Hubby is finishing 5 months of Tarceva and the Dr wants to go to 6 weeks of what he says is “ lighter” chemo and radiation. Chemo weekly and radiation daily.
What can we expect? Side effects?
He’s been working full time so far, any ideas for what that might look like?
Thanks for your help!
Hello😊. Your sweet husband can look forward to being tired a lot. Depending on where the radiation is(if it is in the mediastinum) he will get a sore throat. There are meds for the sore throat Make your husband bone broth Soup( beef or chicken). Look up recipes on google. These broths helped me with fatigue and helped me to get clear headed. He needs to drink at least 2 bottles of Gatorade a day so he won’t get dehydrated. Sit in the sun and walk with him. It’s important to not sleep all the time. Be around friends and loved ones , keep his mind occupied and distracted. Now, for me the most important and life assuring thing was prayer and my faith. Look in the mirror and tell that demon Cancer , “ your dying today”. “Go to hell and ask God to seal it there. ATTITUDE ATTITUDE ATTITUDE LAST, get up and thank God for every day he blesses you with. My prayers are with you God Bless
I can only speak to the side effects of chemo- he will be feel fatigued. After each chemo treat his fatigue will get get worst and last longer. My chemo was 3 weeks apart and after the first round my fatigue only lasted a little over 1 week. By the last round my fatigue lasted almost the whole 3 weeks. His taste buds will change and somethings that he liked before I’ll taste horrible, for me it was Diet Coke. Also look into see if he can have neulesta to help with the bone aches. He will also want to take Claritin to help with the bone aches. He should take the Claritin the day of chem and for a few days following chemo to help with the aches. Also make sure that they write him a prescription for anti nausea medicine, I had a short lasting (4 hours) and a long lastly (8 hours). Make sure he takes it at the earliest sign of feeling nausea. Get some Imodium D on hand in case he gets diarrhea from the chemo. As Texas64 mentioned he may get mouth sores, so you will need to get non-alcohol mouth wash. I kept telling myself during chemo at the times I was at my lowest- that if others could do this then I could also.
Wishing him the best during this horrible process.
I forgot one more thing- have him drink 8 glasses of water a day to facilitate the chemo leaving his body.
Different people and their bodies react differently. I had 30 radiation treatments and chemotherapy once a week in April 2016. Here it's November 2017 and I have been told I have thickness of the area that was treated with radiation. Yes all the tumors I had at that time were gone - yea but now I have to deal with breathing problems (severe) and coughing issues. No one told me about what radiation effects could show up later so please ask just so you all know. I wouldn't have done differently but at least I would have known about future. Also tumors came back for me, but the radiation and chemotherapy bought me blessed time. Just ask about possible down the road affects of radiation ..Good luck. God is the key to all for prayer is what keeps me strong.
It's so hard to say until you know exactly "which" chemo med he will be taking. Plus, as already mentioned we are all different and how we react and feel with Chemo can be different for each of us.
I was originally on Carboplatin and Pemetrexed and did not find it overly difficult. I did okay until about the 3rd-4th day after each infusions (bi weekly) and then the side effects (mostly intense fatigue and nausea) would hit and last a few days. I did not have much of an appetite, but could tolerate smoothies and kept drinking "lots of fluids". I took my anti nausea meds, as needed. Happily, I also had good results, and eventually became NED and was switched to Pemetrexed (Alimta) only for a time.
I later had Radiation after progression and found that even more fatiguing, but it may have been because it's "daily" and I was driving myself back and forth to each appointment.
Best wishes...! I will hope that he does well
It depends on what the chemo is as to the side effects. I had cisplatin and Pemetrexed two different times. The first was for 16 weeks (cisplatin 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off) and the second time for 4 treatments 3 weeks apart. The chemo is cumulative and although the side effects were minor starting out, by the end of the first treatment they were pretty severe and after only one treatment the second go round. I had to have a blood transfusion after the first round. I found the cisplatin the hardest to take. Fatigue, nausea, constipation and diarrhea were some of the side effects. Food didn't taste the same and I lost quite a bit of weight because I couldn't eat. It took me almost 6 months to recover from chemo. I had 30 radiation treatments (5 days a week for 6 weeks). Starting out was OK but by the end of the second week Fatigue kicked in and my esophagus was painful. Depending on where they aim the radiation your esophagus could be affected causing problems swallowing. Again, food did not taste the same so lost my appetite. I wound up with radiation pneumonitis which I still have a year after the treatment. The radiation is also present in the tissue that was treated. I did not know the possibility of these side effects when I started treatment. Ask questions and be your husbands advocate. Honestly, I was grateful I didn't have to work (I am retired) through all the treatments as I don't think I could have. Best wishes for you and your husband.
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