First Day

Denise1966
Denise1966 Member Posts: 90
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Well finally my first day of radiation and chemo. The radiation was pretty easy and quick, they gave me 3 doses from 3 different angles and I counted to 10 on each angle and then it was over. I sure hope it goes this easy for the rest of the time, would be nice!!!! Then off to get my pump put on. That too, was uneventful. I guess I was expecting all sorts of bad crazy things to happen and they didn't. Hurray!!!! The nurse told me that I'm getting about 1/5 of a teaspoon of chemo every hour, not sure what that means, but it doesn't sound like alot. My bag says 1250g and 20,000g heparin. Is this normal? Is it a low dose, average or high? I feel pretty normal right now and hope this lasts. I can handle it at this rate, other than the fanny pack (which just is not my style!) I guess I can deal with that for the next 5 weeks.
Here's to hoping this tumor shrinks from its 4cm size to nothing!

Comments

  • Starleen
    Starleen Member Posts: 40 Member
    #2
    I felt the same way!! Exactly! "Hey, I can do this!"

    You're going to be ok. Doesn't it feel better with a plan?

    The 5FU chemo you are taking may not feel like anything at all. What I want to warn you about is the radiation. Towards the end, you may feel pretty bad. Tired. Worst of all will be the pain once your butt acknowledges the radiation. To be blunt, pooping hurts a lot, and you'll see some pretty alarming things coming out of you. That means it's working! You're gonna poop icky chunks of burned out tumor. Make sure they're giving you plenty of pain meds, and you'll be able to handle it. OxyContin and Vicodin (for breakthrough pain) work pretty good, plus Domeboro soaks and lots of Rad-X cream to help your skin. I freaked out at all the drugs, but believe me, they help. Your cancer team want to keep you comfy and positive.

    And here's an awesome kicker...the radiation might make you go into menopause. Great! Then when you're done, you'll regain your girly abilities only to go through menopause again for real when the time comes!

    My tumor was 6cm. I'm NED after chemo/radiation, surgery, and more chemo.

    The fanny pack they give you is hideous. If you sew, sew your own mini-messenger bag, or look on Etsy for a hand made one. If you're using the same pack as me, the dimensions are 4 x 9. The pack was a major thing for me. It just screams "I'm sick!" and I can't have that. It doesn't sound like you can, either.

    Denise, I hope you'll keep writing. Feel free to write me if you ever want to talk.
  • pamness
    pamness Member Posts: 524 Member
    #3
    Hey Denise - glad your first day went so well, the radiation doesn't change. It only takes a few minutes. The 5FU isn't too bad. Did they give you some anti nausea meds in case you need them? You might not. I had to take some mild ones during rads/chemo - mostly compazine and attivan only once or twice zolfran. The stuff will make you tired. I didn't have much trouble with pain - when, and if, you get diarrhea use the baby wipes - so you don't get too sore and ask for other medication if you need it. I didn't need pain meds for it. The pouch wasn't my style, I am a huge handbag fanatic, but, it worked. I just worked with it.
    I know it is different for everyone, I had a great nurse practitioner during radiation and really liked my radiologist - that helps. If you have any questions, please ask. Let us know how it is going. Would love to add you to my friends list but I think you have to create a personal page. I am a little confused.

    All the best, Pam
    All the best. Everything sounds normal, they will adjust things if need be.



    Pam
  • tkd3g
    tkd3g Member Posts: 767
    #4
    Hi Denise,

    I just wanted to give you my experience with 5FU. And remember, everyone is different. Some have a tough time of it, and others breeze right thru.

    I didn't have too bad a time with the radiation and chemo. 28 radiation treatments with the fanny pack of 5FU the whole time.

    The radiation treatments stay the same. What may change is your reaction to it. For me, I didn't have any "burns". What happened was that I got hit with the diarreha. It got pretty bad towards the end. It was a combination of the chemo and rads. Stock up on Immodium. Talk to your docs ahead of time on the max. doses you can have. ( it is usually much more than the package recommends ) The side effects that Starleen mentioned - I didn't have at all. I want you remember that we all react differently, so don't assume you are going to be in terrible horrible pain. Not that it's a walk in the park, but you can do it. I didn't need any pain meds. Not that I'm a hero, I just didn't have any pain.

    The thing I did remember ( and I am coming up on 4 years out ), is the fatigue. Rest when you are tired. I found that I was awake at very strange hours of the night. ( hey Kanga, remember some of my e-mails at 3am? :) )

    As for the menopause; yup. Instant. Night sweats, flashes, the works. Still have it. And it is the real thing. ( for me at least). I was finished with my girly stuff, but still too young for menopause. Still waiting on the benefits of that one :)

    Oh, and if the diarreha does hit you, use lots of A&D ointment or other petroleum based ointment.It works wonders.

    So that's it. Drink lots of water. Then drink some more. Rest. Get some soft toilet tissue and some magazines. My bathroom was "my room" for quite some time. I got one of those hand held video games. Tetris. One or two games and I was good to go. :) Sorry, I couldn't resist.

    Best of luck to you. You do great. This board is fantastic. I haven't been here in a long time, but the support continues to be a life saver.

    Barb ( stage 3 rectal CA. NED 3 years and 10 months )
  • dn220
    dn220 Member Posts: 79 Member
    #5
    I dont know exactly where your radiation is but mine was for rectal cancer. I did pretty well for most of it, just very tired, some nausea but towards the end it started to burn my bladder, very,very painful at that point, they almost stopped but I only had 7 more to go so I told them to finish but they did give me a 3 day break. Starleen told you correctly about the pooping and all, that scared me at first. Be sure and take stuff for diarrhea if you need it and don't make the same mistake I made, I had lots of stools but I didnt consider them diarrhea so I didn't take anything andit got VERY bad, the doc told me in a very short tone, take the meds for frequent stools too. I go in for my port on the 18th. Course they gave me the normal warnings but when he said about the chance of a lung puncture, he said we're gonna try not to do tha again. They did that in hospital and I ended up with the chest tube for 3 days and on a ventilator. Then I start my chemo the 22nd so we'll both be getting chemo at the same time about. Hang in there, we'll all beat this monster.
    Hugs to all,
    Deb
  • Hanac
    Hanac Member Posts: 55
    #6
    Hey Denise,

    The first day is really scary...yet exciting at the same time... You are going into battle with the beast...and you are going to win!

    I hated the fanny pack too...yet it used to make me laugh...here I was at the grocery store going about my business , chatting with friends...and doing Chemo! I called it my stealth chemo...If people only knew!

    You will get through this!

    Love ya,

    Hana (stage 3 05/09/05)
  • LOUSWIFT
    LOUSWIFT Member Posts: 371 Member
    #7
    Hi Denise
    Your one day closer to NED and tomorrow even closer.
  • Denise1966
    Denise1966 Member Posts: 90
    #8
    LOUSWIFT said:

    Hi Denise
    Your one day closer to NED and tomorrow even closer.

    Good morning all!
    Thanks for all the responses on your experiences. I'm on to day 2, which brings me one day closer to getting rid of the pac-man(I named my tumor this because I figured he's now chomping down on the chemo). Sleeping for the first time with the fanny pack was pretty awkward, but I think I figured it out by the time I had to wake up.
    I hope everyone has a great day!
  • renee2u
    renee2u Member Posts: 27
    #9
    I realize that not everyone reacts the same way but here's my story..

    I had 30 radiation session along with 2 rounds of Mitomycin and 2 rounds of 96 Hour 5FU... The radiation gave me 3rd degree burns on my behind... and the diarrhea from the chemo was horrid....

    Please do not bypass sitz bathes... do them 2 or 3 times a day and start NOW... don't wait until the burn arises... keep "THAT" area sitz bathed up... I used Aquaphor... as a skin ointment... it was the best stuff ever. A nurse told me about it and then the Oncologist recommended it too! She also told me about green tea baby wipes... I buy them in bulk now and keep a container in all our bathrooms and a ziplok baggie of them in my purse... We also would buy 2 bottles of Immodium at a time to help keep down the diarrhea. ALSO... important... gargle gargle... PLEASE... yeast-thrush infection in the mouth-throat area landed me in the hospital. I was on TPN (no food by mouth) for 5 days and then another 2 days for them to just watch me because I couldn't swallow because of the yeast infection... I lost 20lbs... I was one sick puppy! The nurse had me start gargling with a baking soda-salt mixture and that kept the problem down... but it was hind sight... not foresight... BLAH!!

    Good luck!
  • kristasplace
    kristasplace Member Posts: 957 Member
    #10
    Hi Denise! Congrats on getting through your first few days. Reading all the comments on here, it's strange how some of us react so differently and some of us react exactly the same to the same treatment. Renee got 3rd degree rad burns, but i got burns from the 5FU reacting with the sun. Mine weren't that bad, and cleared up afterwards with the help of raw coconut butter. That was the only reaction i had to the 5FU. All of my other problems arose from the radiation. I got bladder burns, radiation cystitis which caused a blockage and i had to be catheterized immediately. We live half an hour away from the hospital, so it was an agonizing night. I still have painful/difficult/leaky urination as a result. I would just be very mindful of whether or not you're peeing enough, and go to the ER if you feel like you need to go, but can't. Like everyone else, the radiation also made me very tired. Also, my doc told me not to take any antioxidants because they would fight the radiation. I did exactly as i was told, and by the time i had my surgery (twelve weeks after chemoradiation), my tumor was still there and causing me blockage, but it was completely dead! Margins were clear, and only four of the fourteen nodes they took had cancer. I had been convinced that the treatment hadn't worked, but it worked something wonderful!

    I suspect your next step will be surgery? Are you going to have an ostomy? They told me i wasn't going to need one, then five days before surgery they let me know i would be getting an ileostomy. That wasn't a pleasant surprise!

    Keep us informed on your progress!
    Many hugs,
    Krista

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