This is a strange question

mrsbotch
mrsbotch Member Posts: 349
edited March 2014 in Esophageal Cancer #1
My husband was never a big man but since being on chemo he looks so shrunken. He has lost all his hair, facial and head, plus the beard. He is exausted and no energy at all.
he will start his 4th treatment of cisplatin, 5Fu and taxotere on Monday. I know these are rough chemos but his appearance has changed so much. Will it get better after treatment.He looks so sick att times. I know he is as he has cancer but it really is noticible and very scary to me.

Thank you

barb

Comments

  • dlrepic
    dlrepic Member Posts: 62
    #2
    Hi, My husband had
    Hi, My husband had testicular cancer and he was 5'10" 160 lb when he started chemo and got down to ~90 lbs by the time he finished his 6 months of chemo. IHe too lost all is hair, energy and gained neuropathy in hands and feet, and chemo fog (memory issues) - it has been 6 years and he has gained his weight back, his hair has grown back in , but he still has problems with memory, neuropathy and fatigue, but over all he's doing great. I'm on the EC site because my father is going through treatment now.

    Hope this helps with your quaestions
    Danielle
  • mrsbotch
    mrsbotch Member Posts: 349
    #3
    dlrepic said:

    Hi, My husband had
    Hi, My husband had testicular cancer and he was 5'10" 160 lb when he started chemo and got down to ~90 lbs by the time he finished his 6 months of chemo. IHe too lost all is hair, energy and gained neuropathy in hands and feet, and chemo fog (memory issues) - it has been 6 years and he has gained his weight back, his hair has grown back in , but he still has problems with memory, neuropathy and fatigue, but over all he's doing great. I'm on the EC site because my father is going through treatment now.

    Hope this helps with your quaestions
    Danielle

    Thank you
    I appreciate your answer. It just so worries me. I keep thinking he should look better. I'm hoping its the chemo and not the cancer making him look so different. Thank you
  • rmitchell
    rmitchell Member Posts: 94
    #4
    Chemo
    My husband had 6 chemo treatments and 28 radiation prior to his surgery this past Friday.
    When he was going through treatment, he lost about 40 pounds and got very dehydrated twice.
    4 weeks after treatment he had gained back about 20 pounds and was looking much better. He lost most of his hair, but not all of it. He is doing well. Still in the hospital but surgery was a success. Radiation and Chemo got rid of all the cancer. We are praising God at this time. It will be a slow recovery, but he will get better.
    Reba
  • sandy1943
    sandy1943 Member Posts: 824
    #5
    Hi Barb, I remember looking
    Hi Barb, I remember looking so bad, even though everyone said I didn't, I had a mirror. I lost my hair twice. It really never bothered me, I just went a little nuts on buying hats and scarves--most I never wore. My eyebrows thinned but my eyelashes came out.Its been two years since treatment and I've just got the eyelashes back. They are thin and straight, but I have enough to add some color to. I don't look the same as before. All my weight loss caused me to have a lot of wrinkled skin. People that haven't seen me don't recognize me, until I identify myself. But praise the Lord I'm healthy and look healthy today and that's what counts.
    Sandra
  • paul61
    paul61 Member Posts: 1,392 Member
    #6
    I looked like an escape from a concentration camp
    Barb,

    I am 62 and 5' 5" tall. Prior to surgery for EC I weighed 150 lbs. After surgery I weighed 140 lbs, by the time I finished 6 rounds of chemo I weighed 119 lbs. I lost my hair on my head and various other places. I didn't even need to shave any more. My skin was dry and pasty and my eyes looked sunken to me. Of course my wife and friends all said "you don't look so bad", but I own a mirror. I got to the point where I did not want to look in the mirror because it just reminded me of how sick I was. For the last three rounds of chemo I was mildly nauseas and exhausted almost all the time.

    I have now been done with chemo for 5 months and all my hair grew back, I walk 4 miles a day for exercise and play golf regularly. And everywhere I go people I know say, "Wow you look great!!!" (Which gives you some idea how bad I looked before when they were saying "You don't look so bad")

    So I guess my message is, chemo has lots of negative effects on our bodies while we are in treatment but most of the effects seem to go away with time.

    Best Regards,

    Paul Adams
    McCormick, South Carolina

    DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
    12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
    2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
    6/21/2010 CT Scan NED

    Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!
  • linda1120
    linda1120 Member Posts: 389
    #7
    shrunken look
    Hi Barb, When I read your post, I so connected with what you said. Jim is now about a month out of chemotherapy and radiation and while going through it he looked shrunken, lost most of his hair, lost weight and he looked so fragile. He was fragile and dehydrated and ended up in the hospital for eleven days. I truly thought we were going to lose him. I am seeing him come back, energy, looks, and slowly hair. He lost part of his mustache and eyebrows, and lost his eyelashes. I have to pinch myself every now and then knowing he still has cancer and has to go through a MIE in January once the doctors agree on how to proceed with his heart issues. It does get better, and he will look better and be more himself. The chemo and radiation almost kill you to save you. When I had ovarian cancer and went through chemo I lost all of my hair and lost weight. I was overweight at the time so I didn't look so bad, but I was very very sick. Chemo is very hard on the body and mind. I hope our experiences helped you to know it will get better.

    God Bless,

    Linda
  • sal314
    sal314 Member Posts: 599 Member
    #8
    Barb, I Can Relate
    My father, who was a strong, active and healthy 69 year old man, looked like an old, hunched over, sick man of 80 during the beginning of his treatment. He's still going through chemo (had to change a couple of times because of side effects), but has gained back weight and looks much better!

    The thing that bothered me and my mom the most was the fact that he looked so hunched over. He never looked like THAT! It was disturbing to both of us. We think it's because he lost so much muscle mass and strength. Since he's gained his weight and a little muscle back, he looks almost like his old self.

    So...just know it's temporary. I know it's kind of shocking the the psyche. You just have to keep reminding yourself it's the drugs doing that to him.

    Blessings,

    Sally
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #9
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • mrsbotch
    mrsbotch Member Posts: 349
    #10
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    You are great
    I want to thank all of you for your feedback. It sure helped me alot. I read all the posts to Vince so I hope it helped. He starts his 4th round on Monday . he has to get fluid drained from his abdomen on Tuesday as his stomach is extended. I pray it is jsut fluid, no cancer as he does have cancer in the pleural fluid. This has been a nightmare for us. We love his onc but the other day he said if after 3 more treatments if they don't work they would call hospice, I know Sherri Jim has hospice but before calling them you guys ran the gamet of treatments.
    I have sent all the new records up to UPMC and Dr. Luketich. Have heard back once but not again since the last PET scan last week. Will let you all know.

    Have a Blessed Christmas


    Barb

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