New To Boards....Just Started Chemo & Radiation

Hi everyone,

I just started chemo and radiation today for Stage II rectal cancer.  I am 50 years old and have a wonderful husband who has been my rock since being diagnosed.  Well, before, too, but he has really stepped up this time, bless his heart.

Truly, I am scared to death.  I know that I will be feeling like total crap soon and I will want to give up.  The docs and the research I have done say this is highly curable, but I am still freaked out.  I suppose what I am looking for is emotional support at this point.  My husband is wonderful, and I wouldn't kick him outa bed for eating crackers, but I would really appreciate some words of wisdom or something uplifting to keep me going through all of this.  I am such a chicken.  I appear brave to my friends and co-workers, but most nights I can't sleep and grab a cold washcloth and lots of kleenex and cry my eyes out.  My kids say to "stay strong, mom" and I repeat that to myself many times a day.

Thanks for letting me vent.  I would appreciate some positive feedback.

I am sending you a private reply on this forum.  Please look for it.

 

Jaynee

Just  a quick note to say I'm cheering for you -- and I hope that each day is going well.  I sent you a private email earlier -- hope you received it.  Best, stjohn

KMOMIA...Your children are right...keep a positive attitude through it all.  You will have times you might not feel well...but, you'll pull through and the result of beating the cancer is you brass ring at the end.  Don't ever give up...you will win!

I was diagnosed with a stage four brain tumor in July of 2005 with not a very good prognosis.  Here I am today MRI's clear and stable.  Your husband and familes support is key along with your positive attitude and a goal to win!

My prayers are with you....hang tough!

Tranquillity 

 

 

 

On 3/6/2008 tranquillity wrote:

KMOMIA...Your children are right...keep a positive attitude through it all.  You will have times you might not feel well...but, you'll pull through and the result of beating the cancer is you brass ring at the end.  Don't ever give up...you will win!

I was diagnosed with a stage four brain tumor in July of 2005 with not a very good prognosis.  Here I am today MRI's clear and stable.  Your husband and familes support is key along with your positive attitude and a goal to win!

My prayers are with you....hang tough!

Tranquillity 

 

 

 

Thanks to you all for your replies!   I am really excited to know that there are others that have been in my shoes, and all of your support and suggestions will be greatly received and appreciated!

Here is hoping my future posts are still on the positive note. :)

Bless you all.

K

Hello,

I'm writing to let you know I sent you a private reply.

Take care,

Lisa

Whew, I made it a whole week.  Fatigue set in on day 3.  My head feels foggy, my hands and feet itch a bit but I use Cortisone cream for that.  The constipation is taking turns with the mild diarrhea.  My mouth has mild sores and it helps to rinse with warm salt water every few hours.  I take anti-nausea meds and Extra Strength Tylenol when necessary.  I think the dizziness affects me most of all.  I got some Ambien from my family doc a month or so ago and use that a night or two a week. They started me on 5-FU Chemo last Monday ( now I know what the FU stands for...) with the fanny pack the same time I started my radiation treatment.  The pack came off on Friday.  Tomorrow I am to start the IMRT radiation therapy for 5-6 weeks then I will have the chemo again the last 4 days.  Its hard to know what to eat.  Constipation....diarrhea.....what to eat!  Trying to stay dehydrated is a pain with mostly water because lemonade hurts my mouth, Pepsi has no flavor whatsoever.  What I think works the best at least twice a day is an Instant Breakfast.  My husband is cooking whatever I need.  Boy, a good cup of coffee sounds great right about now, but the heat would be disastrous.  I am just taking this one day at a time.  I cannot dwell on what is going to happen.  Everyone is dealing with this damn cancer the best they can.  I must say I hate it.  Can I say that?  I hate it so much that I am going to beat this monster. I know it will get much harder before I see the light at the end of the tunnel, but bear with me, folks, and hang in there with my complaints and fowl moods that I may display.  Some of these posts may not be edited properly!   Have a great Sunday, everyone.  The sun is shining, and spring is coming soon.  Thank goodness for that. 

KMomIA

 

On 3/3/2008 KMomIA wrote:

Hi everyone,

I just started chemo and radiation today for Stage II rectal cancer.  I am 50 years old and have a wonderful husband who has been my rock since being diagnosed.  Well, before, too, but he has really stepped up this time, bless his heart.

Truly, I am scared to death.  I know that I will be feeling like total crap soon and I will want to give up.  The docs and the research I have done say this is highly curable, but I am still freaked out.  I suppose what I am looking for is emotional support at this point.  My husband is wonderful, and I wouldn't kick him outa bed for eating crackers, but I would really appreciate some words of wisdom or something uplifting to keep me going through all of this.  I am such a chicken.  I appear brave to my friends and co-workers, but most nights I can't sleep and grab a cold washcloth and lots of kleenex and cry my eyes out.  My kids say to "stay strong, mom" and I repeat that to myself many times a day.

Thanks for letting me vent.  I would appreciate some positive feedback.

I am beginning my first round of chemo today. I have stage III rectal cancer and am 52 yrs. of age. I am more anxious than scared.Probably because I had to wait so long for wonderful HIP to finally approve my treatments!!! it is now 16 weeks after surgery. Was due to start at least 2 months ago. So I just want to get going already! I am ready to fight this disease with all that it takes and all that I've got in me. I have two amazing sons that I refuse to leave!!! You are blessed to have a wonderful husband. Stay strong you are worth it... fight,fight!!!!!!

I'm sorry we have to meet this way!  I was diagnosed with stage II colorectal cancer 7/3/07.  I was freaked out at first also.  The only way I can explain it was that for weeks it was like an out of body experience.  I can tell you it gets less scarey most days at time goes on.  I had 8 wks of continuous infusion of 5FU.  I was very lucky the nausea that I got was relieved by compazine (some people can't get rid of it).  I did get mouth sores but the doc decreased my dose a bit and that helped.  I also used Caphosol which is REALLY expensive but really helped.  If you have to pay a lot for it I have about 4 boxes left and would be willing to send you mine (they're all sealed) at no charge.  The worse part was radiation every day.  If Jaynee sent you her regime in the pm she sent you, USE IT!  You will still get sore but if you don't it will be a lot worse.  I asked my radiation doc. and he said it was fine to use but make sure I took a shower the morning before radiation so there isn't any left on.  When your through use it.  I didn't find the cocoa butter to be of much help but the Johnsons and Johnsons 24 hr. moisturizing and the aloe were life savers.  I know it's scarey but I to was a stage II and the radiation brought it down to a stage I by the time I had surgery and the margins were clear which is the best you can get because cancer cannot jump over the margins.  You'll be alright.  What really helped me is my faith in God.  I put it in his hands and I truly believe he healed me.  I was suppose to have an APR and six more months of chemo after my surgery.  God lead me to the right people and I ended up with an excision and downstaged to a one so no need of the additional six months chemo.  This may not be your belief so find whatever you need to help you through.  Some people do Yoga but my faith is in God.

 

God Bless You!

Hi, I just wanted to say I wish you all the luck and strength in the world. My brother is stage IV CR with a huge tumor on liver, bones and lymph nodes, diagnosed in June 2007, we were told he had a few months at the most. Well, it is March 2008 and he is still going strong, however his chemo did not involve 5FU, instead he was given Xeloda, oral version of 5FU and he had no side-effects whatsoever from it, no burning, itching, feeling sick it is great and very convenient and yet does the same thing as 5FU, in fact it is oral version of it. He is also on Oxilaplatin (which gives him numbness in fingers and loss of taste for a first 2-3 days after the chemo treatment) and he gets supplemental drug Avastin, which is not chemo but does stop blood supply to the tumor and therefore it had shrunk his liver tumor by 40% in first 3 months of treatment. This said, he is stage 4 and very much spread as I wrote before, but the chemo has been a breeze for him, go figure! As for eating, well he was skin and bones after colon surgery and with help of this wonderful product called ProSure, geared specifically to cancer patients he gained back 30 lbs he lost before, and it tastes great like creamsicle. Like I said, there are many treatment options out there now and many of them do not wreck havoc on people's lives anymore so you can feel good and enjoy regular activities while fighting this terror. Here is the link to the website for ProSure if you'd like to check it out http://www.prosure.com/ Lana