What should I do to prepare for chemo?

Good Diet, mental health, sense of humor, and exercise will get you a long way.

You will need: Toilet Paper,

                     Baby Wipes,

                     Calmoseptine/Nupercanal,

                     Bananas,

                     Gatoraid (some type of electrolyte replacement. The bananas work well too.),

                     Ginger (dried, candy, cookies all work to sooth the nausea.).

                      Gloves to get stuff out of the refrigerator

                      Lomotil for diarrhea

                      Oatmeal (helps slow down the bowels and the diarrhea)

65% of complications come from dehydration and lack of nutrition.  One must eat and drink to stay healthy!  Many add juicing to their diet. (I did.) Juicing adds micro and macro nutrients that a vitamin is not going to give you. The Zone or Med Diet are extremely healthy for the body. (It will help everyione else in the family also.) Common Vitamins to add are B12, D, Milk Thistle these are to help the body's immune system get stronger.  CHemo fights the cancer, and also makes the immune system weaker.   Stay away from large groups of people.  If you have friends or family that are constantly sick, have phone conversations.

We are sending our thougths and prayers for you to have the strength!  Some people Folfox does not hit them that hard.  

Best Always,  mike

Glad you got a port put in.  It will make the chemo much, much easier.  I did FOLFOX/Avastin a few years ago.  Everyone is different in how they react, of course, but for me the biggest issues were nausea, diarrhea, cold sensitivity, and neuropathy in my feet/legs.  A lot of trial and error figuring out how to treat these side effects, but for me what worked best was:

Ativan-for the nausea, 2 mg 3x per day.  And pot, which also helps with pain, sleep, and anxiety.

Lomotil-rx med for diarrhea...says to take up to 8 in a day, but on nurse's advice, I took 6-8 all at once.  Only thing that worked for me.

Glutamine-protein powder for neuropathy.  Standad of care for all chemo patients where I was treated.   Helps to prevent this side effect, which can have lifetime effects if it gets too severe.

For the cold sensitivity, I bought thin gloves to wear around the house (if you get this, you can't grab stuff out of the fridge bare-handed), and wore a scarf around my mouth when outside to protect my throat from the air (maybe not such an issue with summer coming).

I also would recommend a laptop or tablet or smart phone or whatever you have for entertainemtn purposes on chemo day.  I spent around 6 hours a day there when I had infusions, and if there was no one to talk to, it could get kind of boring.  Light reading, and an assortment of snacks helped too.

Good luck, and keep us posted on how it goes.  Hugs~Ann Alexandria

thxmiker said:

You will do well!

Good Diet, mental health, sense of humor, and exercise will get you a long way.

 

You will need: Toilet Paper,

                     Baby Wipes,

                     Calmoseptine/Nupercanal,

                     Bananas,

                     Gatoraid (some type of electrolyte replacement. The bananas work well too.),

                     Ginger (dried, candy, cookies all work to sooth the nausea.).

                      Gloves to get stuff out of the refrigerator

                      Lomotil for diarrhea

                      Oatmeal (helps slow down the bowels and the diarrhea)

 

65% of complications come from dehydration and lack of nutrition.  One must eat and drink to stay healthy!  Many add juicing to their diet. (I did.) Juicing adds micro and macro nutrients that a vitamin is not going to give you. The Zone or Med Diet are extremely healthy for the body. (It will help everyione else in the family also.) Common Vitamins to add are B12, D, Milk Thistle these are to help the body's immune system get stronger.  CHemo fights the cancer, and also makes the immune system weaker.   Stay away from large groups of people.  If you have friends or family that are constantly sick, have phone conversations.

 

We are sending our thougths and prayers for you to have the strength!  Some people Folfox does not hit them that hard.  

 

Best Always,  mike

number of your cancer center or doctors just in case you have concerns or questions at any time or day,like 2 AM on a holiday

keep onc informed of any side effects as they arise

make a written list of questions,concerns,etc for when you go to doc and try to have someone with you as you may still be in a fog and mishear or forget something

be prepared for pssible change in appetite, what you desire or actually can eat

side effects and we all differ here, may intensify as treatment proceeds

if doing FOLFOX,be aware of potential for neuropathy;stay away from cold liquids,food and surfaces;perhaps loss of weight during treatment;strange feeling upon start of chewing food

Remember:as a stage threer,there is an end in sight,no matter how agonizing it may (or may not) get

Many supplements must be avoided during chemo.  Anti-oxidants counteract the effects of chemo, and should not be over-used (no more than one cup green tea/day, for example.)  There is some excellent information on the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center website about this. 

http://www.mskcc.org/multimedia/herbs-botanicals-and-supplements-during-treatment

Everything, vitamins included, needs to be okay'd by your onc.  Usually B-6 is recommended, to help minimize neuropathy, and you should ask about supplemental vitamin D.  However, many foods and supplements that are generally good for us are not good for us during treatment.  Once treatment is completed, then more supplements, botanicals, anti-oxidants, etc. can be good.

Never hesitate to call your onc or your chemo nurse with any question, no matter how seemingly insignificant.  They expect the calls, and are used to them.

We'll share our knowledge, but remember that we are not medical professionals, and therefore you can use us to present questions to your drs, and guide you in some of the basics, but for anything serious, ask the professionals.

Alice

I also have stage 3a and am having the port put in tomorrow morning and start chemo next tuesday.  I will have the oxy infused once every three weeks and take the 5 fu pills for 14 days and then have a week off of everything.  I will do that 8 times for a total of 6 months.  

I am nervous about the port going in and then about side effects.  I guess each person is different and we will find out for us.  I thought nausea was minimal as anti nausea med given with the chemo.  

To the board:  Did the side effects start right away or build up?  I noticed some of you have had chemo for a long time and Im wondering if the beginning was as bad?  

Kelley  

db8ne1 said:

Just started FOLFOX

Kelly,

I just started FOLFOX yesterday.  Spent 6 hours in Oncology. First blood draws and waiting for results.  Then 2 hours of pre-meds: calcium/magnesium, steriods, and Atoxi (anti-nausea med).  Then 2 hours of Oxy and Leucovorin.  Then, more post-meds for side effects as well as a 5FU bolus.  Left with portable pump of 5FU that will be unhooked on Friday.  Chemo nurse indicated that the pre-meds last around 42 hours - or about the time the pump is unhooked.  I haven't had much in the way of side effects yet!  Here's hoping!!!

I have read that side effects are cumulative over the full course of FOLFOX - so I'm sure I will eventually get some.  I'm just hoping they are mild...and I hope yours are too!  I have 10 sessions - every other week. 

BTW:  I've had the port since January (for chemo/radiation prior to surgery) and it was a simple surgical procedure. Took all of 20 minutes?  They don't put you out and just give you a sedative to help you relax - and they numb the area, of course...

Best wishes!

Jenni

Thanks Jenni. Keep me posted.  Im right behind you!  

Kelley

I would suggest at least two note books. One for your daily notes, vitals (Blood pressure, temperature, pulse), and anything and everything that is going on with your body and mind.  

The second notebook I use for my Oncologist visits. I list everything I want to know about. Any question is up for grabs, no matter how insignifican I think it sounds. I have an excellent Oncologist, who answers all my questions and takes time on my chemo days. 

I wish you well. Lets kick this together. 

Easyflip said:

Thanks

Thanks for all the good advice. I'm seeing my onc on Monday to set up my chemo. I'm stage 3A with a port. For those of you in treatment now or finished with it,  what should I ask him and what should I make sure of? I'm eager to get on with it but I am uneasy and worried about everything for the next 6 months. I hate waiting : (

Until you know what treatment you will be on it's hard to advise.  Just make sure you take a notebook with you and someone along so they can pick up the things you won't hear.  Find out what the doctor says and let us know if you have any questions from there.  Good look with your appointment on Monday and your upcoming treatments.

Kim

Beachlace said:

Me too

I also have stage 3a and am having the port put in tomorrow morning and start chemo next tuesday.  I will have the oxy infused once every three weeks and take the 5 fu pills for 14 days and then have a week off of everything.  I will do that 8 times for a total of 6 months.  

 

I am nervous about the port going in and then about side effects.  I guess each person is different and we will find out for us.  I thought nausea was minimal as anti nausea med given with the chemo.  

 

To the board:  Did the side effects start right away or build up?  I noticed some of you have had chemo for a long time and Im wondering if the beginning was as bad?  

 

Kelley  

Kelley,

Whenever the nurse is telling me I"m getting the IV with the nausea medicine I just laugh because it doesn't work at all on me!  I take 3 different nausea meds.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.  Every session seems like it's different for me with the nausea.