Bathing while on Folfox

You should be fine if you get into the shower with the water a comfortable warm temperature. If you're like me, and rinse in cold water, then I would say to give that part a miss. 

Are you hooked up to a pump after your infusions? That can be a pain, but the tube is usually long enough that the bag can go outside of the bath. Not sure what you do in a shower unit. 

Yes, it is rather a surprise for most of us. Certainly caught me off gaurd. 

Now you have started treatment, you will probably find that you can start to come to grips with everything. What stage are you? 

I'm glad that you have found the information here helpful. We hope to be able to help you are you travel along this Cancer journey.

TRU

cutler27 said:

Thanks

Thanks for the quick reply.  I have already found this site to be very helpful in terms of possible symptoms.

Yes, I'm hooked up to a pump for 40+ hours, but they advised me to do sponge baths at that time.  

I'm actually stage 4 which was another shock.  Not many symptoms other than an occasional pain in my side.

I'm still working and will probably have to continue to keep my full insurance in place.  So much for retirement!  But, I'm lucky I have insurance and have sick leave in reserve.  This week my treatment started on Tuesday and I'll probably ask to have it moved to Wednesday as I was really tired on disconnect Thursday.  Maybe I can take advantage of the weekend to recover.

Thanks again and I look forward to many more conversations.

 

Hi cutler27, I am an Australian 65 y.o. man who has had surgery, and finished 6 months chemotherapy. Sorry for your illness. It is always a nasty surprise to be diagnosed with cancer. I had Stage 3b tumor. Only found in one lymph node outside colon, luckily. Folfox treatment with cisplatin was very difficult for me. It is hard for everybody, I think. Be aware that many people cannot finish the platinum treatment due to the severe neuropathy, and the risk that it might become permanent. Weigh this up carefully. I managed 7 weeks, but most patients that attend my Oncology clinic usually only manage 3 treatments! I still have numbness under toes after 12 months, and this might be permanent. Hot and Cold were equally irritating for me, and I had to wear cotton gloves when cooking, etc. Due to numbness in fingers, I dropped everything, all the time. Lost balance and appetite. However, this lasts only as long as the treatment, and I am now virtually back to normal. No sign of cancer spread. It is hard, but well worth the patience required at the time. Best of Luck to you and God Bless.

Sorry that you have to be here.  One thing I did in the shower was wear a pair of cheap flip flops, that way I didn't have to worry about the cold tile.  Warming up the shower ahead is probably a good idea as well.  Be careful with the cold air, one time I stood beneath an air conditioning unit and with each breath I could feel my breaths less and less until I couldn't tell I was breathing. Scared the you know what out of me until I realized that I hadn't lost consciousness and must be breathing.  This was right after infusion in the pharmacy.

Good luck to you, I hope you tolerate treatment well.  Traci