Husband's First Chemo Treatment

Hi, everyone

My husband, Joe, had his first chemo treatment today for Stage IV non small-cell lung cancer (squamous cell).  He got Taxatere and Cisplatin, with anti-nausea drug, Benadryl, Dexamethasone, Lasix, and the pill, Emend. They gave him all those things before the chemo, and he did great!!  He actually slept for about an hour during treatment, and ate lunch and snack while we were there.

They did great with giving him the taxatere, but were dripping the Cisplatin so slowly that the dr. yelled at them when he came through the treatment room, and they changed the speed of the drip. I swear we would still be there now if they hadn't done that.

They told us about possible side effects to look for this week: fever, chills, and vomiting that we should call about if it happens.  The only real problem he has tonight is some shaking of his hands. I told him I thought it was the dex because that happens on my dex day, too.  Does everyone agree about that??

Let me know if you have comments or ideas to share. We'd appreciate it! Thank you so much.

Mary Ann

side effects are different for everyone. my husbands first day was much like yours, 9 hours. first 3 days were great, just some fatigue, he also ate and napped while taking chemo.

he has stage 4 nasopharynx carcinoma.

last two days he started getting diarrhea and was extremely fatigued but couldnt sleep which resulted in moodiness, but he mostly slept thru chemo.

he went back to work after the first round, working 12 hour days. by the second round, he was completely exhausted and experienced every symptom ten-fold. he is now out on disability.

but no two are alike, so it is hard to tell u exactly how he will react. he can have one, some, or all of the symptoms. the most important thing is to get rest, and alot of it.

hope this helps.

Hi, homershoney,

Thank you for the feedgback.  Actually, after I posted my message, things changed. Joe started having diarrhea the night of the chemo until about 5 in the morning. The next day he seemed fine, and then on day three, he totally crashed. He spent Sat., Sun, and Monday on the couch. He has had some very, very soft stools in the mornings this week, also. Yesterday, he felt nauseous, but hasn't vomited. He's still eating, and today he had a little more energy. We saw the onc's assistant today, and she recommended that he take Imodium for the soft stools. His mouth is also very sore, and she suggested sucking on hard cancy for that.

It's so hard watching him go through all this, because for my Multiple Myeloma, all I have to do is pop a chemo pill 21 days, and then take 7 days off. I also have to take dexamethasone on Thursdays, to pulse the chemo pill, but it's so much easier for me than it is for him.

He said he can see why people give up on chemo for quality of life, and then in the next sentence he says that he is going to fight it all the way.  Joe is out on disability, too, since 9/25/09, but it's not like we can really go out and do much at this point. Sorry I sound like I'm whining. It's just so new to me.

Good luck to you and your husband. Hope you are taking care of YOURSELF, too.

Mary Ann