Hi I’m really not sure if I’m in the right place, my mum had kidney cancer 4 years ago and then had breast cancer 2 years ago with her having a double mastectomy, on her yearly kidney scan they have picked up a mass in her lymph nodes and we got the results of biopsy yesterday and the breast cancer has retuned but in her lymph nodes, so this time she is to have chemotherapy, with the previous 2 cancers it’s always been an op to remove and no further treatment so chemo is new to us and I feel like I’m going down a rabbit hole with all the information, if anyone has anything they wish they had during their chemo journey or did have which helped can you please let me know, I want to make my mum a bag for her chemo journey so she has all the bits she needs, can she use normal body lotions and face creams does it need to be for sensitive skin etc??
thank you for any responses xx
Hi there, I am sorry to hear you are going through so much but wanted to respond with some tips that really helped me - and will hopefully help you and your mum. My thought process was forewarned for forearmed and had everything in to counteract any side effects . Family members and reports from others had mentioned mouth ulcers being a particular issue and affecting the amount they could eat etc. so as soon as I felt even a slight ulcer coming I used a prescription mouthwash called Benzydamine 0.15% mouthwash sugar free, it stopped the ulcers from getting worse and I never had any trouble through the whole chemotherapy schedule. So would highly recommend getting this in advance
- my nurse prescribed it from the PICC line team and then my doctor put it on repeat . Be pushy if you need to be ! Anti sickness tablets worked a treat and I was never sick (I have a fear of sickso was worried and scared about this) . I did feel slightly nauseous at times but never felt I was going to be sick and then after the first 5 ish days I was fine and didn’t need any anti- sickns . I got in eye drops for dry/itchy eyes and used a moisturiser every day - to keep my skin well nourished . The chemist will advise a good one - I get mine on prescription. My feet did feel very dry - I moisturised every night and wore socks and never got cracked sore feet I had a great nurse who said why suffer when you don’t have to and I didn’t . I also had some morphine for joint pain which I only used sporadically but it was brilliant at ensuring I got a good.nights sleep if I had some aches and pains sometimes . Keep hydrated and keep in squashes or flavoured drinks as sometimes water can taste a bit funny ! Alcohol free beer was quite good and made me feel I was having a little treat ! Good luck to you and your family
