I MUST MAKE A DECISION BY TOMORROW

Oh sweetheart, take a deep deep breath. Everyone reacts differently to chemo and some of the side effects you don't get and some are not so bad. I was really scared about the chemo before i had it and it wasn't so bad once I started. Of course its not nice, but this is a brutal disease and it needs kicking good and hard.

I had 5 Fu and mitomycin. The 5FU isn't too bad I don't think. My hair thinned by about half, but no one else really noticed apart from me. I felt a bit nauseus but they give you anti sickness tablets for that. My mouth got sore the first round and I had mouth washes and gels to help it but it only really happened first time. I had RT at the same time and that caused more side effects etc, so its hard to say what was what and which chemo caused what problems... but it passes and you get over it and i am out the other side going back to work etc now.

I could drive and I did go to a few meetings on the first dose (but I was having 6 weeks of daily RT too so couldn't work beacuse of that. the driving was fine from the chemo, it was the RT that stopped me driving cos I couldn't sit down!)

The oxy one has more side effects i think, so I can't comment on that, but I can say that I know lots of people who have bowel cancer (mine is anal, a bit different) who have had the chemo and are out the other side and ok. Side effects can be scary but not everyone gets all of them.

If you don't get many specific replies over here, try posting this in the bowel cancer group, not all of them read blogs.

Good luck with your decision and there is a point to life, I promise you.

Big hug to you

Little My x

Hi Jody - sorry to hear you've got so much to deal with, and a decision to make so soon.  Chemo drugs do come with a long list of possible side effects - but people almost never get all of them, and they can be more or less severe when one does suffer them.  This doesn't mean that these are nice drugs to take - but try not to assume that everything that can go wrong will go wrong.  If you call the nurses on this site tomorrow - 0808 808 00 00 - you might find it helpful to talk through your decision?

It's worth remembering that - if you consent to start chemo - you're not committing to go through the complete course.  If you find the side effects intolerable - most people don't, and hopefully you won't, but if you do... - you can choose to stop treatment part-way through or to reduce the doses given.  If hair loss is your major concern, would it be helpful to speak to some women who have lost their hair with chemo?  And maybe look what the options are with wigs and scarves?  Though worth remembering that not everyone loses their hair with every chemo.

As far as alternative medicine, Cancer Research have some good info http://cancerhelp.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/complementary-alternative/  Things like relaxation exercises, yoga or massage can be helpful in dealing with the stress etc. that comes with cancer and chemo.  Doing exercise when you can is something that can help reduce fatigue and keep you healthier.  However, unfortunately there's no reason to think that any alternative therapies will cure cancer or be an effective alternative to chemo.

Hi ,

My mum had oxa and cap for bowel cancer. Six one year and six the next. Just a little thinning of the hair , nothing that was not managable.

The cold sensitivity she handled by wearing cotton gloves and slightly heating drinks. The second year the oxa was reduced by 25% and most of the side effects reduced as well.

Wishing you all the very best,

Court