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I start this cemo next week. Can anyone tell me what to exspect?
I start this cemo next week. Can anyone tell me what to exspect?
Everyone is different but I had nausea (controlled with meds), tiredness (lasted 10 days), mouth sores (fixed with "Magic Mouthwash") and stomach problems due to the nausea meds. Be sure to report all your symptoms. It is important to not let anything go thinking it will get better. They are really concerned about the side effects you will have and have something to fix just about everything.
Jim
Thanks for the reply. Did it kill the cancer? The lung cancer has moved to my adrenal gland and a lympnode in my neck so here we go again.
Unfortunately, my cancer did not respond to Alimta as well as i would have liked. I received 9 treatments. It would take me about 5 days to recover. I would have fatigue, nausea controlled with meds,some increased shortness of breath for a couple of days. I found it to be quite tolerable compared to other therapies I was on. Godd luck and i hope it works well for you.
Pam
I am going to start chemo, in the near future and I also don't know what to expect. I will also have radiation and even with treatment the Dr. think I have only a 2 to 3 year life expectancy. I just can not wrap my brain around that. Good luck to you and post your experiences.
please don't do that to yourself - no-one on earth knows your life expectancy - there are many long-term survivors running around here - and I sincerely hope we are all in that category!!! one of the best things a doctor told me was to look on the bottom of your foot for an expiration date - if it hasn't shown up yet, stop fussing. ain't that the truth?!
here are some truths about LC - it is not curable. ok - start breathing again. it is, however, treatable and manageable. chemo and radiation and surgery work, or there wouldn't be long term survivors running around....
getting chemo is a whole lot less terrifying than you might expect - a lot of boredom (it generally goes 4 days in a row, about 4 hours a pop), a lot of holiness (I found the chemo room to be full of hope and joy and companionship), and you are in the presence of angels (onc nurses). when my dad went in, he actually felt better afterwards than before he started. some symptoms will get better. you might feel pooped. you may poop. after several weeks, you might loose your hair. you may have no side effects at all. it depends on a lot of things. here's the web-site that will change your life: www.chemocare.com. if you stay on top of your side effects, your life will be healthier and happier. above all else - if you have a question (including my favorite - "is this normal?"), do NOT sit around and fuss, call your onc nurse. she is your life-line. if you get diarrhea or vomiting, and it goes for 6 hours, call the onc nurse. believe it or not, you will get pills for nausea that should get someone a Nobel prize - they act in moments.
there is one thing you need to focus on - you must eat and drink while you're taking chemo - whether you want to or not - you need to get energy going in....
and above all else, know that you're not alone - we're always here.
hugs
Pat
one other thing - do not look at prognoses or statistics - they are out of date, meaningless when applied to an individual, and are pretty depressing. focus on getting better and having some joy.....with your brother and sister survivors
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