Husband, Chemoradiotherapy and Me

I was treated with Folfox which is a combination of 3 agents, 2 given at the hospital/infusion center and 1 given in a 46 hour pump. This sounds like what your husband will get. 

Everyone is different. My experience may not be the same as your husband's but I will share mine. 

For the chemo, I had a lot of nausea but that was mitigated by the anti-nausea meds. There was also a lot of cold sensitivity, I had to wear gloves when touching anything cold and needed to drink my fluids at room temperature. It was not debilitating but it wasn't fun either.

I tolerated the radio therapy with oral chemo much better. Much less nausea. The radiation can cause some diarrhea so pads are recommended for peace of mind. I also got some radiation burns on my skin near the end but that healed well with the cream they gave me. Again, not debilitating. 

My husband was a trooper. He fixed me rice and gravy about 100 times because that's all I felt like eating. He understood when I didn't feel well or went to bed early. I didn't need a lot of assistance so his main role was emotional support. He was great at it and I appreciated his help. 

Hi There Susan, 

Thank you so much for sharing. 
Have you finished all your treatment plan now? And did you have an operation? 

We’ve been told it’s going to be a very bumpy ride. My husband keeps apologising to me and how sorry he is to put me though all this, I am always reassuring him that it’s NOT his fault, and we’re a team and that I will be with him every step of the way. 

We’ve got two weeks now Xmas and new year weeks where nothing is going to happen, so I am trying to make the run up to Xmas special and Xmas special. It’s not being able to plan anything new year that angers him as we are always off doing /going somewhere. 

Again Thank you Susan and Meeey Christmas. 

C xx 

My son has just gone through the same treatment he finished last week. He had issues with his pic line for chemo so had to have a cannula so he had to have his chemo in hospital. He did have some side effects but nothing unmanageable. His feet have bothered him a bit after the radiotherapy and he is very tired but all in all not too bad . Hope you're husband goes on ok.

I am worried about what comes on next but I suppose that's to be expected.

I had my surgery last Aug and am now on surveillance as they think they got all the cancer. 

Surgery was the hardest for me but I had a remarkably large tumor that required a more extensive surgery than most. I'm sure your husband will come thru that just fine.

Try to set aside your worries and enjoy some quiet time while you wait for the "bumpy ride" to start.

If he feels up to it, go out and do some of the things you would normally do. I found that even running errands was soothing as it reminded me that life would go on. 

Merry Christmas. I'll be thinking of you both in Jan. 

Hiya Rosie, 

Thank you for your reply, very much appreciated x 

You can read so much about the treatments/operations and I know everyone who is having the same treatment will be affected differently- My Husband is now worried about having a heart attack during his treatment as they told him to watch out for any chest pains ( He always thinks the worse) 

I hope your son gets on well with the next steps x I wish him all the best x 

c xx 

 WaltD Hi Chery. I had a different sort of chemo but a lot of the side effects are similar. Oxaliplatin is often used in different combinations eg. FolfOX. It does have a lot of side effects but there are also lots of different medications to counteract these so, for example, if one antisickness med doesn’t work then a different one can make all the difference or a dosage reduction can help too? 

Ive attached a link to a post about some of the side effects from Capox (which is oxaliplatin with capecitabine). This doesn’t mean that your hubby might get all these but sometimes it’s helpful to know what’s normal and what isn’t? - I know someone once commented that she wasn’t warned about first bite syndrome but was reassured as she’d read about it on here?

 CHEMO TOP TIPS UPDATED 

Yes chest pains would be something to be concerned about and you’ll be given a 24 hour chemo support number for your local unit that you can ring if you’ve any concerns.

Its helpful to keep a bit of a diary as it’s a reminder of any side effects that he might have but you might also find that a bit of a routine develops. The first few days after the infusion might be rough but towards the end of the cycle he might be feeling ok so you can plan something nice for those days?

The next few months will be tough but please keep posting and we’ll help you through this

Take care

Karen x

I'd actually forgotten about the "routine". We would go out with friends and family on my good weekends while I hunkered down at home the first weekend. 

You'll be amazed how quickly you adapt to the schedule. 

Thank you so much for replying Karen. Means a lot. 

Nothing is going to happen these next two weeks and I am trying to get in the Christmas spirit and trying to get Mark in it too, it’s becoming abit of a task!

fingers crossed we can have a good two weeks, chilled, relaxed, a few beers and lots of nice food x 

Thank you once again x 

X xx