DH Stage 3C started chemo yesterday.

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melissadc76
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2018 5:03 pm
Facebook Username: melissa.syria

DH Stage 3C started chemo yesterday.

Postby melissadc76 » Fri Jan 11, 2019 10:42 am

DH had his port placed on Wed and had his first infusion yesterday, sent home with a ball of chemo.
They also gave him iron infusion, which I didn't know was a possibility. The iron pills haven't been effective in getting his levels up.

No nausea or anything. Can anyone give me ideas on what to expect? Timelines on how soon he might be having side effects, etc? When they tend to be worse/better?

How can I support him? What did you need when you were going through chemo? This morning, he woke up HUNGRY!

Melissa
Caregiver to my DH (48 yo)
5 kids (2 mine 21 & 16, 2 ours 11 & 10, 1 adopting 2)
Dx Sigmoid Adenocarcinoma 10/25/2018
No staging yet, told "Inoperable" and "about the size of an orange"
Emerg Colostomy bowel block 10/25/2018
New colostomy surgery 11/5/2018 (new placement of original botched placement?)
CT scans of lungs and liver look "clear"
Huntsman Cancer Institute surgery consult
Tx Plan: Neoadj Chemo FOLFOX 1/10/2019-?
CEA 1.9 (I guess it's not a marker for him).

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ginabeewell
Posts: 565
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2018 10:30 am

Re: DH Stage 3C started chemo yesterday.

Postby ginabeewell » Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:06 am

They would have given him anti-nausea meds and steroids. I was always starving right after chemo thanks the latter; and then started to feel less good partway through day two and peaking through day three. Have him eat as much as he can if he's hungry now, my appetite was pretty severely impacted for most of the cycle, and by day 3-5 I was needing naps.

Doctors told me to stay ahead of the nausea with Zofran and Compazine; advice I ignored my first few cycles until I started to throw up. With weight loss a big issue, I was a bit more proactive after that!!
49 YO mom of twins (11) lucky stepmom of 16/19 year olds
9/17/18 DX stage 4 CRC w inoperable liver mets CEA 931
Currently NED!

Join me on a lookback of my journey via my Strive for Five on Substack here:
https://ginajacobson.substack.com

All treatment details here:
https://www.weareallmadeofstars.net/col ... nt-journey

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https://weareallmadeofstars.net/favorite-posts

hiker
Posts: 139
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 10:15 am

Re: DH Stage 3C started chemo yesterday.

Postby hiker » Fri Jan 11, 2019 12:03 pm

Hey Melissa,

I had 3 rounds of FOLFOX between my colon and liver resection surgeries and never experienced nausea. The worst side effects I had from the Oxi were all related to eating/drinking. I had the first bite thing where my jaw would basically lock up, the cold sensitivity when drinking anything, and the feeling of swallowing broken glass most of the time. The symptoms only lasted a few days and completely went away after finishing that cocktail. The worst side effect I had from the 5FU was fatigue...extreme fatigue (I had 14 rounds of 5FU). I would get hooked up on Wednesday and I would disconnect myself on Friday. By Saturday afternoon I was feeling it and it lasted a few days. I never let any of the chemo/surgeries slow me down though and I honestly believe that helped me to get back to almost 100% quickly. I worked through it all...in the office and around the house (mowing grass, mulching, working on cars, plumbing, etc.). I believe you said before your husband is a blue collar man so I would recommend if he can't actually go into work while on chemo that he does plenty around the house to keep up his strength.

As far as supporting him...you know him better than the rest of us. I really didn't want anything extra from my wife or anyone else around me. I just figured the extra attention would make me feel like I was really sick...obviously stage iv cancer is really sick...but I didn't want to feel that way. Heck, I didn't even want my wife to go with me to NYC for my chemo treatments (3 1/2 - 4 hrs travel), but every so often she would tell me she was going - so I didn't object. Talk to him and see what he wants from you.

hiker
Colonoscopy 2/17, 5cm tumor descending
Diagnosed stage iv, liver mets 3/17
Colon resection 3/17
Told surgery not an option, get my affairs in order
Meet w/MSK team 5/01/17
Folfox(3rds) 5/17-6/17
Liver resection/implant HAI pump 7/17
HAI pump chemo(5rds) 8/17-2/18
Folfiri+Vectibix(11rds) 8/17-2/18
Spot on chest CT 10/17
Lung biopsy (that was fun) 11/17
Nocardia bacterial infection w/spread to brain (this is serious) 11/17
IV antibiotics 12/17-2/18
Oral antibiotics 3/18-12/18
Clear of cancer since surgery

Patty17
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2018 9:37 am
Location: Ohio

Re: DH Stage 3C started chemo yesterday.

Postby Patty17 » Sat Jan 12, 2019 9:11 am

Hi Melissa —

Agree with all of the above. Some adds:

I was told to expect hair “shedding” 2-3 weeks after first FOLFOX dose and it was right on time and more than I thought. Your spouse may even get to ditch shaving for awhile! And it’s never too late for a good skin care regiment. Don’t skip moisturizing lotion, especially on the extremities.

Pay extra attention to oral care during treatment. 4 times a day mouth washes with salt water helped keep mouth sores away. Also play attention to reactions to toothpaste. I switched to plain Crest (with the red flag on the label) and it worked well.

Keep on top of nausea. Also note any other gastro issues as he goes through the first few doses. Gas pains and constipation can be less typical but do occur. I would receive a Pepcid “push” before treatment and it helped with some of my gastro issues. Possibly all in my head but is certainly didn’t hurt.

Keep hydrating, keep resting, keep the faith.
DX CC: 8/17, age 50, CEA 3.9, asymptomatic
Resection: 9/17
Stage: IIIB, T3N1bM0. Sigmoid Adenocarcinoma; 3/46 LN biopsied positive
Tumor ~5x4 cm; Lynch Neg
FOLFOX 10/17 - 3/18; completed 11 of 12; #12 canceled due to low platelets
Neulasta administered after chemo numbers 3 to 11
CT and Colonoscopy 8/18: NED
CT 3/19: NED
CT 9/19: numerous indeterminate pleural lung nodules (largest 2x5 mm)
CT 3/20: previous lung nodularity resolved, NED
CT 9/20: NED
CT 3/21: NED
Post chemo CEA range: 1.41 - 3.10

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LPL
Posts: 651
Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2016 12:49 am
Location: Europe

Re: DH Stage 3C started chemo yesterday.

Postby LPL » Sat Jan 12, 2019 5:49 pm

Hi Melissa,
I just want to mention something, that I was not aware of, that happened to my husband when he started chemo.
See my signature - and you can read about it here:
Impact of Steroid in Cancer Patients https://www.ijcmr.com/uploads/7/7/4/6/7 ... nov_13.pdf
“Cancer patients, radiation patient or bone marrow transplantation patient do receive glucocorticoids as a part of treatment and Hyperglycemia is a common adverse effect. Further studies and investigate are needed to prove the clear link between hyperglycemia and patient or cancer outcomes.
We recommend that all cancer patients who are receiving glucocorticoids as a part of treatment should be screened for hyperglycemia with atleast random glucose test prior and 4–6 hours after the most recent glucocorticoids dose.”
DH @ 65 DX 4/11/16 CC recto-sigmoid junction
Adenocarcenoma 35x15x9mm G3(biopsi) G1(surgical)
Mets 3 Liver resectable
T4aN1bM1a IVa 2/9 LN
MSS, KRAS-mut G13D
CEA & CA19-9: 5/18 2.5 78 8/17 1.4 48 2/14/17 1.8 29
4 Folfox 6/15-7/30 (b4 liver surgery) 8 after
CT: 8/8 no change 3/27/17 NED->Jan-19 mets to lung NED again Oct-19 :)
:!: Steroid induced hyperglycemia dx after 3chemo
Surgeries 2016: 3/18 Emergency colostomy
5/23 Primary+gallbl+stoma reversal+port 9/1 Liver mets
RFA 2019: Feb & Oct lung mets


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