members suggestions on what helped them through chemo

[Gail]

Great to hear your comments journeygal, everything is invaluable advice for newbies starting their treatment. You've nearly finished everything which is wonderful, you must be feeling great getting through chemo! Take care and keep posting.

[Journeygal]

Hi guys, joined a couple of days ago and thought i would put up my first post. I am a relatively young un diagnosed at 28 in April with bc and have just made it out of a couple of surgeries and 6 chemo cycles (FEC and Taxotere/Docetaxel) and started on herceptin. Radiation is my next bonus woohoo.

In terms of somethings that helped me hugely through chemo - i am the nauseous type on planes, cars etc yet with the FEC only felt bad for say a day or two and nothing with Taxotere.

-Ginger tablets are a god-send - there was a whole study on how much it helped chemo patients with reduced nausea. Key is to take about 3 tablets 3 days BEFORE and AFTER the cycle.

-I used seabands on my wrist for the day and day after each cycle.

-I opted for the ice gloves and socks for my hands and feet during taxotere. Not comfy but still have my nails all be it darkenend. My oncologist recommended i paint the nails black to prevent it reacting with sunlight and worsening as well as helping to cover it up. So i had hte goth look for about 4 months.

-A tip from a good friend's mum: Fresh and not so tasty organic vegetable juice almost every day which we sqeezed at home. Tasty concoction had organic broccoli, ginger, beetroot, spinach/silverbeet, celery and carrots to make it bearable. Stayed away from citrus/fruit in it as it is acidic and can irritate the stomach more.

-Used sodium bicarbonate dissolved in water as mouth wash as i have terrible teeth. I found other stuff made my eyes water and mouth burn.

-Stayed away from chilli which was hard from me as i love my spicy food

-Having come out of chemo have been taking magnesium, zinc and looking for activated Vitamin b which my naturopath reckons will really help my low energy levels.

I'm sure there's lots more but not coming to mind. Will post when i remember.

[nik]

[molly dooker]

Bumping for Nik

[yowyow]

[purplepower]

some great info in this thread..i am sti working ut this
SOOO GLAD U R ALL HERE
Purplep

[yowyow]

bumping up for purple power

there are pages of tips

[TanS]

I dont think having this thread will stop any of the personal replies. I know I got a lot of value from this and the rads thread along with the personal replies.

I have 2 rads to go and when I spoke to my rads onc yesterday he said I have the mildest skin reaction he has ever seen........I credit this to the great ideas I picked up in here.

Tanya

[Janette]

Thanks Nav,
You would know better what Janine and Cheryl wanted. No hurry just do what you can when you can. Appreciate your efforts very much.

The layout looks great. If you want me to do anything let me know, I can split the thread for you or other tweaks.

[yowyow]

yeah your right janette, i will always try and reply with my experiences
but for those members who have moved on, their advice and experiences
copied into the stickies are also so very very useful, as we know we are all so different and what works for some doesn't always work for others.

I still plan to copy paste as I have been (you will see withing the thread)
then hopefully put it all in topics as I began to.

I will work on it slowly (with school hols coming up might take a bit longer)

If your happy with the layout I did I will just continue to do that, then we can maybe
delete the conversations in between. Or make any suggestions and I will change it.

[SUE48]

Hi there
I like the idea of the personal replies...the link is great, but there's alot of info here about all the different chemo combo's...fair amount to absorb and sort thru to get to your relevant chemo SE's
I must say I do still enjoy receiving those "you've got mail" emails. so I am all for the personal replies, but having the link would be good too.. there are some of us who love "all the info they can get" so at least that would please everyone's tastes.
Just my thoughts
Regards
Sue

[Janette]

Nav,
JMO, I think people will give personal experiences but those of us that don't have the answers can alway give a link to it or even as an adjunct to the personal experience. Interested to hear what others think.

[yowyow]

thanks tan,

gotta get back onto this...Cheryl and Janine thought it was very important

just a question to all... is it a good idea - the forum went very quiet for a while
or do you think it may make ppl hold back on posting replies to girls just starting their chemo (that would be sad)
- as a link to this thread answers all questions and its not like personal replies and connections. (just me thinking overtime PMT)
I know its probably a good read for those about to start but does it make it less personal not getting
replies. Sorry, am I making sense ?

[TanS]

Bumping

[sue2211]

Had a look back in my diary, as the girls are right about forgetting what happened.
The reality of chemo was never as bad as I imagined. I felt ok on the day, a bit pale, but woke up red and flushed the next day. That was normal and gone by day 3. I had a port inserted in my arm and it's the best thing I ever did. Never had to sit there for hours trying to find a vein like some people I saw.
The first few days after chemo were ok, but the fogginess set in about day 4. I had lots of movies to watch, and good company to help pass the time. Don't give the nausea time to set in, if you feel at all queesy, take the tablets they give you they work very quickly. The dex made me constipated, so I took coloxyl with senna the day before chemo.
I enjoyed food with sauces or gravies, they just seemed to go down better. Drank loads of water and ate chocolate when I felt like it. Absoloutly no guilt trip allowed after chemo.
Used biotene toothpaste when my teeth felt like they were going to fall out. Also Dr lewinns revitalnail during taxol on my toe and finger nails. Tried to walk when I felt up to it, keep those stiff muscles working.
Used saline first thing in the morning to rinse the nostrils. During taxol my nose was dry and bled most mornings. The hospital supplied me with those small saline things they use to flush ports
The most valuable thing for me was having a friend I could ring up and have a good cry whinge or laugh with. She;d been through the chemo 6 months prior to me. She made me feel that I could deal with anything thrown at me and that I was normal. The cancer council have a helpline and can put you in touch with someone who had a similar diagnosis to you that you can chat to.
I dealt with hair loss by taking charge and arranging my wig before I lost my hair. That way it was styled and cut the way my real hair was. The wig was then taken in when I lost my hair for free. The first time I went for a wig, I took my daughter who I knew would be brutally honest. We took lots of photos of me wearing different styles which I could then look at home before I made the decision. Don't be rushed!!
Go to the Look good feel better workshop to learn about how to look after your skin, apply eyebrows and eyeliner and generally meet some wonderful people and have a fun day. You also end up with an amazing goody bag of top line stuff to take home.
sue x