Very First Chemo treatment

I was, too
First of all almost 99% of the people on here will tell you that it's no where near as bad as you're expecting it to be. You mind plays mean tricks on you with this beast.
Also keep in mind that they have medicine for EVERYTHING nowadays! If you get sick they have all kinds of meds for you to use. I will say that it was no ball game, but just get yourself prepared. Drink lots of water starting NOW if you haven't already started. Drink it tomorrow, before, chew ice chips during, and drink water after, too. Have some foods that make you feel good ready for tomorrow's dinner. Chicken soup, tea, ect. Crackers, yogurt, cottage cheese, bananas and apples were some of the things I could tolerate for the two days that you feel like you have flu symptoms. Keep in mind it WILL end!!! I promise!!! and you will be back to normal in just a few days. So many women on here have gone through it with almost NO side effects! Maybe you'll be lucky.

What treatments are you taking?

It is not as scary as you
It is not as scary as you might think. dont know what you are getting. for me they drew labs, put in the IV gave me the premeds, infused cytoxin over an hour and pushed the adriamycin. I didnt feel weird or anything. more energy later from the decadron they gave me. Mama g says to eat ice chips during as it helps with mouth sores. and to drink drink drink.I mostly listened to my ipod to tune the place out, and slept.

Don't Be Scared!
Not knowing if you have a port or not, I can't be too specific. I didn't have a port (I'm the kind of person who can get an infection from a hangnail!), so it was pokey in the arm time. No big deal. Mostly it was just a poke, then sitting there for a couple of hours. The drugs hang on IV poles, so if I had to go to the bathroom, I could.

I always felt fine until like the third day after chemo. What really caused me great discomfort was the Neulasta shots, they made my bones hurt like mad. But, those shots allowed me to continue college and most importantly, hang out with my grandkids, who are walking petri dishes.

If you're scared, take someone with you. If that's not an option, tell your nurse you're scared, they are wonderful at calming people down. During my chemos, I was able to knit, write a few term papers, read, gossip a bit, listen to a lot of music on my iPod, and even took a nap once.

You cannot drink enough water! It helps plump up your veins, so if you're lucky, they'll only have to stick you once.

It's ok to be scared, but it's not really that bad. If all else fails, close your eyes, picture yourself someplace where you've always felt safe. For me, that was my grandparents' farm. I got a lot hay baled while doing chemo!

(And just to prove that I'm not as brave as I portray, I always cried on chemo day, either on the way to or the way home from chemo....which is why I wouldn't let DH go with me. If I was crying on the way home, I'd call my son who lives 4,000 miles away and cry and swear and just VENT like a volcano. If I was crying on the way to chemo, I just turned the music up louder. I think I cried because I knew I was going to get awful medicine in my body, but that I needed that medicine to stay alive....so it was the lesser of two evils.)

bluwillo said:

Don't Be Scared!
Not knowing if you have a port or not, I can't be too specific. I didn't have a port (I'm the kind of person who can get an infection from a hangnail!), so it was pokey in the arm time. No big deal. Mostly it was just a poke, then sitting there for a couple of hours. The drugs hang on IV poles, so if I had to go to the bathroom, I could.

I always felt fine until like the third day after chemo. What really caused me great discomfort was the Neulasta shots, they made my bones hurt like mad. But, those shots allowed me to continue college and most importantly, hang out with my grandkids, who are walking petri dishes.

If you're scared, take someone with you. If that's not an option, tell your nurse you're scared, they are wonderful at calming people down. During my chemos, I was able to knit, write a few term papers, read, gossip a bit, listen to a lot of music on my iPod, and even took a nap once.

You cannot drink enough water! It helps plump up your veins, so if you're lucky, they'll only have to stick you once.

It's ok to be scared, but it's not really that bad. If all else fails, close your eyes, picture yourself someplace where you've always felt safe. For me, that was my grandparents' farm. I got a lot hay baled while doing chemo!

(And just to prove that I'm not as brave as I portray, I always cried on chemo day, either on the way to or the way home from chemo....which is why I wouldn't let DH go with me. If I was crying on the way home, I'd call my son who lives 4,000 miles away and cry and swear and just VENT like a volcano. If I was crying on the way to chemo, I just turned the music up louder. I think I cried because I knew I was going to get awful medicine in my body, but that I needed that medicine to stay alive....so it was the lesser of two evils.)

OH, important tip to avoid mouth sores
take one quart of water, add 1 teaspoon of salt and baking soda, mix well. Put it all in a pretty jar and keep in the bathroom. Every time you visit the bathroom, rinse your mouth out well with this concoction. I did this for a week after each chemo, except I forgot to do it once after chemo and got mouth sores and such a sore throat!!! I never forgot it again!

bluwillo said:

OH, important tip to avoid mouth sores
take one quart of water, add 1 teaspoon of salt and baking soda, mix well. Put it all in a pretty jar and keep in the bathroom. Every time you visit the bathroom, rinse your mouth out well with this concoction. I did this for a week after each chemo, except I forgot to do it once after chemo and got mouth sores and such a sore throat!!! I never forgot it again!

ativan is an anti anxiety.
ativan is an anti anxiety. they can give it to you in the hospital sometimes they ask if you want it. No I went kicking and screaming into chemo.you are very normal would anybody ASK for this? but you can do it!!!!! Look forward to your posts on how well you are doing!

It's not as bad as you think. . .
I went through 6 sessions of taxotere and cytoxan without any major problems . . . much to my surprise! Like most people I heard "chemo" and started to freak. I didn't have a port then, just an iv in the small veins, and it was very doable. I would bring water, my ipod and a good book and would read, nap, and listen to my favorite music.

I start new chemo this Thursday - although I will have to have a port this time. Still plan to drink a lot of water, got some new tunes in the ipod and the library called me to say a couple of books I had on reserve are in.

I was able to work all through my chemo experience (missed a couple of days here and there, but nothing major).

I am hoping this time around is just as much of a "breeze"

Don't be scared, it will be just fine. . . and remember, we are all rooting for you!

Mama G said:

I was, too
First of all almost 99% of the people on here will tell you that it's no where near as bad as you're expecting it to be. You mind plays mean tricks on you with this beast.
Also keep in mind that they have medicine for EVERYTHING nowadays! If you get sick they have all kinds of meds for you to use. I will say that it was no ball game, but just get yourself prepared. Drink lots of water starting NOW if you haven't already started. Drink it tomorrow, before, chew ice chips during, and drink water after, too. Have some foods that make you feel good ready for tomorrow's dinner. Chicken soup, tea, ect. Crackers, yogurt, cottage cheese, bananas and apples were some of the things I could tolerate for the two days that you feel like you have flu symptoms. Keep in mind it WILL end!!! I promise!!! and you will be back to normal in just a few days. So many women on here have gone through it with almost NO side effects! Maybe you'll be lucky.

What treatments are you taking?

I didn't have chemo, but,
I didn't have chemo, but, want to wish you good luck and send you a big hug!


Hugs, Leeza

fino11298 said:

what is ativan?
Thanks for all the info. I will start drinking tonight. My friend is taking me tomorrow. I think she may have to drag me out the door. So I'm really NOT the only one in the world feeling this way??

First chemo
How did it go? My first is next Monday and I am nervous. How do you feel now? God bless.

Gingerbread boy
When the kids were little, I remember reading the book "The Gingerbread boy" and he used to always run away saying "catch me if you can!". I used to think of that a lot during my whole cancer ordeal...especially all the scary treatments, procedures & surgeries. I would tell my sister that I just wanted to be the Gingerbread boy and run away so no one would catch me. I guess that thought gave me a little comedy in the midst of all that was going on.

My first chemo session went without a hitch. Just remember, the treatments are cumulative so you might feel more tired as you have more rounds. Even though food isn't too tastey during this time, try and eat healthy and drink LOTS of water. And as was mentioned, there are lots of things that you can take to help with side effects.

A good buddy or relative is key. My sister was the queen of snacks (as we'd be there for hours) and she would bring in a rolling pack of goodies and water. The staff loved her. We'd munch, laugh, talk and she'd read or chat with others while I snoozed.

Also, cling on to the comfort of God's Word. It was hard for me to pray sometimes but I was blessed with people who prayed over me and gave me scripture to remember. It gave me strength. Remember Psalm 32:7 "For you are my hiding place, you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of VICTORY".

Blessings and peace to you,

sea60

fino11298 said:

It was scary, but managable
Having the friend I did with me for the first treatment was a God sent. She took such good care of me. It lasted longer than expected because they forgot to give me the anti nausea medicine beforehand. Just felt a little drained after. I think more because of the emotional state I was in. Day number 4, a little quizzy at times, a little tired. No affect from the Neulasta. Walking everyday, drinking lots of liguids. If I can do this.. you can to. Lots of luck. Talk, talk and talk about what you are feeling. You will find the right person to help you through this.

Glad that you got thru your
Glad that you got thru your chemo fino. Praying that you continue with no side effects.