First days of chemo

Hello JCA

I am sorry to see that your husband is still feeling really rough after his first cycle of chemo. I had a different chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxol) but like your husband I still was feeling really rough on day 4. I started feeling a bit better around day 7. Things then began to pass a bit. The 2nd week I was not brilliant but I was feeling more myself. On the 3rd week I would start to feel better and then it was on to the next cycle. 

Has your husband got a phone number he can call? I called my team several times and was given advice and prescribed medication to deal with some of the side effects. For the nausea for example I was put on ondansetron (another anti sickness) for longer and told to take the domperidone half an hour before eating. 

For the first week, I pretty much slept on and off. Flu like symptoms, tummy cramps, lots of nausea. May I suggest that he keeps a note of what symptoms he is getting and when and also when he has taken his meds. When he has his review before his next cycle he can then go through it with his oncologist. I found in the first cycle the sudden drop in steroids affected me and for the next cycles the oncologist was able to prescribe a tapering dose.

With eating and drinking, I found I had a sore mouth and lost my appetite so it was little and often to what I could manage. Staying hydrated did help with the nausea feeling. I also had some pain in my lower back from one of the chemo drugs and was given pain relief for it. I remember all the meds they give you, that are necessary, they all have side effects that can add to the feeling rough feeling.

I hope that your husband starts to feel a bit better over the next few days. I just tried to go with the flow with my chemo- listen to his body and do what it is telling him to do, lots of rest etc.  I did speak to the nurse cancer line at my hospital and they were reassuring so if he can maybe it is worth giving them a call if he continues to feel unwell.

Hope this helps a bit

Jane

Thanks so much for this

i will pass it on to my husband 

xx

Hi

Sorry it's been so rough. I was on FLOT chemo and the side effects became more apparent after the anti sickness meds were finished.  Also I saw a definite massive increase in fatigue when the steroids ended. 

Definitely worth calling the oncology nurses.  I found in the first four rounds of chemo that I called the nurses weekly with questions about symptoms.  I urge you to do the same.

I also found near the end of each cycle I started to feel better.

I hope he feels better soon. Its certainly not an easy journey.

Take care,

Suzy

Thanks

its such a minefield of symptoms

We think that he feels worse when he has just taken his steroids but also finds it difficult to fancy any foods which doesn’t help

i am just following his lead with small and often

will talk to his nurse today and try and find a way round it 

having constipation now and taking prep for it but this takes a few days to get into his system

Fingers crossed he feels a bit better soon so that we can get out for a drive somewhere and take his mind off it a bit?

x

Hi

Yes my appetite took a nose dive during the first week of the cycle. Hydration is vital so I had a lot of highly nutritious soups. For constipation I used lactose.  Yes definitely speak to an oncology nurse as it's scary when you don't know what to expect. 

Take care 

Suzy

Thanks for your reply

Got to keep positive

Absolutely..if it helps my swallowing difficulties were much improved after cycle 2 and the tumour reduced to the point of not being visible although of course the cancer cells were still there after 4 cycles. Chemo is hard and it aggressively fighting the cancer. This is what helped me get through all the sude effects - I have an aggressive cancer so I need an aggressive solution so I can spend more time with those I love. The first rounds were scary because its unknown.  The last 4 rounds were not scary at all, just pleasant. Hang in there! Make sure you do fun things so you get a break from all this cancer stuff.

Take care, 

Suzy

Oh thanks for that

i am so pleased that chemo is having a great effect

 Can’t wait to do all the things we love ie getting away again

Heres hoping xx

Hi

It's a long journey.  I've just finished the post operative chemo. I'm planning a family holiday for July. The only way through is one step at a time and getting to know your team. So you know when/who to ask for help from and when to push them. Also I found that the support of the physios was great in helping  me to prepare for surgery. At my hospital- Roysl Surrey- they have a programme that helps you prepare for surgery. There were some weeks I couldn't manage it but the phone to check in every week was a great support and helped build my confidence around exercise during chemo.

Take care,

Suzy

1. Hi Suzy, was your post operative chemo a lot harder than the pre op. My husband is about to start his post op chemo in a couple of weeks.  Have you any tips or advice for this part of his journey? Hope your holiday plans go well we are hoping to get away in August. 

Take care and we hope you go from strength to strength going forwards.