Should I finish chemo??

Hi Rhiannon,

Hang in there. You have been so brave. I can understand how you feel. I finished in Aug. It takes time but it does get better. I am back to running after my kid.

Talk to your team about how to manage the SEs better. I was on anti nausea meds till day 5 on AC. They worked fine. But I coudnt do much on day 2, 3. Then there was Neulesta to get through. Drink plenty of fluids and do things at your own pace. Do you have help with the little one? I used to send my kid, she is 6 to playdates on day 2 and 3 after school. Hubby would pick her up while returning from office. Day 4, I managed with cartoons on the TV and laying on the couch, did some colouring. Not anything too messy because I cannot clean up after her. Your kid is little. Keep the little one entertained when you can with quiet games and then maybe some screen time when you need to rest

Hang in there, you are so close.

Rhianon,

If you have young kids, you are young yourself - you have a medium grade cancer but with nodes at 2 cm, so No you should Not quit chemo. You are at the absolute worse point physically and mentally, it will get better. If you can get through 5 - you are looking down at the last one.

You can do this - ask for whatever help you need. Tell them at the centre ( please let them know) and see if there is any wiggle room to modify your protocol. The toddler will be fine if you pull back to minimum maintenance care only for the next 6 or so weeks. I am a single parent of a then 6 year old - I was shockingly nauseated despite good antiemetics, I found that crunching on salty chips would get rid of my nausea for 20 minutes at a time. For a while we ate out of plastic plates only (too buggered to do dishes) and I think we had the same towels/linen for 2 months - no one died and I got through it. I hated the way cyclophasmide made me feel to the point where I thought I would pull the infusion out of my port and walk out. I dropped my Hb and could hardly walk upstairs because of shortness of breath ( I had adriamycin to thank for that). Chemo is shit but is doable if you keep your goal in mind.

Now 2 years down is a vague ( not really...😉😳) but poignant memory

So hang on you are almost there. Keep coming here - you will find lots of us who did it supertough for that half year, keep holding on you are not alone.

😳🌷🐣

I remember feeling at times like I was either complaining too much and thus they couldn't really hear me or else I was complaining not enough and they didn't know how badly I felt! Keep a journal of your symptoms and take it with you to appointments. Sometimes that's the only way to really explain.

And if they want you to drink more and you can't - perhaps you could return to the infusion center for some IV fluids. Many people say it makes a world of difference.