How long does it take to feel better after chemo?

Isabella99
Isabella99 Member Posts: 22
edited July 2016 in Breast Cancer #1

Hello Ladies,

my husband is receiving his chemotherapy for his breast cancer, which will be ending

mid-August. We are going through a very difficult times right now. He is having emotional

problems and it is very hard to manage. He also can not think straight, focus

and concentrate. He also says that he finds it hard to even talk. 

It has been very long journey for us since January that he received his

operartion.

I am wondering how long it takes to feel reasonably well after chemo. His job is

very difficult and he is planning to go back to his work as soon as he can. He is

going to have 4 weeks recess after his chemo before he starts the  5-6 weeks

radiation. I am just hoping he will feel better during this 4 week recess time. 

Please let me know your opinions on this. Thank you very much. 

 

Comments

  • peony
    peony Member Posts: 306 Member
    #2
    Post chemo

    I also had a recess between chemo and radiation; more like  5 weeks and by the time I got to radiation, I definately felt better.  I stopped chemo in Feb 2016. The chemo-brain had started to subside enough for me to do my taxes in March and the metallic taste was pretty much gone from my mouth.  I had some other side effects that I'm still dealing with, but I still feel more and more "recovered" every day.

  • Isabella99
    Isabella99 Member Posts: 22
    #3
    peony said:

    Post chemo

    I also had a recess between chemo and radiation; more like  5 weeks and by the time I got to radiation, I definately felt better.  I stopped chemo in Feb 2016. The chemo-brain had started to subside enough for me to do my taxes in March and the metallic taste was pretty much gone from my mouth.  I had some other side effects that I'm still dealing with, but I still feel more and more "recovered" every day.

    Dear Peony,

    Dear Peony,

    Thank you very much for your email. It is really a good news to us!

    Would you please tell me how your radiation was? Was the radiation

    as bad as chemo? Did you have any side effects during your radiation?

    Thank you very much! God bless you. 

     

     

  • desertgirl947
    desertgirl947 Member Posts: 653 Member
    #4
    Not every case is the same,

    Not every case is the same, but I got through chemo all right.  I had 8 infusions over 16 weeks.  I found that getting myself out of the house when I was feeling fairly well was a good thing.  I learned to pace myself.  Ten days after I finished my final chemo, my husband and I joined friends for a few days -- about 230 mile trip.  From there we went to my high school reunion, another 150 or so miles.  I fared all right, but it was because I made myself take it easy.   It was a boost to me.  I say this, not to make you think your husband ought to be able to quite do this, but if he can get where he will get out of the house and be around friends, it can help.

    I started rads about 4 weeks after I finished chemo.  I did all right.  I had some burning -- be sure your husband uses creams that are recommended to minimize burning -- but I was able to stay on schedule.  I was back at work half days by this time (school), but I took a few whole days off near the end because it was easier to tend to my skin.  My burning wasn't bad, but I needed to go back and forth between putting some medication on it and covering it for a few hours and then taking off the gauze and letting the area air dry.  It just was easier to do that at home.

    Hope this helps a little.

  • Double Whammy
    Double Whammy Member Posts: 2,832 Member
    #5
    Last chemo recovery was rough

     and it surprised me.  And I had only 4 sessions of chemotherapy.  I always recovered quickly, but that last one really did a job on me.  However, I when I turned the corner (it took about a month), it was like someone turned on a light switch - it felt so good to feel good again and it was that quick, from feeling lousy one day  to feeling good again the next.  By the time I started radiation, I breezed through it.  BUT my chemo was "chemo lite" (only 4 sessions, 3 weeks apart) and my radiation was also a new protocol of 21 sessions vs the usual 7 weeks.  A friend has just completed chemo and then surgery and is not having such an easy time.  Sure, she feels better, but her entire treatment was much longer than mine and her body has been through a lot.  I hope your husband can complete his treatments without too many more side effects. 

     

  • peony
    peony Member Posts: 306 Member
    #6
    Radiation
    Like desertgirl said, everyone's experience is different.  I found radiation (I had 25 rounds and 5 boosts) to be much easier than chemo. At the end of the 4th week, I started feeling fatigued, but it was different from the chemo fatigue. Some days were better than others and it didn't affect my thinking or mood. I moisurized but still had burns, but they heal very quickly. It took about 2 weeks for my energy level to right itself. I went after work every day.
  • Puffin2014
    Puffin2014 Member Posts: 531 Member
    #7
    radiation

    Hi Isabella, I remember talking with you back when you and your husband began this journey.So good to hear you're in the homestretch now.

    I had very few problems with radiation, some occasional shooting pains in my chest from the aggravated nerve endings, skin got a little pink and tender but I used my creams faithfully and didn't have serious issues. i started feeling less fatigued even during radiation. I went to the free Livestrong program at the Y for cancer survivers and found that was a great help in getting my strength and stamina back. I experienced that difficulty forming a sentence too, so very frustrating having to work so hard to think. That probably took the longest to resolve, like several months.

    During the recess after chemo keep increasing his activity level, lots of walking, balanced with rest periods, remember, he'll still be recovering from that last chemo during that 4 weeks.

  • joannstar
    joannstar Member Posts: 403 Member
    #8
    I worked throughout 6 rounds

    of TC chemo and 33 days (not counting weekends) of radiation. I was doing bookkeeping so I had to be very careful about chemo brain. It took me a long time to recover--perhaps because I had to work.

    I was 57 at the time of diagnosis of Stage 1 TNBC. My journey started with 2 lumpectomies (to get clear margins) in August of 2010. Chemo started last week of September and finished in January 2011. The radiation started in Feburary and I "graduated" on April 1, 2011 the day I found out that I was losing my job. I interviewed (with very short hair) and got hired at a new job in May. I would go to work, get through the day, drag myself home and collapse on the bed. I started to feel better in January of 2012--almost 16 months surgery.

    We all face our challenges differently. I have a girlfriend who was lucky enough not to have to work through mastectomy and chemo who got through with very little side effects, chemo brain or exhaustion.

    I wish you and your husband well. Be gentle on yourself--caretaking is a tough job.

    Hugs,

    JoAnn 

  • Iris_G
    Iris_G Member Posts: 50 Member
    edited August 2016 #9
    Kept working!

    Isabella~~I too kept working from the time I was diagnosed (at 56 last July) and through all of my treatments (which my last Herceptin treatment will be in October).  I work in the office of a major general contractor in the US.  I did take 2 weeks off for my surgery (lumpectomy).  My chemo was usually on Wednesdays, so I took that full day and then took Friday off since I knew it would not be a good day for me and I would spend the day on the couch.  The roughest time for me was between treatments 2 & 3.  After that it seemed that my energy and spunk just picked right back up! And yes, chemo brain does get better! But my husband had a good time with me while I had it!  He loved to joke about it!

    I had a 7 week break between my last chemo and radiation. My radiation oncologist said people who have that break between chemo and radiation usually do much better than starting right after chemo.  I was one of the lucky ones who really didn't have any side effects from radiation (did 30 sessions), besides the skin issue in my underarm, which was bearable with the use of silvadene.

    I'll say a prayer for both you and him!  It does get better! ~~ Iris

     

  • Apaugh
    Apaugh Member Posts: 850 Member
    edited August 2016 #10
    Healing fro Chemo

    Wow, I must be a big sis.  I am 3 weeks post last chemo and I am still sick and still tired.  My doc said I would feel bad for about a year.  I start herceptin next week for a year.   Pray for me to feel as good as you all!

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