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What To Expect With My Mom's Chemo


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My mother will be starting her Chemotherapy tomorrow with her first dose lasting 6 hours. My Aunt will be taking her during the day. Can anyone tell me what is to be expected? Will she be very tired tomorrow night or very sick? Her treatment will be lasting 21 days and then she will have another PET scan at that time to see if she then needs radiation. She has a crazy schedule of days on and off and I am not sure if she will be sick the whole time or just the first few days etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Even though they have not found a mass they do believe it is lung cancer.

Love,

Wendy

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Guest moparlicious

Wendy,

I am so so sorry your family has to go through this. My husband died 5 months ago of cancer and he went through chemo and radiation and I will tell you everything he went through, although everyone is different, and some of this may or may not be what you want to hear, but I will be honest with you, and I hope it is ok.My husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer July 21, 2006. He had esphogus cancer which spread to his liver, bile duct,brain, and stomach. During his chemo, I am sorry to say he was sick ALOT!!! He threw up almost everyday for 7 straight months.He was also very tired. He was weak. Tell her to keep hydrated and drink plenty of water. The only thing that would stay down for my husband was salad and Activa yogurt, it is very good for the digestive system and has alot of different flavors. Popsicles and ice cream were very helpful too. He said the chemo fried his taste buds and had no appetite. Now, all of this sounds so negative and I'm sorry for that, but no positive really came out of it for him. He is with God and I moss him dearly.WE are all here for you and I will do my best to help you through anything, anytime.Hang in there and yes the treatments take a long time. Dan's were 6 to 7 hours and he had 2 weeks on and 1 week off, this went on the entire time. He is very hard, but having people go with you and stand strong with you, really helped my husband. I went every time. Take care, Love, Kim

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Wendy my friend,

As Kim has said it is not pretty or easy going through chemo. Being tired from the chemo seems to be the one thing that most people go through. My Jimmy died of colon cancer and my stepfather from cancer of the esophogus. Some of the other side affects are nausea and diarhea. As Kim has said everyone is different and affected in different ways so you are going to have to wait and see what side affects your Mom has. Jimmy did not want to eat at all so I would puree homemade healthy soups for him to drink. My stepfather on the other hand was able to eat. Please keep asking for help or advice if you need it, we are here for you!

Hugs & prayers, :wub:

Corinne

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Thanks so much everyone, I really appreciate your prayers and help. I am hoping my Mom's chemo won't be as bad. It seems that she has a very slow growing cancer and they can't even find a mass anyplace. They are doing chemo for a period of 21 days and then they will do a PET scan again and if the lymph nodes have shrunk, if they have then they may not have to do radiation. They have not labled her terminal or anything so I am hoping that means she will be okay. She should be getting her first dosage right now. My sister is with her, I need to be here at work as I took off alot of time when she was in the hospital, and we have an audit going on here. Thanks so much again, and I will let you know how everything is going.

Much Love,

Wendy :wub:

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Wendy,

I took care of my mother in law the last 3 years of her life, she had terminal cancer. Everyone is different...they expected her to live 3 weeks to 2 months and she made it 3 years. I do remember her being nauseated and she said nothing tasted good. She was tired and eventually everything hurt and it was a challenge to get her comfortable, but that's because by that time it had spread throughout her body.

My father in law now has cancer but he is doing well, the same with my brother in law. So much resides with how soon they catch it and how aggressive the treatment is, the person's own will and positive determination...but so much also seems to be with the random hand that strikes us. Some of you had spouses that died from cancer and they fought the good fight, yet in the end succumbed. Since they don't find a mass, that's a good sign that perhaps they caught it very early. We will hope for the best and pray for your mom...what is her name?

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Thanks everyone ! Well she had her first round today for 6 hours. They over did it with the fluids though so she gets very winded walking around and can't go more than about 5 mins without going into the ladies room. SHe also has been having heart palpitations, not sure why. Now she has to go back again tomorrow for more fluids ! They told her that she is having 4, 21 day rounds of chemo and then possibly radiation. They gave her a script for 3 pills to take for nausea, thank goodness she has medical as they would have cost 400.00 for 3 lousy pills ! I will let you know what is going on as she proceeds, thanks so much for your responses.

Love,

Wendy

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Guest moparlicious

Wendy,

I know just what you mean when you say about the heart papulations and the pills. My husband took those same 3 little pills, one the day of chemo, and the other 3 the next 2 days, those are for vomiting.(prevention)The heart thing, yeah, that is common, I think I heard the nurses say that was a reaction and fluids help.My husband also had a shot the day after chemo to boost his immune system. Thinking of you and your family!!!! God bless!!! Kim :D

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Thanks so much Kim, that is what we thought. Sometimes my Mom comes home and I guess she has so much info to hold onto that some of it get jumbled. Originally she told me chemo for a period of 21 days, well I found out that it is chemo for 4 rounds of 21 days each and radiation if needed after that. Thanks so much for the information and thinking of us.

Love,

Wendy

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Here's a cheap experiment. Get some Gatorade or some other electrolyte supplement and see if she can keep some of that down.

I'm betting that if they "overdid the fluids", they've thrown her electrolyte balance off in the process. The thing that makes me think that, are the palpitations, which can be caused by electrolytes being off-kilter. If I'm right, and they didn't deplete one particular electrolyte more than others, then taking a drink of that stuff might help get her back on an even keel.

If she can stand the taste (which, if her sense of taste is blunted by the chemo, she may well be able to) and it's an electrolyte powder that you're mixing with water or juice, mix it stronger than recommended so she gets more electrolyte and less fluid. Apparently she already has plenty of fluid.

Assuming of course you're interpreting correctly why she's actually peeing so much. It could be that the chemo is acting as a diuretic and she needs MORE fluids. I don't know enough about chemo to guess.

Either way (over or under hydrated) balancing her electrolytes could be helpful. IANAD (I Am Not a Doctor) but I have a lot of experience futzing with things like this due to my wife's illness.

Best of luck,

--Bob

Thanks everyone ! Well she had her first round today for 6 hours. They over did it with the fluids though so she gets very winded walking around and can't go more than about 5 mins without going into the ladies room. SHe also has been having heart palpitations, not sure why. Now she has to go back again tomorrow for more fluids ! They told her that she is having 4, 21 day rounds of chemo and then possibly radiation. They gave her a script for 3 pills to take for nausea, thank goodness she has medical as they would have cost 400.00 for 3 lousy pills ! I will let you know what is going on as she proceeds, thanks so much for your responses.

Love,

Wendy

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