Hi all
Just to let you know my story so far.
I had the bottom left of my lung taken away (lobectomy a squamous carcinoma) apparently in the lining of the lung 9cm big. The op nearly 5 weeks ago now went well they took out thee lymph nodes to be safe. I start my chemo (Cisplatin &vinorelbine) 2nd September 08 don’t know what to expect side effect wise so that worries me.
After the op I felt like I had been kicked around a football field, I feel a lot better now but still sore (thank god or science for pain killers) I’ve had my slippers on for over a month and am board silly but it is better than being dead, as I was told by the consultant it could have burst at any time and take me with it (I always thought they were solid like fat ) anyway I nick named it my evil twin and Its now in a jar somewhere I was only diagnosed in June 08 so its all been a rollercoaster ride with more to come me thinks.
No one has told me if I am clear yet all they say is that they took out all visible signs of the cancer and the chemo is to mop up any seeding.
(That worries me the word seeding). And I should still be here in five years. Is this just part of the jargon?
FormerMember
Interesting to hear your story as I too did not realise that they can burst. It's been breakneck speed on the roller coaster since diagnosis, but at least they are actualy dealing with it asap.
I had Cisplatin in the lead-up to Xmas 2006 - although please remember that I was having radiotherapy at the same time, so my side-effects were more intense. The main ones I suffered with Cisplatin was nausea (starting from a few hours after I left the hospital), and also chronic fatigue. I would say try not to give in totally to that or your muscles kind of start to atrophy.
I suppose you already know that Cisplatin takes a long time to deliver (mine was about 7-8 hours). It puts kidneys at risk, so to avoid that, several hours of plain drips are put through both before and after the Cisplatin. Also they ask you to drink plenty of fluids (sorry, not beer LOL), and also pee into a bottle and add some powder to turn it to jelly so that the staff can measure it - make sure your kidneys are functioning. I had two anti-sickness drugs - Ondansetron is injected into the cannula just before the Cisplatin, and has a peculiar sensation as if having sat on a nettle if it is injected too fast. I also had Metoclopramide in tablet form. The usual tips and hints about having (fresh?) pineapple to suck, ginger or ginger biscuits to nibble on might hold good. I felt very faddy with the Cisplatin too, and found it hard to eat a good balanced diet.
Anyway, I want to wish you the very best wishes for your chemo, and please keep us advised as to what it happening. Take care! xxx Penny
