Bowel cancer diagnosis

Hi  and a warm welcome to the board from me. Gosh you’ve had a rough time of it havent you but the good news is that the tumour is in the bin and you sound to have recovered well from the operation.

Do you know which chemo you’re having? To be honest they all have side effects - some people get a few and some get a lot but you won’t necessarily be floored by it? I had oxaliplatin by IV and capecitabine in tablet form and although I had a few side effects I continued to work part-time throughout - that obviously depends on your line of work but it took my mind off things and stopped me lying on the settee watching daytime tv!

Its handy to keep a diary to remind yourself of any side effects (the nurses will check with you at each appointment) and you might also identify a bit of a routine developing - you might feel tired for a few days after the infusion but pick up towards the end - then you can plan nice treats around the better days.

There are lots of pills and lotions for the different side effects and, if 1 doesn’t work, then quite often there’s a different 1to try. You’re always started on the maximum doseage for your weight and height and often a decrease in the doseage can make a difference to any side effects. At the end of the day, if you are really struggling, then it would be your decision to stop the chemo.

As you say everything has happened so quickly you’re probably feeling a bit shell shocked and all the emotions are suddenly catching up with you. Have you thought about giving the nurses on here a ring just for a chat? Their number is 08088080000

Please keep posting and let us know how you’re getting on and we’ll be happy to support you through this

Take care

Karen x

All the best, for next Tuesday. The intruder is gone, just a mop up now. Once you know what chemo you are having you can see what side effects you might get. Take care

Thanks for the lovely reply Karen062 ,yes I think you are right everything is catching up with me now .My treatment is 12 rounds of Folfox chemotherapy. 

Hi thanks for the quick reply , I know it's only a mop up but the What Ifs are tormenting me ...my chemo is Folfox ..

Hi . I think Missem is having folfox through a pump so may be able to share some experience? x

Thank you for that , as I am new to this do I just text Missem ? 

Hi. I’m hoping this has tagged Missem and she will see this. If you click on her name then you can see her profile page and if you want to see her previous posts then click on more then activity x

Hi Sammiej, 

I am on Folfox, I've done 4 out of 12 so far so 1/3 of the way through
Understand that it's all happening very quickly and it's a lot to get your head around. 

First of all I would recommend bringing gloves, a scarf to be able to wrap around you and maybe a hat when you go in for your first chemo as Oxaliplatin makes you very sensitive to cold and it's good to have something to protect you just in case. (Gloves also come in handy for taking things out of the fridge). 

I have a portacatch too, took me some time to get used to it but now I barely think about it. 
So what happens when I go in for chemo is that they "plug the needle in" and do my bloods first, I know some people have the bloods done 1-2 days before, and when they get the all clear I get started on the steroids, saline and anti-sickness before they start the Oxaliplatin (not sure I'm spelling it correctly). It runs for 2 hours and i can tell you the cold sensitivity kicks in quite quickly for me. So I make sure I have room temp and hot drinks so I don't accidentally drink something cold. 

When the Ox is finished they plug a pump in, it looks like a plastic ball almost, which goes in a fanny pack around my stomach and off home I go. They will show you what to look out for, as there are clips to make sure they don't close as it will stop the pump until you unclick them. It's very hard to accidentally do so I wouldn't worry about it. The pump empties itself over 48 hours and I go back in to have it removed with the needle. Some places offer you to have it removed at home, but my pump takes a long time to empty so I prefer to go in when it is empty. 

I am on 3 different tablets for nausea as I suffered really bad in the beginning but it is so much better now when they've found the right ones for me so I can guarantee you don't have to worry too much about side effects as they are very good in trying to make sure the dose of the chemo is the best one for you and other tablets that will help. For me the tiredness kicks in a few days in and I spend a lot of time resting for a few days but then I'm back on my feet. The cold sensitivity stays for around a week and then I can enjoy a week with being able to enjoy ice cream before re-starting again. Nurse said to me before chemo started that usually they say one week with side effects and one week off but some don't experience any at all and some do. 

I hope this helps? If there is any questions at all please do let me know and good luck!

Em xx  

Missem. Thanks Em - soon be halfway  x

Hi Missem thank you so much for taking the time to reply in such a positive way , to be honest I honestly dont know what to expect at all and have all these stupid worries , like am I going to be in alot of pain when side effects hit or do you sleep ok or is it so dramatic that you cant function etc ..

I am normally a very strong person but this has really crumbled me but also i know i will tackle it head on I am just the sort of person who likes to know upfront what i am dealing with and deal with it ...

I own my own business and was working up to 6 days a week to go to not working ,as been very emotional through out all this is very tough for me and I was wondering when I get my head around the pattern of my chemo could I work part time ...

I have great family support here at home hubby , 3 adult kids and a 15 yr old all say you have got this Mum ha 

I am so glad you are doing good so far on your treatment x