know I did not want one more procedure, but chemo is hard on your veins, so poking me six times got to be a challenge on #3, and they recovered some since I had radiation in the middle of all the chemo.

If you are making a list of questions, if they don't tell you, ask about getting a schedule on stepping down the steroids. (We had one woman here who was not told that and she was losing her mind. I had saved my papers and told her what my step down schedule was so she could check with her dr's office ) Also, if you are asking about protein, and if they don't tell you, is there anything you should stay away from in food?

I'm sure they have so much covered, but make sure you know who you can call with questions. I loved the nurses in the gyn onc office. They were such angels.

Luensmann4

You are a blessing. I will add those questions to my list. Thank you!

anne609

When you go for chemo, ask the nurse what she is giving you and the reason. My experience has been that the chemo nurses are very willing to be as specific as you want. A typical regime is iv hydration started at the beginning. Then pre-chemo drugs that include anti-nausea, steroids, anti-acid, and Benadryl. Taxol is always given before Carboplatin because Carboplatin can interfere with the effectiveness of Taxol. And I always take and drink 2 quarts of water during the 5 to 6 hours I'm there.

And I will second the need to be proactive about constipation —- the side effects of virtually all of the anti-nausea meds and of most of the chemo drugs is constipation. Besides starting Miralax the morning before chemo, taking it the morning of chemo and continuing until it has a result, I took Colace and starting a few weeks ago taking a heaping teaspoon of Metamucil every morning. Anne

Luensmann4

The nurse was very good and explained everything to me. Even sent me home with a list of everything. Sounds just like what you mentioned above. I’m eating and drinking well. The body aches have been the worse so far.