Chemo gets worse how do you cope

I am 7 weeks post chemo. It stinks. I finished right before Christmas.
I had the 4 month Gem/Cis regamine and it was the pits. I managed to say the course and it stopped at 4 months in stead of going to 6 months/rounds.
It started out bad and got worse as it went along (just what it's supposed to do). The nurses who saw me through the program were the second best incentive after family ties.
I had the red and white boosters starting in round 2 through to the end. I thought the Neulasta was worse than the cisplatin.
Enough of the trash talk. Nothing good to say about any of it except you CAN get through it. If you tough it out and stay the course you MAY finish early which is the second best reward of the whole thing. The first is the increased probibility of living longer...
Find a food you can tolerate. Eat lots and put on a few pounds. NOBODY will believe you are actually putting on weight during chemo. The anti-nausea stuff works to a point. I found that I depended on the pills for point relief rather than the IV meds for general relief.
Gaining weight is a comic diversion that's worth it's weight in gold. Nobody will believe you are doing it...
Hang in there.
Scott

Lisaloo,

I did MVAC and the first two weeks were the toughest for me in regard to being sick; after that we had the meds figured out and I was OK; it was the second week that I noticed the pain in the soles of my feet, sometimes they were so tender that it hurt to walk across the room, even on the carpet...I found if I wore some very well padded socks that it helped relieve some of that discomfort...that pain for me would come and go...I was wearing flip flops when I had to leave the house but now with cold weather on us, that wouldn't be a good option...anyway, I think it was the Cisplatin that brought those discomforts on...try to be patient with yourself, realizing this too will pass.

Also my scalp got very tender on day 15 after starting chemo and shortly thereafter my hair fell out...that was awful...happened last May and now it has grown back in so very soft and lovely and thicker than before and curly where I have always had very straight hair. And my fingernails are much stronger than ever before.

A friend of mine refushing to call the Infusion room by it's name but rather says she is going to the "healing Center" so she tells herself she is being healed from cancer. That is probably a good mindset to have. It was hard for me in the first few weeks, and I would get down right nasty about going...but then I realized I wasn't helping myself with that attitude and changed my mindset by starting out with a prayer...asking God to give me acceptance of whatever medical procedures that were needed, and it helped. Take care, things should improve for you. I know they will. Later you will look back and be amazed at your strengths. Melodie

Hi Lisa - I am so sorry to hear of your reactions, but can relate. Harry is going through chemo right now too, he is getting Gemzar and Cisplatin and finished his third of four rounds on Monday. He also is getting shots to build his blood counts which seemed to bother him the most, but this last round was the toughest for him as far as the nausea goes. For some reason, the doctor gave him Zofran instead of Aloxi again and I'm thinking the Aloxi helped him more...but the nurse told us that the chemo effects are cumulative (I think that is the word she used) and she was not surprised that he felt worse...a lot of good that does though!! For his next and last round I plan to insist on Aloxi...unless they give me a reason the Zofran is better. His doctor recommend a B-complex vitamin would combat any nerve tingling he would have (however he hasn't experienced that so he stopped taking it.) I'm not sure if that is the foot problem you are having. He seems to have more upset stomach problems heartburn and nausea...but the heartburn didn't flare up this past weekend (one positive!) after the shots like it had twice before...perhaps because I forced him to take the Prevacid the dr. gave him. After the shots he gets very achy flu-like symptoms along with the nausea which really knocks him down, this time for longer than last. Another effect he had this time around was a heavyness in his eyes-heavy eyelids-like it hurt to open his eyes...which lasted a couple days. I know that Zach is right in his way of thinking...although it doesn't take away the pain and discomfort at the moment. I think Harry and I need to try to look past the moment and focus on the results while trying to endure the best he can for the moment...a very hard thing to do for him at the moment and for me as a caregiver who hates to see him so miserable. You remain in my prayers. Margot

Lisa, this is a tough one, because it's difficult to write something encouraging without it sounding Pollyanna-ish.

But I'll tell you what I tried to do during chemo. I tried to remember that I was being helped instead of being hurt. I tried to think of chemo as an investment in my future, and like a lot of investments, they're painful now but pay dividends down the road.

And I thought about how my chemo was kicking cancer's ass much more than it was kicking mine. In that way, I was grateful for being sick and nauseous. Because the cancer was feeling even worse.

Hello Lisa,

Sorry to hear that you are not feeling too great at the moment....I do hope things will settle down very soon once your body adjusts to the new dosage.

The dizziness I can relate too also but have been lucky so far with my chemo side effects although I am only on the combo of Gem/Cispl and I believe you have the MVAC....

The pain in the soles of your feet sounds familiar as a side effect and I have read this on other posts...something to do with your nerve endings....I am sure someone can give you more advise on this than me.

The chemo seems to affect us all in different ways because I have not heard of the streaming eyes issue that you have which must be really irritating and I hope this clears up very soon for you...

Maybe your sickness meds need to be increased or changed but I am sure you are already on the ball with that with your medical contacts.

You have the courage to see this through and this yucky blip will pass I am sure of it....

Take care...

Bye Bye
Leigh

Morning
I had my first dose ie all drugs together of my second round of chemotherapy yesterday and its knocked me out.They have upped my dose by 20% as my bloods were good from last time and my doctor wants to give me as much as I can tolerate.
I am wiped the nausea stuffs not working if I stand up I feel dizzy and I cant get my contacts in my eyes are just streaming so I cant see.Todays the worst I have felt since this all started even the soles of my feet hurt whats going on there.
This is miserable
Lisa