Chemo doable?

Feelingalone74 said:

Thank you Janae! 

Thank you Janae! 

I too was proactive in who shopping like you. I'm so grateful to  say the Center I'm going to this wonderful local salon owner that looks closely with patients  I have been with me and she helps me try on  several weeks in match my hair color  she's very uplifting and made it a positive experience. She's a true angel! I picked it up last week. It's been in the closet since then. However I will take your suggestion to put it on around the house to get use to it.

Michelle

I remember it was a day at a time ting with my wig too. I put it on one day and showed my kids. Eventually i was wiiing to walk to the mail box. Then drive in the car. Ya see no one would say anything durig those times. I was sure the neighbors werent going to come out. Eventually i was able to go in public.i Remember you have time with this. It took a little less than 3 weeks for mine to start falling out. Be good to yourself. Take your time. It will work for you.

If you are having 5 weeks of radiation, they must be doing pelvic external.  Start a probiotic (someone told me Culturelle, someone else mentioned one that a Naturopath told her about) daily, a week before you start the radiation and continue it through the radiation.  It appears to have some protective effect on the gastrointestinal tract during radiation.  Also, if possible, schedule your radiation sessions for as late in the day as you can.  It appears that the circadian rhythm of the body makes the intestines less vulnerable to radiation damage if you have your session late in the day.

If you just had the port placed, watch out for pain in the neck or around the collar bone, after placement.  I got a clot in my neck vein right after placement.

Lulu7582 said:

Hang in there

Yes chemo is definitely doable. Think of it as your friend killing any cancer cells. And yes losing your hair sucks but thankfully it does grow back. I too did go and get a wig before my hair fell out to make sure it was a similar color and style. After my hair came out I really only wore it 2 - 3 times....I preferred my head scarves that I had picked up in various colors to match my outfits. When chemo is done the short hair style is really nice and easy to look after. I had very straight hair and it came back in staight as well so so much for the chemo curl for me!! Yes I did miss my pretty bob I had prior to chemo but the pixie cut also looks good. So don't despair you will have pretty hair again short or long!!! 

The chemo side effects are managed with the drugs from your doc so make sure to get the antiemetics like zofran, compazine etc. Each cancer center will have their own school of thought regarding which drugs they will give you but again it is doable...you just become very picky about the foods you like and dislike. Interestingly I never did get that metallic taste. 

Constipation was a real problem for me but again it is all so different for each of us. I think once you have one session under your belt you will feel much better and have a good idea of what to expect next time. For me the first week usually was my low point and then day by day I would feel better until I felt my normal self again then off to do the next cycle. Definitely ice your feet, some do their hands as well (Amazon had some booties with ice packs in them that I picked up and were wonderfully easy to use). I did my feet and even with this second round of Taxol I only have some numbess in my toes which is tolerable. 

So all the best you can do this and thankfully you have this board to hop on and vent or ask questions or just to say hi! xo

 

I didn't get the metallic taste either, but I got a weird, off sweetish taste. Not pleasant sweet,  sort of like fruit gone off. Took me a while to realize it was the chemo, because it wasn't metallic. Affected both food and water. I found a lot of little side effects that that they like to say, oh that's not chemo. But when it happens during the week after chemo, goes away for the next 2 weeks, then  recurs x6, it's obvious. Weird random pains all over (not bone pain), hiccups, that odd taste, weird vison thing (like a migraine aura). And depression/hopelessness too ... seems likea normal cancer thing, bur it was totally cyclical with chemo. I'm sure I'm forgetting more.

MAbound said:

B Vitamins

My gyn oncologist told me to take a B complex vitamin but gave me no suggestions regarding dosages or brands. I looked into it some more and decided to just go with B12 rather than a complex that also contained Folate and B6.

I had a subscription to consumerlab.com at the time which is like Consumer Reports, but tests supplements instead. It's the best source for unbiased information because they are supported by subscriptions rather than manufacturerers. I went with B12 because there is no upper tolerable limit taking it whereas it's possible to take too much Folate and B6. Too much can actually cause neuropathy and you need to include what you get in foods you eat in how much you are taking.

B12 comes in two forms in the body: active and inactive. Cancer, surgery, age, chemo, certain drugs like Metformin or antacids either reduce the amount of B12 we can absorb from food or convert as much as 80% of active B12 into its inactive form. Current laboratory tests measure both together without differentiating between them, so testing won't really tell you if you have a deficit or not. You probably do and hence the need to supplement. It doesn't prevent neuropathy by itself, but it is important to the myelin sheath that protects your nerves. 

What dose to take? I get into trouble with the censors when I say what I took because they consider that giving medical advice. Ask your doctor or a pharmacist what he suggests as a dosage to aim for or subscribe to consumerlab.com and they'll tell you dosages there. You are going to be reading a lot about supplements as you go along, so you may find that very helpful for at least a year.  Your body (if your kidneys are working right) gets rid of whatever B12 it can't use, so it's relatively safe to take. The sublingual tablets are the best absorbed form, so always look for those.

You can ask for a Metanx prescription. My study doctor prescribed it for me two months ago (I already have neuropathy) and it has helped me better than otc B12. So much so that I haven't had the burning knives sensation since being on it. MA Bound, you always have such clear and helpful suggestions and experience. I always learn so much reading your posts.

Someone told me that hair might come in white at first because the hair starts growing before the pigment "wakes up."