Help tell me what to expect! ....Chemoradiation
Does this cause nausea, stomach upset, will I be able to continue working during these treatments (I have an office job)? I did hear fatigue increases as the treatments progress. After treatment, I've been told I will have an 8 week break then resection surgery. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!
Comments
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Remeber that everyone is different. I had a positive experience with the Xeloda and the radiation. I was able to work the entire time. I scheduled my treatments before work. I made it through without any radaition burns. I had a break of 6 weeks, then had the resection. I was out of the office for about 7 weeks, but after 2 weeks I was able to work from home ( I was lucky to have a job that I could do this)0
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Chemoradiation
I did chemo,and radiation at the same time.Toward the end of treatments I began having bad cramps at the end of the week,and my hands were numb,and from the radiation I had chunks of flesh when I went to the bathroom.The chemo I did was xeloda,and a few weeks after I finished treatment,I was back to normal,but I did lose 20 pounds from loss of appetite.The doctor did prescribe medication for the cramps,and rear end pain.I was back to normal,more or less,before surgery.Everyone is differnt,and has differnt problems.I hope this helps.0 -
Good Luck
I didn't notice much in the beginning, except that I did have occasional nausea and I promptly took anti-nausea medicine for that. No diarrhea but occasional urinary urgency. About half way through, I did experience some fatigue though that may have been attributed to some emotional stress too at the time. I had severe radiation burns by week 3 or 4. I did work during this time but I reduced my workday to 6-hour days and went for radiation treatment right after work. My job is pretty physical and I am able to stand a lot, which worked out well for me because it was difficult to sit with the burns. There are some ointments that are protective, like Aquaphor and Silvadene. Also, I used the softest toilet paper, like Charmin and/or baby wipes without fragrance. I had very mild peeling of my fingertips towards the end of treatment.
All of my symptoms went away soon after treatment except for the skin irritation from the radiation. That went on for about a week or 2, which my radiation nurse warned me about.
If you do experience any nausea or burns, just remember that it's temporary and that this is all part of treatment to get rid of the cancer. With your user name "Dean22" I assume you are a man? (There are other things to know about radiation treatment if you are a woman.)
Good luck and take one day at a time.
~Aud0 -
i had mind blowing agony, sore arse.
i hope you don't get this, not everyone does.
goodluck,
pete0 -
my experience
As others have said, there is a lot of individual variation. I hope you are at the mildest end of the spectrum!
I continued working throughout, but I have a fairly flexible job.
Radiation: Typically, the radiation doesn't kick in until after about 2 weeks (but then it can last 2 weeks after the radiation finishes!). I tried to work in a short nap each day....I had fairly bad diarrhea, and also some radiation burn around my 'nether regions'. This made defecation (pardon for frankness) very painful, I am sorry to say. Talk to your doctor, nurses, radiation guys about what creams you can and cannot use.
Chemo: I've had very good experience with Xeloda -- very mild nausea, very mild fatigue.
Good luck!
Tara0 -
Thanks Everyone-- I hope totaraHK said:my experience
As others have said, there is a lot of individual variation. I hope you are at the mildest end of the spectrum!
I continued working throughout, but I have a fairly flexible job.
Radiation: Typically, the radiation doesn't kick in until after about 2 weeks (but then it can last 2 weeks after the radiation finishes!). I tried to work in a short nap each day....I had fairly bad diarrhea, and also some radiation burn around my 'nether regions'. This made defecation (pardon for frankness) very painful, I am sorry to say. Talk to your doctor, nurses, radiation guys about what creams you can and cannot use.
Chemo: I've had very good experience with Xeloda -- very mild nausea, very mild fatigue.
Good luck!
Tara
Thanks Everyone-- I hope to be like the lucky responder who had very limited side effects although I appreciate the frankness of others sharing what they encountered. That will help me to be aware of what could happen from some with firsthand experience. I took my first Xeloda today and my treatment is at 3:15 this afternoon. Thank you.0 -
My husband could work onDean22 said:Thanks Everyone-- I hope to
Thanks Everyone-- I hope to be like the lucky responder who had very limited side effects although I appreciate the frankness of others sharing what they encountered. That will help me to be aware of what could happen from some with firsthand experience. I took my first Xeloda today and my treatment is at 3:15 this afternoon. Thank you.
My husband could work on site to visit his customers because he is an engineer.He had a chemo pump with him.I think you will probaly do fine since you work in an office.He did have side effects like fatigue,rear end pain from radiation and a little nausea,but overall it wasn't too bad.Everytime when he had side effects,the radiation oncologist and chemo oncologist would have some idea to help him.
Please listen to your body,if you don't feel good enough,please take a break,please don't exert yourself.Hope you can finish the preoperative treatments smoothly and have a great result from it.Best luck and best wishes to you.Take care.0 -
This comment has been removed by the ModeratorFight for my love said:My husband could work on
My husband could work on site to visit his customers because he is an engineer.He had a chemo pump with him.I think you will probaly do fine since you work in an office.He did have side effects like fatigue,rear end pain from radiation and a little nausea,but overall it wasn't too bad.Everytime when he had side effects,the radiation oncologist and chemo oncologist would have some idea to help him.
Please listen to your body,if you don't feel good enough,please take a break,please don't exert yourself.Hope you can finish the preoperative treatments smoothly and have a great result from it.Best luck and best wishes to you.Take care.0 -
I'm going to go with khl8's
I'm going to go with khl8's first sentence....remember that everyone is different I had chemo/radiation (my chemo was the 24/hr pump), and from my experience through many others posting in here they were severe to totally tolerable. Keep your life as normal as possible for as long as you can. I worked for about 2 1/2 weeks then it got tough.
Best of luck to you...stay optimistic and keep us posted. We will be here for you!
Hugs, Gail0 -
Everyone is different
I had the same treatment, I did Xeloda while taking 28 rads treatment. It was the hardest for me, I ended up having to wear a diaper I was not able to control my bowl movements. I dont want to scare you, and please remember EVERYONE handles it differently but for me it was very hard. There was no way I could have worked, the pain of going to the bathroom was the worst, nausea was really bad for me too. I am sorry like I said I dont want to scare you, just sharing my experience.
Good Luck and I will keep you in my prayers..
Good news it did work for me...
HUGS
Beth0 -
sounds like we had a similar painful experiencedorookie said:Everyone is different
I had the same treatment, I did Xeloda while taking 28 rads treatment. It was the hardest for me, I ended up having to wear a diaper I was not able to control my bowl movements. I dont want to scare you, and please remember EVERYONE handles it differently but for me it was very hard. There was no way I could have worked, the pain of going to the bathroom was the worst, nausea was really bad for me too. I am sorry like I said I dont want to scare you, just sharing my experience.
Good Luck and I will keep you in my prayers..
Good news it did work for me...
HUGS
Beth
hi beth,
we got the extreme arse apin in common. they never warned me in advance just how much fun it would be to put your bum in the big microwave.
looking back its surreal, but i do have sympathy for those going in now. i pray they have a good run. on one hand you don't want to worry newbies on the other if they ask well we might as well tell them our experience honestly.
i can still remember scaring the cows on the farm when i be yelling in pain.
and like you they described my result as a complete response, not active cancer left after chemoradiation.
hugs,
pete0
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