New round of chemo

[Vicki_Anne]

I start a new batch of chemo next week. PICC line back in on Wednesday and then straight into the chemo. This one is a shorter cycle of 2 weeks and 6 cycles. I have Oxaliplatin and I have the 5FU bottle in again, this time only for 3 days a fortnight. on the alternate weeks I go in to have the PICC line dressed. Its a bit scary stepping back in to the chemo doses again. Not knowing whether this one will make me sick or not. I was fortunate with the last lot that I had no nausea. Hopefully this time it will shrink the lesions and tumours. I have been looking into some supplements, vitamins and minerals etc that might build up my immune system and give my body a better chance to fight these bad cells inside. LOL some claim they do great things. If only!! ... I think I have worked out a couple that could help. Good food first topped up with a good supplement or two. And onward we march! Cheers Vicki

[harker]

Foxtel is good, too, especially all the food shows. I used to cue up the cooking shows and watch them end on end in between chemo and getting the PICC line dressed. I liked the aura that surrounded healthy food prepared well. It made me feel better and cooking was something I could do without overstretching. Good luck with it, Vicki Anne. H

[Vicki_Anne]

Thanks Harker, I've never been big on cooking at home, but love watching the shows. You always manage to pick up an idea or two or even some motivation sometimes. LOL They tell me not to take vitamins and minerals and antioxident stuff with chemo, but I can surely do things like seeds (pumpkin seeds), and nuts and juices and other good stuff. will keep looking. Vicki

[samex]

Hi Vicki, This is the same regime that I had for 12 cycles.Gotta love the fasion accessory of the bottle and its lovely reassuring beep every minute! I found the nausea was controlled by the anti-nausea drugs they gave me and I was pretty good at taking them. I often felt yukky early in the morning after the evening drugs wore off, but hey, we all get there in the end don't we?! I didn't do any supplements as I was a bit scared about the interference and I was in unknown territory. other friends who have been through chemo have used trusted naturopaths to help them through . I guess it is an individual decision and really depends on how you feel and what you feel like eating. Good luck with it all and rememeber that there is always someone here to listen if you are feeling a bit off. Take care and see if you can colour co-ordinate the bag for 5FU to your outfit!I had a great oncology nurse who always gave the females first choice in the colours of the bags. Sexist but funny! Samex

[diannep52]

Hi Vicki Anne, hope everything is going well with your new round of chemo! It is a real bummer when we have to go back onto treatment, but I just reassure myself with the thought, 'if this stuff makes me feel this sick, imagine what it is doing to those nasty cancer cells'. I finished 6 months of IV chemo in July, 09 then had 30 radiation treatments Sept 09. My initial diagnosis was advanced bc with widespread bony mets. I have since had a flare up in my neck bones and had a week of radiation (not as long as the first dose, but more concentreated) in Sept 10. Now I have just recently started on oral chemo, Xeloda, due to cancer counts rising and a bit more bone activity. Thank god at this stage, it is just confined to my bones, all scans show nothing in other organs. We are however, very resilient people (special people) - are just seem to bounce back after our bad news. good luck with your treatments. Di 🙂

[Vicki_Anne]

Put chemo off until after my daughters wedding in 3 weeks time. Was really exhausted and not well the other day so didnt actually start the chemo yet. The doctor thought I had made a good choice as it has got to the point where I need to consider if a 2nd round of chemo will benefit or make things worse. If physically I cant cope then maybe its crunch time so to speak. Quality rather than quantity in life thats left. I feel relieved that doctor thought I had made a wise and sensible choice about wednesday. Great support also from family. Hubby has been so supportive with all this. Nothing will cure me , its about making the best of however much time I have left. Getting through the wedding is my goal now. Vicki

[diannep52]

hi Vicki, Personally, I think you have made the right decision in delaying chemo until after the wedding. We wait a long time for our children to grow up and marry, and this is a huge milestone in their lives and ours! You deserve to feel well on the day, so that you can enjoy it!! I look at this way, the damage has already been done, and a few extra weeks in delaying treatment, will not make that much difference. I'm so glad that you have a great hubby and family support, and that they are prepared to go along with what decisions you make regarding your treatment. There must come a time when we need to say, 'OK enough is enough' and quality should win out over quantity any day - this would be an extremely hard decision to make I'm sure - (not facing that prospect myself - yet!). Maybe after a couple of weeks break and time to regain some strength, you may look at 'things' differently. But......the choice is yours!! I wish you, your family and especially your daughter all the best for the 'big day', I hope it is truly amazing! Take care of yourself. All the best Di (big hugs to you - hope you feel better real soon xoxo)

[Jules2]

Hi Vicki Anne Tough decision for you to have to make! It does seem a wise choice and at least you wont be hooked up to anything for the wedding. Wonderful that your husband is so supportive of you , that is a great comfort to you I am sure. Have you been taking any photos lately? I got a new camera for xmas and have been playing with it a bit. Not that i am terribly good at it. Going to try and upload a pic of the beach that I was at the other day so that S can see it. Sending you a virtual hug Julie