Hi

Hey Lucy. Well done on completing week one.

 Cold bland foods with no smell tend to be better as the smell makes you more nauseous.  Dry toast with peanut butter was my go to food.    Are your having radiotherapy as well?  If so, I would certainly say you would be unlit to carry on working, I had the same plan but sadly the radiation does make you so tired and the soreness meant it was extremely uncomfortable to be able to sit and concentrate.  But having said that everyone is different so just take each day at a time.  
good luck and keep in touch as everyone will be on hand with tips along the way for you xx

Hi LucyB04,

Firstly welcome to the Macmillan online community although I’m really sorry that you find yourself here. 

Secondly I hope you don’t mind me asking but whereabouts are you from? I only ask as here in the UK the majority of hospitals deliver the chemo side of treatment in oral form except for a short infusion on day one. The delivery of the chemo in weeks 1 & 5 via PICC line is commonplace in other countries I know though including the US. We do have a couple of members on here from the US that if I recall correctly had their chemo delivered the same way as yours do hopefully someone will spot your post & be able to advise on you side effects. 

Regarding diet I was advised before I began my treatment that if I started experiencing diarrhoea to go onto a ‘white’ diet, white potatoes, chicken, fish, rice, white bread etc., basically foods that are really low in fibre & try eating little & often rather than bigger meals. If a low fibre diet doesn’t help then ask your treating team for some loperamide although with the medication it can be a bit of a juggling act between going too often & struggling to go at all. 

If you’re working from home I would just carry on as long as you feel fit. As Matilda24 has said the fatigue can get the better of you towards the end of treatment & if you have a second round of chemo to do in your last week you may not feel up to doing much then but I would certainly carry on as long as you feel ok it will keep a little bit of normality going at a time that is anything but! 

Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any more questions, we’re all here to help wherever we can. 

Nicola

Hi LucyB04 and welcome to the group. To help with diarrhoea I was prescribed Loperamide which really helped. I also ate bland foods chicken, rice that sort of thing, I couldn’t eat fruit or much veg that made things worse. I would mention the hallucinating to your treating team, I’ve not heard of that before unless it was due to any pain medication you were on. See how you go with work but don’t push yourself you need all your energy for treatment and recovery. Please come back on with any other queries or concerns. Bev. 

Thanks for replying Matilda I've got so much buzzing around my head at the mo. I have been careful in what i'm eating but will def try the peanut butter and toast. I'm with seeing my consultant tomorrow so will tell him about the hallucinating. . I have 28 Radio's in all so know there is far worse to come. Have you finished you're treatment now? xx

Hi Nicola, I'm from Essex in the UK . I've been reading some of your responses and you seem like an expert. I'm presuming you have finished your treatment just wondering how life is for you now is there a feeling of normality at the end of all this? Quite scary in what the radiation does to our woman bits and the thought of what's to come scares the life out of me!! I'm using a cream like it's going out of fashion. Also i'm thinking how the heck do you get on the radiotherapy bed when your all sore and in pain, really not looking forward to that. Girls are brilliant at what they do but they do seem to leave you to it . I find it a struggle now getting into position and getting off the bed? Sorry for all the questions but I just would like to prepare myself.

Thanks Bev will ask my consultant tomorrow about the Loperamide, not had to take any pain killers as of yet but still early days. Thanks to you all for being here it really does help xx

LucyB04   It’s all a bit surreal & scary, isn’t it.  Your question about getting on & off the radio bed is a good one!   As a stretcher patient it was awkward & painful but there were always 2 people ready to hold me though I was too stubborn to accept help.

If you look carefully at the bed, you’ll see nooks & crannies to hold on to or put a foot on to step up.  It’s that last bit getting on & the first bit getting off which takes a deep breath & some courage.

As for a return to normality, no one can tell you as it varies so much from person to person.  There’s a high success rate for blasting the tumour out of existence! but it takes several months for the treatment to do its job.

If you feel the pain is too much, I’ve had good experiences with my palliative care team who’ll try whatever drugs they have.  Your GP can refer you to your community team - they are a fantastic resource who can offer all sorts of help.

Please keep coming back with your Qs!  x toni

Hi again LucyB04, 

I’m 3 years post treatment now & yes pretty much back to normal aside from the odd painful bowel movement! For me the long lasting side effects from treatment are both anal & vaginal stenosis but that’s it, the anal stenosis i combat with taking stool softeners to keep everything on the softer side. Don’t be afraid to tell your radiotherapy team if you’re struggling with the bed Orr anything else for that matter I’m sure they’ll be only too happy to help you on & off, the girls that were with me throughout were great like that. You’re doing the right thing by putting on lashings of cream between treatments this is exactly what I did & although very sore my skin held up pretty well. Don’t ever worry about asking too many questions we’ve all been there. 

Nicola 

Thank you all ..I'm so pleased I plucked up the courage to come on here. I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions along the way. xx

Hi LucyB04 I just wanted to say that one of the ladies at my hospital requested a stool which had a handle bar. I know this as I went in after her and they still had it at the side of the bed. You could see if yours hospital has the same which I am sure they do. I have asked for a blanket for my top half as I found the machine very cold and I was shivering making my body vibrate. The staff are usually very accommodating. I also remember being very scared about how I would cope and thinking what if I mess myself etc but that hasn’t happened and I am in my fifth week. We do think the worst but my nurse said we will deal with things as and when they happen. The nurses are great!