Starting Chemo and Freaking Out

katgroves

Hi everyone...my name is Kathy. I am starting chemo on Thursday. Four rounds of Taxotere. I am trying to stay positive but the closer I get to Thursday the more emotional I become. I want to get it over with, but at the same time I am feeling overwhelmed by what lies ahead.

Kayak2

Is there anything helpful that I should bring to my first chemo, or is just showing up enough?  Thanks.

badger

It's likely that your tastes will change, everything may taste weird during chemo.

For example, I love coffee but could not abide it the first week after an infusion.  I switched to weak tea with a touch of honey and lemon during that time.  After that week, coffee tasted good again (and still does).

I got some powdered ice tea mixes and loved the peach one week and hated it the next.

Luckily, cold filtered water tasted good to me.  For hydration and to cool your mouth, try lemon ice, italian ice, popsicles, and frozen fruit juice bars.

charliedog

I too had 4 rounds of AC and 4 of taxotere-chemo is not fun but no one said it would be! I made it through and am looking forward to radiation starting Aug 3.I just want to get the treatments done.You will get through this!!!!

thegoodfight

It is almost three years since I was in chemo but of course I remember it well.  The b first thing I am going to say is that it will probably not be near as bad as your fear is leading you to believe.  Infact, I found everything I anticipated with great worry was never as bad as I thought it would be.

Try not to get ahead of yourself and project, I know, easier said than done.  We all tend to read up on all the possible side effects, get ourselves in a tizzy and then find that we may not have many at all.  And if you do, your team will get you through whatever it is.

A very common side effect is foods tasting different, as mentioned above.  Most people lose their taste and food tastes like cardboard, but  I NEVER HAD THAT SIDE EFFECT.  So try not to project.  Yes, I did have some issues, but got through it all.  I was never in bed and could continue with almost all my regular activities.  Assume that you will too.

I wish you all the best.....................Caren

badger

Ideas for things to bring to your first chemo:

You will be there for several hours so bring someting to DO - a book, puzzles, ipod, etc.

I brought a 16-ounce glass for cold water, the clinic would've given me a paper cup but I wanted my own glass.  They provided ice chips which I sucked on during the infusions (to avoid mouth sores).  That made me cold and they provided me with a warmed blanket, very comforting.

I packed a chemo bag with a paperback book (something mindless), a small box of soft tissues (chemo can make your nose drip), a bag of trail mix to nibble on (warning, do not eat your favorite foods during an infusion as you may develop an association between that food and chemo then not want it ever again), and an extra pair of underpants in case of an accident.

Wear pants that are easy to get on and off.  You will need to pee several times during the day and something loose is much easier to manage.  The IV pole can be unplugged from the wall for you to take a potty break.

I tried to drink eight glasses of water the day before a tx (to plump up my veins), the day of and the day after a tx (to flush my system).  I also took a stool softener the morning of chemo and one when I got home that afternoon.  You want to get the chemicals out of your system as fast as possible.

That's all that comes to mind right now.  There's an excellent thread about how to prep for chemo, pinned to the top of the chemo forum.  I'll bump it up into active topics for you guys.

thegoodfight

badger, you nailed it with your advice as to what to bring to chemo.  I think we all had our "chemo" bags filled with the things that entertained us and kept us comfortable.  Toward the end of treatment, I was able to sleep through the infusion...........that was the best 

dogeyed

For the newbie chemo ladies who missed the part of these posts that addresses getting in with a suport group:  In the forum entitled, "Chemotherapy, Before, During, After," get into the July 2011 chemo bunch, all those girls in there are just beginning their chemo in July, just like you!  Some will have already begun a little earlier in the month, and now all of you here at this thread.  This is the best advice I can offer, as having that group of women to confide in, get tips from, the earlier joiners in the month helped me and others who joined later.  I could not have made it through chemotherapy without my sisters!  That's what they become to you. 

The thing I can say that is different from other posts, is what the original poster USinGermany was concerned about, and that's HOW LONG this part of the treatment can take.  THAT drove me up a wall, that was my worry.  Well, I can tell you now that, having finished all my chemo, the end came quicker than I anticipated, mainly because you get so involved in dealing with chemo, and you get your morning or afternoon visit in with your July chemo sisters, and acceptance is part of living with a cancer diagnosis and eventually you'll be there, plus trust in your doc is key so you can make him your confessor, and time just goes by so quickly for some reason.  You are allowed to declare yourself a "sick person" now if you need to and that's how life will be for a while.

Also, I'd like to say in general, that if you have ANY problems whatsoever with your chemotherapy, side effects, anxiety, pain, whatever, you tell your cancer doctor exactly what you're going through, and they will give you medicines to take care of it.  If he is not available 24/7, make an emergency appointment to see him.  I wound up with several things I simply could not deal with, and one of them was pain, so they gave me pain pills.  Also, I did find that the Valium they gave me was something I took whenever my nerves got the best of me.  In addition, at some point I got all worked up and lost confidence in treatment, and many hospital or cancer centers will have a "social worker" or even "psych doc" on staff that help with any sort of meltdowns, so take advantage of that person, and if they don't have one, again you can speak to your doctor.  So, do not hold it in as far as your emotions go, or reaching the limit on how much discomfort you can handle.  Talk to the doc on health stuff or social worker on emotions as needed, altho the doc can handle it all.  There are medicines and answers to questions of all sorts, many ways to help.

One more thing that was touched on, but I wanted to give my tip for "mouth sores," which I didn't actually have that as much as I had some rough sensitive places in my mouth, and that's to get an ordinary box of baking soda, and make a gargle out of it and salt, swish it around several times a day, it'll make any rough spots feel lots better.  And use REAL Kleenex, not toilet paper, for your nose, the kind with aloe or some kind of lotion on them are easiest on the nose.

Most of all, I wanted to say to anyone else who is still checking this thread and is new, and any new people who arrive here and don't know how to handle the anxiety that comes with getting chemo for the first time, aside from joining the July 2011 chemo pals, you will find that the cancer nurses who give you chemo and do blood draws for regular checkups, it turns out they are absolutely the best, they make you feel SAFE, and you should immediately feel at ease when your chemo begins or when needles come out, for that reason alone.  There's just something about a cancer nurse being around when all this stuff happens that I depended on when I showed up for my chemos.  I felt safer than I did in my own home.  GG 

Kayak2

Thanks to all for your advice.  I can't read often enough that while not pleasant, chemo is doable.  You all did it, so why shouldn't I be able to do it too.  Dreading it, but also looking forward to being able to say "I did it".  (HA, and I always dreaded the thought of public speaking.  Who knew that the fear of public speaking could be trumped by fear of my 1st chemo & it's side effects!  Give me the microphone ...

BakinLA

Just to throw my two cents in - I was really surprised at how easy chemo day was, and hydration day following.  I am about to do round three (of 4) of Taxotere and cytoxin. While everyone is different, from my experience so far - day three and four I had extreme fatigue (so I just lay on the couch and slept), no nausea whatsoever, I had the neulasta shot so the first time I had extreme bone pain which lasted three days , then completely disappeared.  My taste buds changed for about a week, making everything taste off and a little metalic. I never got mouth sores but did rinse with an alcohol free mouth-wash three times a day. a week later taste was back. I was really surprised at how easy this was, or how it wasn;t as terrible as I had thought it would be.  Second round actually was less intense as far as fatigue, but lasted a week longer.  However, after the second round, I did have afternoon tiredness at for an additional week.  I worked, but only half days.  You definitely will get through this and it is not as bad as you fear, I'm sure. I do chemo on Thursday, hydrate Friday, then take Sat, Sun and MOnday as my off days.  By Tuesday, I was back at work, but taking it easier than I normally would.  Not sure what will happen after round three, but I suspect it will be similar, just a little more draining.  It IS doable! 

3sonnenblumen

It is understandable that you react that way. So did I . The big C is a scary thing...after 2 operations I finished my TAC chemo treatment at the end of July and now am just at the second treatment of radiation. I did not wait for my hair to fall out. I shaved my head and celebrated ME alive!!  I would have to agree with others who are saying that the fatigue was probably the hardest to deal with. If you are able, then take advantage of help offers to drive you, cook ahead when you feel good and let others do some cooking for you.  Reach out, even get help from a therapist who can help you through scary times when you are really down. I  finally did take the prescription to help me sleep through the night, insomnia is not good and makes everything else worse. I am not taking any medications for the last 4 weeks!!! Still have a little neuropathy in my hands and feet, but nothing you won't be able to deal with.My hair is growing back. My skin looks great!!! And honestly- the 25 pounds less suit me just fine> (of course I would've rather lost it on a different path)Now to get back the energy to go running again. But one thing at a time...

YOU  C A N  DO THIS! Yes you are afraid!! So were we! Hang in there, you will get through this and be a much stronger person!!

deep2deep

Some advice I received and some I added:

This is the advice I received from the dietician and the naturopath who work with our oncology office (a rare set up).  ALWAYS tell your medical oncologist EVERYTHING you are taking, even if you are not sure if they will agree with it. 

 Supplements - 1500mg calcium per day, Vitamin D3 2000 IU daily (keep your bones strong). L- Glutamine (a tasteless white powder available at most health food/supplement stores) 10grams daily mixed in juice, water, or milk to keep away the neuropathy.  Magnesium 250mg daily to help the bones also. 

Good multivitamin daily.  A good omega 3 supplement twice daily (not fish oil as it can reduce effectiveness of platelets)

B complex daily (in addition to the multivitamin to help your nerves)

Food - limit carbohydrates, eat lots of "good fats" - 3 tablespoons of Extra Virgin olive oil a day, nuts, avocado, etc. 

Get approximately 80 grams of protein per day.  (I eat Omega 3 eggs, mozarella and feta cheeses, a vegetable based protein drink, and lots of walnuts, almonds, and pecans)

See the book "The Pink Ribbon Diet" or information on the Mediterranean diet for more info.  

I recommend the website lotsahelpinghands.com to set up a calendar if people want to do things for you, or bring you food.  

I also take two generic zyrtec the morning of my chemo to keep down the histamine reaction to chemo. 

I asked to start a beta blocker (metoprolol) in hopes that it would reduce my risk of heart problems from the herceptin.  My oncologist agreed.  I take 50mg long acting. There is a trial on this right now.  

 Get some "Nuun" or similar low sugar rehydration tablets and drink one of these a day - get a total of 2 Liters of water minimum per day.

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