Haven’t started treatment yet

Hi LaLaJ Welcome to the club although im sorry you have found yourself here. Other than plenty of moisturiser my essentials were water wipes and men's baggy boxers. I had all my chemo via a picc line and I bought a limbo sleeve for showering it was brilliant kept the tube etc all nice and dry and also accommodated my chemo pump when that was attached. The side affects build gradually they don't all come at once and remember we all react and cope differently. Ask anything you want nothing is out of bounds, everyone here will help and support you if they can. Sending hugs. Xx

Hello LaLaJ 

A warm welcome to a forum that I am sure you would rather not have the need to visit.  I am really sorry to hear of your diagnosis, but you have come to the right place for tips and coping strategies.  The treatment, although tough, is highly successful.

I don't know how much help you can call on but if you are on your own, I would prepare by getting lots of ready meals in your freezer so that you have the minimum to do.  The side effects generally don't start at the beginning but fatigue is common, the body is busy trying to repair itself from what is a fairly toxic treatment.  So be very kind to yourself, it is surprising how quickly the 28 days pass and it really helps to mark off the days on a calendar.

I had stick-on incontinence sheets which I put on my bed, I didn't need them or the incontinence briefs I wore but I needed to feel safe as I did have diarrhoea during treatment.

And the Sitzbath (for me) was an absolute essential, I couldn't have done without it.

We will support you however we can, so please let us know when treatment starts.

Big hug

Irene xx

Thank you so much for the warm welcome. I’m sure I will be asking a lot of questions! I will have chemo by IV once every 28 days and pills everyday along with 8 weeks of radiation. I’m glad I don’t have to have a port!!Thanks to everyone for being here!!!

Thank you Irene. I am very nervous about the radiation, but it is what it is! Thank you for the tips also, I have to remember about the briefs. Hopefully I’ll be done with everything by Christmas ( and we all know how fast Christmas gets here!) but the calendar is a great idea! Thanks to everyone for being here!

Hi LaLaJ ,

Another warm welcome to the forum from me although I’m really sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis. 

I think we would all agree that prior to treatment is a pretty scary place to be but hopefully you’ll find lots of helpful information here from our lovely members that have all been where you are right now.

Some practical things that I did in preparation before my treatment began were, I batch cooked some meals for the freezer for if I didn’t feel much like cooking, I stocked up on toiletries, household goods, cleaning products etc., so that if I needed to grocery shop it would only be small shops. I bought a few things on the advice of others that had gone before me on this forum, a sitz bath, water wipes to use in the place of toilet paper, I also bought some loose fitting trousers but I was able to wear my jeans throughout. I didn’t buy one but lots of people buy peri bottles, these can be useful if you get radiation cystitis or for when your skin starts to get a bit inflamed as having a pee can sting, I just kept a jug of water by the loo. 

Keeping busy in the period before treatment starts is important, it won’t take your mind off things completely obviously but it will help. You’ll find that once treatment starts & you’re in the routine of your daily hospital appointments the days will fly by. Please let us know if there’s anything else you think we can help with, we’ve a wealth of experience between us all. 

Nicola 

Thank you Nicola. You have no idea how happy I am that I found this forum. Getting all my appointments done and a little depression is sneaking in, but I’ve got a good support system. Getting all my supplies ready and thank you for your suggestions. You will definitely be hearing from me again!!!!!

Hi again LaLaJ , I’m pleased you found us too, this forum was my saving grace when I was diagnosed over 8 years ago. Just know we’re always here if you need us. 

Nicola