Got my new chemo plan, today....
I've lost a total of 5 lbs during the first part of treatment, my Onc says that is great...even tho that puts me at 88 lbs, it's almost unheard of so he was pleased...He wants me to have another week off of treatments, to get stronger...so the chemo I thought I'd be getting today has been put off till next Tuesday.
Now...all of you who did the 5FU...how was that? Cisplatin can be nasty for sure, but he seems to think that 5FU is easier to handle....was it?
p
Comments
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Hard To Say
I had 5FU strapped on me each of the three cycles during the nine weeks.
It is just kind of a mind game you have to get into...
I felt I wasn't doing anything with the pump strapped on squirting chemo in you every 30 seconds or so.
But on a positive note, just think of it as a continual bombardment to the cancer..hitting it with a dose of poison everytime it tries to recover.
The hard part was taking a shower, so I opted for long soaks in the tub... It seems to cause you to emit an odor....LOL, smelt like cat urine to me.
But my wife just said I smelled like a big medicine bag, especially during the hot tub soaks...a big medicimal T-Bag.
It was always good to go in Friday morning and have it taken off, and usually a bag of fluids for hydration.
I also lost my taste for that week, either the Cisplatin, Taxotere or 5FU...or combination.
OH, also you know already, stay very well hydrated, especially the week of 5FU.
JG0 -
So does the fanny pack attach to the port?Skiffin16 said:Hard To Say
I had 5FU strapped on me each of the three cycles during the nine weeks.
It is just kind of a mind game you have to get into...
I felt I wasn't doing anything with the pump strapped on squirting chemo in you every 30 seconds or so.
But on a positive note, just think of it as a continual bombardment to the cancer..hitting it with a dose of poison everytime it tries to recover.
The hard part was taking a shower, so I opted for long soaks in the tub... It seems to cause you to emit an odor....LOL, smelt like cat urine to me.
But my wife just said I smelled like a big medicine bag, especially during the hot tub soaks...a big medicimal T-Bag.
It was always good to go in Friday morning and have it taken off, and usually a bag of fluids for hydration.
I also lost my taste for that week, either the Cisplatin, Taxotere or 5FU...or combination.
OH, also you know already, stay very well hydrated, especially the week of 5FU.
JG
If that's the case, I can't take a shower for the four days it's attached...Lovely, especially if my nose gets funky and I think I smell like cat pee...LOL.
Does the pump make noise? Was it hard to sleep with it on?
p0 -
5-FUphrannie51 said:So does the fanny pack attach to the port?
If that's the case, I can't take a shower for the four days it's attached...Lovely, especially if my nose gets funky and I think I smell like cat pee...LOL.
Does the pump make noise? Was it hard to sleep with it on?
p
Always assumed it was the Cisplatin that gave me the mega-blahs, but have also heard the 5-FU is not so easy. The F does stand for Flouride. Pump doesn't really make noise, though it seems there was a faint clicking sound I remember. I carried the two pumps, and think they're fairly uniform in their technology, etc. Be sure to have the phone number/info needed for when the 5-FU bag gets empty, and you have to turn-off the pump.
You're doing great, Phrannie.
kcass0 -
5FU - Fluorouracil
I always thought the FU stood for something else...but that's an entirely different story, involving Abi-Normal Humor....
Kent, it only depressed me a little because of having it on, hearing it, and thinking I wasn't fighting on my own...but you get used to it...and I'm not a person that stays depressed or hets deeply depressed...more annoyed with the pump I guess, LOL.
Yes the pump plugs into the port...
But it has a long clear tube attached. It's in a fanny pack...which they told me (a 6' 250# man) that nobody would notice me wearing....
I'm like ya right, I'll just blend in with those over-seas vacationers at Disney wearing black socks and sandles, and no deodorant.
Anyways, the fanny pack on your waist, and the tube under your shirt aren't noticeable at all.
I did have to take care of the seat belt when driving, so I usually just unhooked it and set it on the console between the seats.
Also, the advice that if you do have cats, be careful. The cats apparently like the smell of the 5FU and will/can chew the tube and get a good dose of chemo.
I could hear mine pump about every 30 seconds, not lous, but noticeable to me mainly.
Like Kent said, make sure they go over the instructions on how to clamp it off and turn it off.
Somewhere late Thursday night, Friday morning, it'll run out. Then it will alarm...., you mainly just clamp it off, turn the machine off and go in that morning for it to be taken out, and your port flushed.
Sleeping with it takes a little time... I usually slept on the couch and either had it on the coffee table next to me, or on the floor beside me (sleeping on my back or side).
Live Strong Fondation on 5FU
JG0 -
Thank you John!!!Skiffin16 said:5FU - Fluorouracil
I always thought the FU stood for something else...but that's an entirely different story, involving Abi-Normal Humor....
Kent, it only depressed me a little because of having it on, hearing it, and thinking I wasn't fighting on my own...but you get used to it...and I'm not a person that stays depressed or hets deeply depressed...more annoyed with the pump I guess, LOL.
Yes the pump plugs into the port...
But it has a long clear tube attached. It's in a fanny pack...which they told me (a 6' 250# man) that nobody would notice me wearing....
I'm like ya right, I'll just blend in with those over-seas vacationers at Disney wearing black socks and sandles, and no deodorant.
Anyways, the fanny pack on your waist, and the tube under your shirt aren't noticeable at all.
I did have to take care of the seat belt when driving, so I usually just unhooked it and set it on the console between the seats.
Also, the advice that if you do have cats, be careful. The cats apparently like the smell of the 5FU and will/can chew the tube and get a good dose of chemo.
I could hear mine pump about every 30 seconds, not lous, but noticeable to me mainly.
Like Kent said, make sure they go over the instructions on how to clamp it off and turn it off.
Somewhere late Thursday night, Friday morning, it'll run out. Then it will alarm...., you mainly just clamp it off, turn the machine off and go in that morning for it to be taken out, and your port flushed.
Sleeping with it takes a little time... I usually slept on the couch and either had it on the coffee table next to me, or on the floor beside me (sleeping on my back or side).
Live Strong Fondation on 5FU
JG
I was having a hard time figuring out how this all worked...how a person would know when it ran out, and what to ask when they give it to me. My husband is a light sleeper and I didn't want the pump keeping him awake...you helped out a LOT!
p0 -
Logisticsphrannie51 said:Thank you John!!!
I was having a hard time figuring out how this all worked...how a person would know when it ran out, and what to ask when they give it to me. My husband is a light sleeper and I didn't want the pump keeping him awake...you helped out a LOT!
p
While Andy was on 5 Fu he hung his pack from a nail next to the shower and he managed to shower really well. For sleeping he would place it right on the bedside table and there was never any problem. His pump was in a pack that crossed his body like a small purse but the fanny pack sounds much more user friendly. Good luck!!!0 -
Nothing helpful to add...
...since my treatment didn't include secondary chemo, but I just wanted to tell you that I'll be thinking of you! I hope the second round is effortless and uneventful. :-)
It's funny how the treatment plans can vary even for the same cancer--at least I thought we had the same? Mine was (determined to use the past tense here!) SCC in the tonsil and palate, HPV+ (strongly), stage 4.0 -
5-FU pumpphrannie51 said:Thank you John!!!
I was having a hard time figuring out how this all worked...how a person would know when it ran out, and what to ask when they give it to me. My husband is a light sleeper and I didn't want the pump keeping him awake...you helped out a LOT!
p
If I remember correctly it makes a relatively quiet "swish" sound when it's pumping the poison in you. For body cleansing, I ended up placing the pack on a chair just on the side of the tub and sort of soaked....missed my showers. Oncologist told me a story during my instructions for the infusion of the 5-FU. Back swamp patient called and said the battery must be out, because the pump had stopped after only two days. Oncologist told him, "Well, just cut it off". Patient took scissors and "cut it off" up around the port. Weird folks.
Larry0 -
LOL....CajunEagle said:5-FU pump
If I remember correctly it makes a relatively quiet "swish" sound when it's pumping the poison in you. For body cleansing, I ended up placing the pack on a chair just on the side of the tub and sort of soaked....missed my showers. Oncologist told me a story during my instructions for the infusion of the 5-FU. Back swamp patient called and said the battery must be out, because the pump had stopped after only two days. Oncologist told him, "Well, just cut it off". Patient took scissors and "cut it off" up around the port. Weird folks.
Larry
He probably cuts the lights off and night before bed also....
JG0 -
Laralyn....I hadLaralyn said:Nothing helpful to add...
...since my treatment didn't include secondary chemo, but I just wanted to tell you that I'll be thinking of you! I hope the second round is effortless and uneventful. :-)
It's funny how the treatment plans can vary even for the same cancer--at least I thought we had the same? Mine was (determined to use the past tense here!) SCC in the tonsil and palate, HPV+ (strongly), stage 4.
NPC Stage III...behind the nose tumor (I'll use the past tense, also...since the tumor is gone
)...I never had any surgury just the rads and this long, long chemo treatment.
p0 -
Thinking of you !phrannie51 said:Laralyn....I had
NPC Stage III...behind the nose tumor (I'll use the past tense, also...since the tumor is gone)...I never had any surgury just the rads and this long, long chemo treatment.
p
Phrannie,
You are itsy bitsy...I am losing but not near what I'm hearing on site. You are a fighter and such an inspiration...including your humor. Just letting you know I'm thinking of you....and hope things go fast, and you feel better soon ! Katie0 -
Ah, makes sensephrannie51 said:Laralyn....I had
NPC Stage III...behind the nose tumor (I'll use the past tense, also...since the tumor is gone)...I never had any surgury just the rads and this long, long chemo treatment.
p
Well, I hope the next phase goes easily for you! Hopefully it will pass quickly and it can happen as you're healing from rads. :-)0 -
THE PUMPjim and i said:Jim was cisplatin and eritox
Jim was cisplatin and eritox so can't help with the questions. Just wanted you to know I am praying for you.
Debbie
I too had the pump and as others have said you can just place it on a chair by the tub when you take a bath. You get used to the PSSST sound and while it is an aggrevation, it isn't the worst thing you will ever have to do. I never did know if my misery was from the 5FU, DDP (Cisplatin) or the rads but always felt the 5FU was the lesser of the three--- can't back that up other than when I was off of ot I still felt like crap.
You will do fine.
Denny0
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