Need a few tips from yall......mom's having 1st chemo treatment

She will be fine!
Hey Marc... for starters, let me say that if your Mom has her humour back and considering she has you in her court (and I'm assuming the rest of her family), then she is going to be just fine

Whenever one thinks of starting chemo, the absolute worst horror stories come to mind and I think that is totally normal. All us humans relate chemo = horror. But guess what? Modern medicine and science has come such a long way with chemo treatments and how to battle potential side affects... so it's not as bad as our imagination take us

Remind your mother, over and over again, if necessary... Chemo Treatments are basically just very strong medications. Just like some people can react to Tylenol or Aspirin and don't think twice about telling their doctors so that the reactions can be fixed, controlled or change to different meds, you sort of have to think of chemo as the same. IF someone has a reaction to chemo, then tell her doctor... every little reaction! If it's uncomfortable (nausea, pain, swelling, headaches, muscle aches, etc), then there are medications to clear up the side affects. No one should have to suffer while on chemo. Oh sure, there are some things that just happen (in my case, my arthritis was aggravated), but then one just deals with the situations as they come up (arthritis is a nasty one because there really is very little that can be done to ease it).

Now... in answer to your questions:

1) Clothes-wise... comfort! Go for the casual comfortable clothes. One does not have to make a fashion statement... comfort is more important. So what sorts of clothes does she feel comfortable in? Sweats, casual skirts, loose tops, are all great. If she is getting a portacath put in her chest, then tops that are easy to open so the nurse has access to it. Button down shirts or again, sweat shirts are great.

A heating pad! If she does get aches and pains, a good, old fashioned heating pad is so comfortable! Or a hot water bottle for her feet.

2) Comfort food!! Of course, this will be up to her own personal tastes... everyone has different favourite comfort foods. BUT, if one can make a couple of quick to heat meals such as casseroles, shepherd's pie, lasagna, pizza, or whatever it is she likes if she is feeling tired... make them in individual meal servings and throw them in the freezer. That way, she can pop on in a microwave or the oven without having to think about what to make. Also, if you make a nice big bowl of salad on the 1st day of chemo and keep that in the fridge. It will be fresh for a couple of days and she can grab some salad and throw it on a plate to go along with one of the individual meals that needs heating... and voila, instant full meal

3) What to expect after the first treatment? Shock ... that she doesn't feel any different than she did before she had the treatment For most people, it usually takes a couple of treatments for anything really noticeable to happen because chemo is accumulative. Some people sail through all their treatments with little or no side affects. Others will notice the fatigue or some nausea right away. But remember... the nausea or headaches can be fixed with medications... tell her NOT to be a martyr, but to mention anything she might be feeling to her oncologist who can make sure she has more or less of a particular medication. Fatigue... if she gets that then there's not too much you can do about it other than to rest. Take naps when needed and don't try to fight it... that's just one of the things about chemo or radiation... the fatigue. If she starts worrying that she is now going to be exhausted for the rest of her life, remind her this is just a side affect with the chemo and once the chemo is over the fatigue will go away as well.

Also, keep in mind that the first week of every treatment will be when she notices any side affects, if she gets any. The second week, she will be feeling back to her usual chipper self. And when you read all the potential side affects a chemo can cause, remember that no one gets ALL of them... just some of them, so one doesn't have to freak out that they are going to get every single one of them

I'm assuming she is going to be given Oxipilatin... that's the one none of us like because of the tingling and neuropathy (numbness) it can cause in the fingers, hands and feet. Also, she can not drink ANYTHING cold or touch anything cold while on that one. She will learn very quickly that there's no negotiation there... cold is cold and the Oxi causes an incredible sensitivity to cold. But, this too shall pass... and only time will tell if she can complete the whole 12 sessions of Oxi or if they have to stop those ones early. A lot of us just couldn't do the full 12 sessions.

She'll be fine.... and just be there for support

Hugggggs,

Cheryl