Hello all, newbie here

Hello FALCONS  A warm welcome to the online Prostate Cancer Community.

I am so sorry to read of your dad'd diagnosis - you are in the right place for help and advice. I haven't gone down the Chemotherapy route myself, however I am sure plenty of Community members will be along this morning with help and advice. We have a number of members who have been where your dad is now. 

I have noticed you are already a member of the Chemotherapy forum, there are a couple of other forums you may find of help and should you wish to join them they are: Carers only forum and Family and friends forum . You can join these by using the links provided.

Best wishes to you and your dad - Brian.

Thank you 

Hi FALCONS.

My husband is on the same route as your dad so hopefully I can give you a couple of tips. Firstly he should have been given a telephone number to call if he is having any side effects, he mustn't suffer in silence as there are plenty of things to help him but it is important to let the team know. For constipation my husband was told to get Lactulose which sorted things out in a couple of days. For nausea he was prescribed cilroton which he took on days 2 to 5 of each cycle. What also helped was to eat little and often but to avoid sugary and highly spiced foods as well as dairy products. Ginger biscuits or dry crackers can also help. Some foods and drink can trigger the nausea so it was trial and error finding them. 

Your dad is going to be immunocompromised whilst having chemotherapy so it is best to take Covid like precautions and I monitored my husband's temperature twice a day as sepsis is a possibility.

Please come back with any questions and I hope your dad gets sorted soon.

Thank you, for your great advice.  Dad is very much a I'll be  fine don't worry and fuss kind of man x

In all honesty - having a positive attitude with your battle against this cancer is 50% of the battle.  It's the right attitude but if there's help available, don't struggle - use it.

Best wishes . Brian.

I think that is what a lot of men feel but it is important to deal with things in a timely manner in order to minimise side effects eg. It is better to try and prevent the nausea with up front treatment rather than trying to deal with the symptoms. It is also important to tell the experts about things like the rash which might just be a side effects of the chemotherapy (my husband used Vaseline with aloe vera) but it could also have been a reaction to the chemo so he must tell the team about it before his next session.

All the best in persuading him that he is not making a fuss.

Thanks for getting in touch