Hi, I’m new here. My mum has stage 4 NSCLC

Your mum's treatment team will be on the lookout for side effects and its really important that you contact them straight away if she has any so they can give her ways to manage them.

The impact of chemotherapy tends to build up.  She may not have any significant side effects for the first couple of cycles.  One side effect that almost everyone who has chemo experiences is altered taste.  I ate barely anything for the first week of each cycle because everything tasted either metallic or like cardboard.

You mum should be given a list of when she should contact her team and when she should just go straight to the ED.  Make sure that you're aware of these, too.

Hi Lolie, thank you for replying. They have given her quite a lot of different medications like anti sickness, Imodium and mouth washes in case she needs them. I have read through everything I possibly can so I know what to do and who to contact. I think I’m just really scared that the side effects will be so bad that she won’t be able to continue treatment. 

Hi Lucy,

The side effects from treatments, when you read thru the pamphlets that came with them or the manufacturers descriptions, tend to sound even worse than what is being treated. There's a reason for this - the manufacturer doesn't want to get sued by someone who gets something they weren't warned about. So everything possible gets listed, no matter how unlikely. It's just because of the lawyers.

Meanwhile, back in Real Life, we tend not get many of those side effects. Most of us just get a small subset of the possibles. We're all different, so we each get a different "lucky dip". Stop worrying and trust the doctors.

kind regards,
Steve

Hi Lucy, I'm in a similar situation to you and am feeling the same. My Mum is also 66 diagnosed with nsclc. She starts combined chemo and radiotherapy tomorrow and I'm worrying about how to support her with the side effects. I have 2 young children so wary of them picking up bugs etc. and passing on but want to be there to support her as much as possible. 

Not really got advice but just wanted to say I'm in the same boat and looks like our Mum's will be going through treatment at the same time x

Hi Lucy loo.im  worrying about my partner for the same reasons just wondered how your mum's doing xx

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your reply. I did wonder if it was the case of manufacturers putting every possible side effect to cover themselves. I’m just a natural worrier anyway so something like this has sent it over the top. 

Hi Ziggy123,

Thank you for your reply. This is all completely new to me. No one in my family has ever had cancer before but I find it helps to know that you aren’t alone in this situation. Obviously the ideal would be that no one has to go through this but here we are.
I have a 5 year old daughter and I know I now have to be even more careful with bugs etc too. My mum also has COPD so we always tried to keep her exposure to bugs at a minimum anyway. How is your mum now after her treatment? 

Hi Holmes,

Thank you for replying. It can all feel so overwhelming. Not only the actual illness itself but if the side effects are going to be a problem too. As Steve said before in his reply the manufacturers do list every single possible side effect to cover themselves so hopefully it won’t be too bad. Has your partner started treatment yet? What treatment are they having? My mum is doing well. She hasn’t had any sickness or anything like that. She just said she feels more tired than usual. 

Hi Lucy loo.my partner was diagnosed a year ago hes had immunotherapy  and.another sorry ive forgotten which one but he didnt have have a lot of side effects mainly just fatigued  so please try not to worry and stay in touch its overwhelming  to start with i know love Holmesxxx

How is your partner doing now? Is he still having treatment? My mum has lost so much weight in the last few months and she looks so tiny and frail. She didn’t even go to the doctors originally with any worry about cancer so the diagnosis was a massive shock. Xx