advice about self care during chemotherapy

tam26

Hello dear community,

my friend has been diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma stage 2, underwent surgery and will soon begin chemotherapy. Unfortunately she doesn't speak English and there inst a lot of material in other languages, thus i am researching in her stead. Since our country doesn't really offer much support or information during the treatment i would like to ask whether you could offer me some advice on what one can do to take care of oneself during the chemotherapy to reduce the stress on the body, even if it is a little bit. What kind of diet plan can one follow, or how one should take care of the skin and the hair and nails so that it suffers less damage. I think even simple information or a redirection to a site where this information can be found will be very reassuring for her at the moment, since everything developed fast and readjusting to this new reality is quite hard.

Any helpful tips and information will be greatly appreciated.

2019whatayear

Hi

Walking daily even when you don't feel like it is so beneficial to mind and body. Lotion lotion lotion. Keep nails trimmed avoid stubbing any toes (OUCH!) There is info here on this site-maybe google translate sections?

moth

tam26, it will partly depend on what type of chemo she is on. Different chemo drugs can have quite different side effects. Can you let us know what language you're looking for? My cancer agency provides a fair bit of info in various languages.

Moderators

Dear tam26,

Welcome to the BCO community. We are glad that you reached out for help for your friend. You may want to check out the Chemotherapy Forum and these links Important Links for Newbies about Chemotherapy, Tips for Getting through Chemotherapy and depending on which chemotherapy your friend will be following Tiffany's Twenty tips for Getting through TC. Let us know if we can offer additional ideas.

The Mods

tam26

hello! thank you very much for replying and for the tips.

tam26

hello! well the language is either georgian or russian but preferably georgian. Theres not a lot of during treatment advice and support as it seems. Thank you for the reply)

moth

I haven't found anything in Georgian yet but did find this in Russian. About halfway down it has treatments and side effects info

https://www.cancer.org/cancer-information-in-other...

Generally speaking, drink lots of water (flat or sparkling, maybe with twist of lemon to improve taste) They always say eat well balanced diet but if someone feels awful, eat anything, just keep eating.. vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds are all good.

If she experiences nausea, there are many medications to treat and prevent it. Also yes, if you can translate for her, the links posted by the moderators above are essentially years of our patient wisdom and experience.

Hope this helps