First off let's come to the conclusion that everyone is different. I am not claiming to be an authority or to have extensive medical education. There are different kinds of cancer and different treatments and different side-effects. I only know what I have experienced and what I did to get some relief. I quickly found that I wasn't given adequate info and found myself frustrated and searching for answers in books and on the internet. Thank God for my husband and mom who were my support crew. Sometimes it took all three of us to pray, search for answers, argue with nurses, interrogate pharmacists, and scour the net. I was told by my doctor that they "hope for the best" in every situation which was supposed to be an answer to "why didn't somebody tell me this was going to happen to me?!"
This is by no means the whole list of side-effects but I would strongly encourage you not to go to lists (they are very long) because they will only scare you and you will end up looking for things to happen to you. Try to only look up side-effects that you are currently experiencing and their treatments. A good resource is www.chemocare.com but there are certainly others and forums you can join for questions, info, and support. I belong to www.cancerforums.net which is free to join and has people with your specific diagnosis that you can talk to. I found that these side-effects were mostly chemo-related and eventually faded after treatment. Now let's get crackin' and name some names!
-Nausea: This is a big one for a lot of people but I didn't have a lot of it and was able to keep an appetite and eat. When you have chemo they will give you medication for this and also a prescription to take home for appetite and nausea. The nausea med Zofran didn't help me much but the appetite med Megestrol did.
-Heartburn: This was a big one for me. The antacid the doctor prescribed was a must. I made sure to not eat after 8:00 because it aggravated the symptoms.
-Acid Reflux: Also helped by antacids. If you have throat pain, gargling with warm salt water helps.
-Headache: I only used extra strength Tylenol and got by ok. *This was mostly a symptom of steriods which they gave me for inflammation.
-Chapped Lips: Use a washcloth and warm water and rub the excess skin gently. Apply vitamin E. Chapstick was not enough.
-Dry Skin: Get yourself some really good moisturizer especially for your face. Now is not the time to go cheap. Chemo dries out everything.
-Constipation: Drink tons of water. Ask your doc for advice if this is persistent.
-Hemorrhoids: Go with the above symptom. My doc prescribed Proctofoam which worked wonders.
-Neuropathy: A damage to the nerves. You will feel a tingling/numbness/slight burning in your hands and feet. Tell your doc immediately if you experience this! They can tweak your meds to alleviate it (I found out too late). I am still working on recovery of this but it is coming back slowly.
-Fatigue: You will be tired but move as much as possible. It helps to take short little walks and do regular chores. Laundry helped me to feel like I had a normal routine. Ask for help if you need it and rest if you need to. Remind yourself that you can say no to activities or visits from people.
-Body Aches: My bones ached. Hot baths with Epson salt and lavender helped out a lot. You can buy bags of it at most drug stores. They also helped me to relax and sleep at night.
-Chemo Head: Sometimes I would zone out and get confused. I had to give myself time and be patient and write things down or have my family do so.
-Hair Loss: Happened gradually for me. I collected hats, scarves, and wigs. Wigs can be expensive but they have some really cool ones now. Your doc can write a prescription for one and your insurance might pick up the tab or some stores give discounts for chemo patients. Check around.
*Medications have their own set of delightful side-effects:
-Steroids: They are given to you during chemo to help with side-effects. They can cause side-effects of their own including sleeplessness so research this one. I had to start slowly and stop slowly with them.
-Pain Medication: I was given major meds in the hospital and sent home with none. This caused MAJOR problems for me. Make sure to take the least amount possible and that you step down from them by taking less and less until you stop.
If you have any questions about any of these please feel free to comment. I would like to add that a good multi vitamin and B vitamins have helped me a lot. You can also ask for a B12 shot if you think you need it. I was really tired and found out I needed blood transfusions because my cell numbers were low. Remember to tell your nurses and doctor everything that is going on with you even if you think it is nothing. Hang in there, ask, and research. You can do this!
Stay tuned as next time we tackle "Yes, I have Cancer" Connecting With Other People.
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