My father just started chemotherapy two weeks ago and Im wondering how I can prepare myself and more importantly, help him as the weeks progress. He is scheduled for three weeks on and one week off for a total of twelve weeks. Every Monday he goes. The first week, he was fine and didnt feel anything. His bloodwork was perfect. This week he was fine until Thursday. Since then he has not been well at all. He is flushed, has diarrhea, some slight bleeding from the nose (doctors think this is allergy related more than chemo related) and sick to his stomach. He had pretty much decided he was NOT going to be sick because he is Superman and so strong. Now that he feels bad, he is really depressed. I am scared of what next week is going to be like if he already feels this bad so soon. He is taking a mix of Taxol and Ciplastin(sp).
As background, my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer the day after Christmas. Never smoked, perfect health except for high blood pressure, very fit and active is my dad. It was a very small tumor (less than 1.5 cm), had not spread, clear margins, doctor labled it 1A--it was only found because he had pneumonia which according to doctors was completely unrelated. We went to many doctors after the surgery was done and most said my dad did not fit the profile for chemotherapy. However, talking with other people who had been through similar circumstances and even some people on Cancer Compass who had experience with themselves and family members, we opted to do it. We want to do any and everything we can to make the chances of recurrence as slim as possible. Anyway, my dad stays with me after his treatment and I am a little nervous now that he has been feeling so bad. With only two treatments under the belt, what will happen next week? Or a month from now? What can I do to prepare and help him be prepared or able to handle it better mentally?
Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
All the best,
Candace