Any secrets to Chemo? things they don't tell ya about?

Hey Shannon

Have a look in the Chemo forums - Forum: Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After. There's heaps of good advice and pointers on there.

Sorry you've had to join us here but we're all here for you

{hugs}

ADVICE FOR CHEMO:

take the nausea pill regularly for the first 24-48 hours
after chemo. Don't wait to get nauseous. The first 24 hours worked for me. I
never got nauseous

drink 10 - 8 oz glasses of water each day for at least 7
days after chemo. I just started doing it every day, and still do

if prone to constipation, drink one glass of metamucil or
similar fiber drink each day for 7 days after chemo

for 72 hours after chemo - rest. Let your body do what it
needs to do. Sleep when you want to sleep. Be awake when you want to be awake.

take short walks every day or do some type of light
exercise daily

eat/drink high protein foods. My favorite go-to was
muscle milk, scrambled eggs, and peanut butter sandwiches

the taste buds going wacky was the worst side effect for
me. The only thing that tasted good was sweets, and you have to be careful with
those. I kept a bag of low calorie mints with me at all times. And I drank flavored
water because regular water was yuk.

keep Benadryl and itch cream on hand in case you get
hives. I only got them once.

use Nail Tek daily on finger and toe nails

Take Biotin and a probiotic daily

get a night cap for your bald head, if you tend to get
cold easy.

Get a nice wig before you lose your hair. It will make
her feel prepared. I bought my wig to match my hair color and style almost
exactly. No one would have known I had lost my hair if I did not tell
them.

I cut my hair very short before I began chemo, then
shaved it when it started coming out in droves. She can expect to lose her hair
10-14 days after her first chemo. It might help to have her favorite
hairdresser on standby to do the shaving. Throw her hair a goodbye party.

When I finished chemo I began using Ovation Hair Advanced
Cell Treatment on my head. My hair has come back prettier and thicker than
ever. I still use it 4 years later.

Hi ShannonCannon, sorry you have to be here. Our diagnoses are similar, but mine is not tubular. Here are some tips I've learned:

1) I'm having TC chemo --not the A like you-- but my Medical Oncologist (MO) gave me Emend as the antinausea. It's WONDERFUL as I have not had a minute of nausea. I get a drip of it right before my TC treatment.

2) I also had skin problems before chemo --eczema, rosasea-- and the chemo aggravated them. So, they gave me antibiotics. Don't wait to go on the antibiotics; get in the same day you notice problems because with your weaker immune system, the problem won't get better without a little help. We are told to get to the doc if our temp is over 100.5, but we also don't have to suffer with other side effects (SE). I also got red bumps on my scalp right before my hair fell out --my dermatologist said it's a common reaction when every hair follicle goes eeeeek!-- and the antibiotics helped with that, too. Someone on my breast cancer chemo thread gave good advice: Expect NO side effects and live your live. When things come up, don't suffer with them!

3) The other thing no one told me is that my white blood cells (WBC) would plummet after chemo. I freaked out because I thought I was doing so well. So, rather than starting the Neupogen shot to build WBC 2 days after chemo, I elected to have the neupogen shots the day after chemo so they start building up right away.

4) Exercise and water really do lessen the side effects (and exercise and keeping your weight not too high and not too low will reduce chance of recurrence, too.)

5) Join a chemo discussion group. I'm the August chemo group. All we think about 24/7 is cancer and chemo, but life goes on for everyone else (and we can't blame them for living life!!) But, it's like when you have had your children and now a new friend has a child and that is all she talks about.... We were there once, and others tire of it. BUT IT's CANCER, you want to say. Yes, and no one understands like other cancer patients going through this. So rather than driving my husband and friends away by always talking about me and my cancer, I talk about cancer in my chemo group and then I can talk about life and (occasionally cancer) to everyone else.

6) Get out of town when you can. A change of scenery helps sooooo much.

I really dislike having chemo and side effects, but it is doable. If you are not tolerating it, then talk with your MO about changing it. Plenty of women on these sites had to change medicines because of the side effects, so tell your MO everything.

These are the things I have learned, and I hope it helps you.