Chemo

Hi KathH600 

I'm sorry to read how hard you're finding chemo and I can understand how you're feeling as you head towards another one. I had a different type of cancer and count myself very lucky that, other feeling tired, I got through the chemo pretty unscathed.

Responding to you will also 'bump' your post back to the top of the discussion list so that other pancreatic forum members will spot it more easily.

Hope this next chemo goes better for you.

Anne

Hi,

I’m sorry it’s so difficult and there isn’t much time to recover between chemo cycles. Although I’m not going through it myself personally I thought it may be helpful to share my mum’s experience.

She is undergoing the same treatment having had the Whipple procedure in the summer and now the 12 fortnightly chemo appointments. Similarly to yourself, she is very ill for the entire week following chemo, since she is already weak and recovering from the Whipple procedure. She is too unwell to even want to talk on the phone during this time (I am away at university during term). I just wanted to reassure you that it is normal to find this period particularly difficult. Unfortunately she continued to find the chemo hard, but from around the 9th cycle she would recover more quickly in a few days instead of a week. I hope that you find that you also begin to recover more quickly as the treatment progresses. She now only has one cycle left and she found that after the first few it became more manageable as she settled into the routine and her body became more used to it. So in that respect the first couple that you have just completed are likely to be the hardest, I hope it becomes easier with time. Also the fact you were able to have the Whipple operation is great and I wish you all the best with chemo. Hopefully this was helpful in some way. 

Yes thanks so much for replying actually the 2nd one was better than first

Did she lose her hair I still have mine they say I will lose it at some stage but was hoping they were wrong

Glad to hear the 2nd one was slightly better.

It has thinned particularly at the top where the hair loss is considerable but she does still have hair. From the side it is hardly noticeable that it is a result of chemo, it could be mistaken for natural aging. Also, it was only in the 2nd half of her chemo that the hair loss began to become noticeable.

Ok thankyou so much for your reply I really appreciate it x