Hi, my name is Judy. I have recently been diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma

[Jenny_Williams]

Hi Judy, I hope you are keeping well and enjoying being cancer free. I see my Oncologist tomorrow in Melbourne, so hopefully I will find out where I am at with this new tumor. My energy is increasing a little now, so I can get out and about more. I have a friend who has just been diagnosed with bowel cancer. It seems to be all around us. I guess we notice these things more now Keep well Regards Jenny

[dolly5550]

Hi Jenny, Let me know if you received my last message,as I think it got lost somewhere out there. Regards Judy

[Jenny_Williams]

Hi Judy, I am not sure if your last message got lost. The last one I had from you was on 21st April. I visited my Oncologist yeasterday. A 13 hour round trip to Melbourne and back, but the good news is I am able to have my chemo just an hour from home . I begin chemo on thursday . Only one day a week to start with and probably for a period of 3 months. I guess that could change depending on the results of my next CT scan. I found out that my cancer is classified as stage 3 , not stage 4 as I had thought so the odds are somewhat better than I had become resigned to. I am feeling quite well now so hope that gives me a good start with the chemo. I will just have to find out like everyone else how I am going to handle it. I hope your good health is continuing. I think of you often as we have the connection of being in the same situation. Best wishes Regards Jenny

[Jenny_Williams]

Dear Judy, Your last message arrived on my email inbox not 2 minutes after I posted the above message to you. I hope your chest cold clears soon. Yes I can imagine your concern about your lungs. I think we will be forever thinking the worst every time we get an ache or pain or twinge. I have another suspected growth on a lymph node near my aorta,which I hope the chemo will reduce. Not certain if it is more cancer or fluid from my last operation. All the best , talk again soon, Jenny

[dolly5550]

Hi Jenny, Glad to hear of your good news and pleased that you will be able to receive chemo closer to home,as it can be quite draining.Hopefully you will get through it OK. Everyone is different.Your regime is different to mine though,I guess Doctors have different ideas. Keep me posted as to how you are going Judy

[Jenny_Williams]

Hi Judy, Well I am emerging from the effects of my first day of chemo.I found day 3and 4 very nauseous so took my little white pills and managed to sleep through most of the day and night.I think constipation is my next problem, but working on that. Mouth ulcers came and went in 24 hours but I suspect they will emerge again after my next chemo next thursday. There is a brand new Oncology Unit to be opened in July where I have my chemo. The current building is very small and crowded so any sort of privacy is impossible, even using the commode! I guess we can get used to just about anything if we need to! I have had some friends visit me today ,which is nice but I ask them if they have colds before I let them in. Did you find you had tom almost isolate yourself from the world for fear of infection? Have you recovered from your chest cold.? I can imagine you worrying that it could be a lung cancer. I think we will have these fears as part of our lives forever now. We have a beautiful day here today, so I give thanks for that and intend to enjoy every minute of it. I look forward to your comments each time we talk. Keep Well Your friend Jenny

[dolly5550]

Hi Jenny Glad to hear you have started your chemo at last. Unfortunately it does not come without side effects,nausea being the main one.I was given Emend for three days which got me over the worst part and then I was on my own with the exception of the little white pills which I found did not work too well.Ifound sipping ginger ale/beer quite helpful.I suffered quite badly from constipation despite taking a multitude of aperients.Fortunately I did not have a problem with mouth ulcers,although alot of people do.I think the first round of chemo is the worst as you do not know what to expect.I was not too troubled about getting an infection as I was pretty much self isolating except for visits to the shop.I felt too tired and sick to see anyone or go out.Saying all that it is amazing how well you recover after treatment has finished.I still have days when I feel really tired,but not so bad for me to take time off work.Do you know which chemo drug/s you are having? It was my birthday last week and my family gave me tickets to see Andre Rieu on Saturday night,so I am looking forward to that.I still have a bad chest.I do suffer from emphysema as well and so everytime I get a cold it stirs things up,so hopefully that is all it is.Actually my oncologist was not going to do another scan for four months,however I think I will ask to have it done sooner just to make sure Anyway Jenny take it easy and get lots of rest.It will all be over soon and hopefully seem like a bad dream Judy

[dolly5550]

Hi Jenny Glad to hear you have started your chemo at last. Unfortunately it does not come without side effects,nausea being the main one.I was given Emend for three days which got me over the worst part and then I was on my own with the exception of the little white pills which I found did not work too well.Ifound sipping ginger ale/beer quite helpful.I suffered quite badly from constipation despite taking a multitude of aperients.Fortunately I did not have a problem with mouth ulcers,although alot of people do.I think the first round of chemo is the worst as you do not know what to expect.I was not too troubled about getting an infection as I was pretty much self isolating except for visits to the shop.I felt too tired and sick to see anyone or go out.Saying all that it is amazing how well you recover after treatment has finished.I still have days when I feel really tired,but not so bad for me to take time off work.Do you know which chemo drug/s you are having? It was my birthday last week and my family gave me tickets to see Andre Rieu on Saturday night,so I am looking forward to that.I still have a bad chest.I do suffer from emphysema as well and so everytime I get a cold it stirs things up,so hopefully that is all it is.Actually my oncologist was not going to do another scan for four months,however I think I will ask to have it done sooner just to make sure Anyway Jenny take it easy and get lots of rest.It will all be over soon and hopefully seem like a bad dream Judy

[Jenny_Williams]

Hi Judy, Sorry about the slow reply. I have had a few ups and downs and not up to looking at the computer screen. I had a real battle with constipation but have that sorted now I hope as it was agony and very nauseous making. Had another lot of chemo today and all is very well. My blood levels are good and I feel fine tonight. I suspect they put something in my drip to pep me up. The chemo drugs I am having are called Gemcitabine and Cisplatin. The Gemcitibine is supposed to be harder than the Cisplatin to cope with I will find out in the next few days. I tried your hint about sipping ginger ale and it works very well.About 1 can a day keeps me going. I wish you a very happy birthday for last week and hope you enjoy your Andre Reiu Concert. We have some of his DVDs and enjoy them thoroughly. I mentioned to the Nurses in our Oncolgy ward about how good it was to have you to talk to and they said they will tell others about the Cancer Connect Web site. It is amazing how few people know of the WebSite or even about the Cancer Helpline. They are missing out on a lot of support Hope your chest cold is clearing and gives you some peace of mind Bye for Now Your friend Jenny

[dolly5550]

Hi Jenny, It is 2am in the morning and I have been awake for hours coughing so thought I would turn on the computer.Glad you appear to be getting through your chemo ok I was on the same drugs you are having however it was the cisplatin I couldnt handle.It is a very poweful drug and I had to stop it.They switched me to carboplatin which I was able to tolerate much better,The doctors admitted that it is a very hard drug to take,so if you can take it that is great.Everyone is different I guess. It is understandable that you dont feel like doing anything. I remember I preffered to sleep alot and that way I didnt feel sick.It really is unfair that we all have to go through this. I stumbled on this site by accident,in fact it was my son who found it.Some comments I found helpful,others very depressing.How is your hair going? Mine is starting to get thicker again but it is taking a long time.I used to colour my hair before treatment,but they advise you against it for at least six months. Any way Jenny I am going back to bed now as I have to work in the morning. Thinking of you Judy