Sclc

hi  WeeG74   sorry you have found yourself here   150 mile a day travel is over the top. mine was 34 miles but was picked up and brought home.free of charge. not surprised he is washed out. got to me. tired all the time till treatment finished. take care.

Hi WeeG74

Sorry you find yourself here, but hope you find it helpful. 

The treatment does make you extremely tired. My radiotherapy made me feel exhausted to a level of tiredness I have never experienced before. The thought of doing a journey of 150 miles a day every day!! Wow that’s some journey.

I would definitely put a small fan at the side of the bed for him, that’s the only way I can sleep at night. 

Do you have any friends or family to support you through this? You need to make sure you are taking care of yourself. There is a “supporting someone with cancer” group on this site which you may find helpful too. 

Hope the treatment goes well for your fiancé, wishing you both the very best. 

Hi WeeG,

That is a lot of travel. I haven't started treatment for my sclc yet, but do suffer from sweats, at night and also when in any hot area or when I exert myself at all. So I know it is the cancer and not the chemo causing my sweats. The fan is also good advice. I have removed the duvet from the cover, so I just use the empty duvet cover, it felt more normal and familiar than just using a sheet. A comfort thing I suppose.

As for the travel, I looked in my area and found some charities geared up to help older people could help. I am too young! How old is your fiance? Maybe some charity out there could help? I assume you have spoken to Macmillan? They may have some ideas on how to ease the travel. I hope things go ok.

Bob

hi bob my ornacologist  arranged my travel.  if i was receiving pension credit or income support you can claim back from hospital. i don't get pension credit but still got free travel.

I had a further thought. You said his mood is low, which is totally understandable. Has he been prescribed any anti-depressants? Before my diagnosis I was put on anti-depressant as they thought that was the cause of me feeling unwell and anxious. I recall one doctor looking to change my medication as he said some anti-depressants can make sweats worse. The sweating was not due to the medication as the sweats were around before any pills were prescribed. Make sure you mention the sweats to the doctors and, if the do talk about anti-depressants, ask about one that will not add to the sweats.

Best Wishes

Bob

Hi

So sorry that you find yourself on here. I went through this treatment just over 7 years ago, and before it started both my Oncologist and Radiotherapy Consultants warned me that this course of treatment is brutal; they were both spot-on! 

His low spirits are not emotions, they are genuine side effects from the treatment. He is now approaching the half-way stage; this is when the side effects of fatigue and generally feeling poorly will start to kick-in. The tiredness is like no other that I have experienced, it seemed to invade every cell and bone in my body.  At my worst it was because my red blood count had dropped through the floor and I needed a blood transfusion.

My advice is at  his next radiotherapy session get him to tell the radiographers how bad he is feeling and they will arrange for him to see a Dr (it wont prevent the radiotherapy from being given). The radiographers will always greet him with a general 'How are you?' It took me a couple of weeks to realise this was a genuine question and they were not just being polite! If he is experiencing any issues, telling the radiographers is the perfect way to get it flagged up. 

Obviously the travelling isn't helping. Is there any way you could book into a Premiere Inn (or similar) near to the hospital for one or two nights mid week? The hospital may know of local places with good rates. Taking into account the saving in petrol, it might not be as costly as you might think?

He will get through this and will soon pick up when the treatment finishes, although the tiredness will carry on for a while after.

I wish him the best possible outcome.

Kegsy x