Jan
I had chemo after surgery. I felt miserable and thought I would die. I would ask the doctor every time I saw him and he assured me I would live. The treatment though is very rough. I never felt so exhausted in my life. Foods smelled and tasted pretty bad. I was dry everywhere. I lost all of my hair. I got hot and then I got cold. I could keep going. It was pretty bad!
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Seriously grim, particularly if combined with radiotherapy.
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I have been through it with 3 people, it's hell, you are literally poisoning your body so it makes you very sick and it can be a long process. All I can say is FIGHT!
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My dad is currently going through chemotherapy. When he was taking the pill type of chemo, he would feel rather nauseous most of the time.
Now that he's getting the intravenous chemo, he goes once every 3 weeks and gets hooked up to the IV for about 8 hours. The next day he feels okay, but the day after that he feels really sick. He then recovers over the next day or two and feels pretty good until he gets treatment again.
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Like you have no energy and feel like ****….all the time, also your whole body feels like it doesn't want to be here. Not very good at all.
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my aunty who has breast cancer she had it she is in her 70's and it tired her out she does'nt want to go through it again.
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I have never been through this, but from the stories I have heard and posters comments on this board, it makes you realise that getting those checkups at the first sign there could be something wrong is so terribly vital.
Cancer is so cruel.
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The treatment can be physically exhausting for the patient. Current chemotherapeutic techniques have a range of side effects mainly affecting the fast-dividing cells of the body. Important common side-effects include (dependent on the agent):
* Nausea and vomiting
* Diarrhea or constipation
* Anemia
* Malnutrition
* Hair loss
* Memory loss
* Depression of the immune system, hence (potentially lethal) infections and sepsis
* Hemorrhage
* Secondary neoplasms
* Cardiotoxicity
* Hepatotoxicity
* Nephrotoxicity
* Ototoxicity
Please see the web pages for more details on Cancer chemotherapy.
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There are over 200 different types of cancer and there are just as many different types of chemotherapy to treat the specific disease. Not all chemotherapy is the same. It is also not always given in the same dosages or combinations or at the same time depending on the disease and the patients overall health.
So, what you commonly hear about chemotherapy is from people who have it the worst . . you hear about the hair loss, nausea, and other side effects. Years ago the side effects were far worse than they are today. Today they have medications that can control the nausea. There are also new types of chemotherapy being developed or in use now that are called targeted therapy. These are drugs that can be used on a daily basis and have few or no side effects at all.
The most common side effect for all chemo drugs seems to be fatigue.
The positive thing about chemotherapy is, of course, it can kill, shrink, or control cancer cells . . and the ill feeling and hair loss is usually temporary. In other words a patient only feels lousy when they are taking the drugs and for a few days afterwards. The majority of times they will feel fine and be able to do almost anything that anyone else can do.
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It's different for everyone. I'm one of the lucky ones. I haven't really had much nausea and although I do get tired it's not as bad as some people have it. The most obvious side effect is that I lost my hair. For me the worst part is sitting in the chair for hours with the IV drip. Some people can sleep through it but I can't.
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It really depends on the chemo the person is on…..I have been on several different types, since they can't get my NH Lymphoma to "stay asleep". Some have been pretty nasty….made me sick, weak, tired, bald……the combo I just finished wasn't really bad……just made my red counts so low, I was tired all the time, but I still worked full time, since it wasn't that bad.
It sucks knowing that you're being pumped full of toxic chemicals and you worry about if it will damage your organs and such, but I'd rather take that chance and be here to raise my kids (I'm a widow, so no dad for them to turn to) than not do it and lose the battle….
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Well I am having chemo at the moment.
It really does depend on the type of chemo you have to have as there are so many different types depending on where you have the cancer.
Not all chemos give the same side effects.
But my symptoms include.
Hair loss
Tiredness, like nothing you have experienced before!!!!!!
Nausea (Vomited only once)
breathlessness for approx 10days post chemo
Sleeplessness when on the steroids.
Constipation
Sore mouth with ulcers.
Bleeding gums
bloated after eating.
altered taste.
It all sounds dreadful but it has been bearable and a small price to pay if it kills my cancer.