Treatment starts on Friday - Info appreciated

annie4145 said:

Just stay on top of any anit

Just stay on top of any anit-nausea medicine.  Don't try to "tough it out". I hope your treatment speeds by. It seems like a long process in the beginning but before you know it , it will be over.  For my it was primarily fatigue in the early weeks of treatment.  Radiation burns bothered me towards the end, as well as diareah.  I hope that you are one of the  people that get through treatment with minor side effects. 

Good point. Take anti nausea pills before it gets bad, same as pain pills. Its a lot easier to prevent them than to get rid of them once you have them.

Jan

Twinzma said:

I wish I would have seen this sooner

Sorry I have been off the board a while and missed your post. My husband did very VERY well while on 5FU. He maintained his weight, had a stronger than normal appetite and never had any nausea whatsoever. The only thing that got to him was he fatigued a little bit for a couple of days after and his hair thinned just a little. Even though his hair thinned on his head, his eyelashes grew so quickly and curly he had to keep them trimmed. I tried to get him to use the curler for it, but he said that was too girly for him. He has had more symptoms now on the Chemo pill than he did with infusion which he is going to be asking his oncologist about. 

I am so sorry that you are in this, I can only imagine how overwhelmed you must feel. Know though that this group of people here are just so amazing and they will help you ever step of the way. Hugs and prayers!!

Funny about the eyelashes, I never posted this because it seemed unimportant, but the hair on my arms and legs just kept growing--not more of it, it is just like the genetic code that told it to stop growing all my life was altered. It continues to this day.  I bought myself one of those barber's clippers to trim it down to an inch or so, so I do not look odd when I wear shorts or short sleeve shirts.  Cancer, the gift that keeps on giving.

Lan53 said:

Second week started

I had company for the week and have been working daily so far. I am on my second week and so far I haven't had any side effects other than a nap when I get home from work. I have cut my days to six hours this past week. I had the needle changed out and new cheno for the week last Friday and so far so good. I continue to be told that this will most likely change in two weeks or so. I realize this affects all people different so I am waiting to see what my journey holds.

Thank you all for the comments, advice and words of encouragement, I am staying positive and waiting for the unknown. I have a hard time with the drinking as I drink coffee and tea but that doesn't count. I never drink 64 oz. of liquid in a day but am trying very hard. After the drinking I am full but am still eating regular so far. I actually gained two pounds and my Dr. was very pleased, I hope I don't continue to gain two pounds a a week but it sounds as if that is better than losing. I am ask daily by my son and employees if I am drinking and they see that I eat as well. My son will text and ask if I am drinking, great support team on a regular basis.

So as of Friday I will have two weeks of the five to six weeks down and I will update as I go.

I hope all are doing well as I continue the journey that most of you have already completed at some point. I haven't even ask what chemo I will have after surgery, I am taking one step at a time and will ask  more questions while waiting the eight weeks for surgery.

Lana

 

Putting on a few pounds, especially in advance of surgery, is a good thing from my perspective.  The most important thing right now is surviving, not looking good.  Maintaining or gaining weight is postively correlated with survival, to the best of my recollection.  

Lan53 said:

Weight

I will take whatever comes my way, I had lost a few pounds before being diagnosed as I have gained in the past year or so and didn't attempt to lose it. I worked really hard to lose and now it may have found me again. I will survive the weight as I'm not trying to impress anyone. The Dr. told me to go to dinner after the chemo refill, I just hope i continue to want to eat. I fugure the next week or two may change my eating habits. I am learning as I go.

Lana

Everyone responds differently.  My appetite sure changed.  One interesting bit of folk wisdom is not to eat your favorite foods while on chemo, because you may permanently lose your taste for them.  My tastes certainly changed on chemo, but returned to normal afterwards.

After surgery I was down by about 30 pounds.  I have put them back on now and look a bit chubby in comparison, but I will take it for the statistical survival advantage.