Products must have list for Chemo

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ocstacy
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Products must have list for Chemo

Postby ocstacy » Sat Jun 24, 2017 1:35 am

Hi all!

I am putting together a chemo/care package for my dear mom. She will be doing the Oral chemo at home so she will be staying with me over the summer so I can be her nurse. I will be giving it to to her on 07/01 a few days before the start of her 1st chemo/radiation. She is very anxious and "on edge". I am even looking on Pinterest, but this group is more "Colon" friendly :D I have learned so much about different products and advice from this board. Please share with me what products were a "must have" during and after tx. Even clothing item advice would be great! I mainly shop at Target and Amazon! So far I have:

1. Ensure vanilla
2. Utterly smooth body cream
3. Soft blanket
4. Aquaphor



Thank you so much!
Last edited by ocstacy on Tue Jun 27, 2017 1:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Caregiver/daughter to dear mother age 78, dx 5/09/17 because of me!! :wink:
Rectal CA Stage 3 low-grade adenocarcinoma- 6 cm
Neoadjuvant start 7/10/17 ended 08/16/17
3D Lap. surgery @ Keck USC, Dr. Sang Lee 10/17/17 temp ileostomy
11/1 hospitalized abscess/hernia - home 11/06/17 antibiotics
NO LYMPHS INVOLVED! NEAR PATHOLOGICAL RESPONSE! YAY! :shock:
Took her last chemo med 05/10/18! Ileo reversal 07/24/18
1st BM after reversal 07/25/18 Anal Fissure 8/15/18
Me:1st Colonoscopy age 38. 08/17 Benign polp.

JudiB
Posts: 71
Joined: Sun Mar 05, 2017 5:30 am

Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby JudiB » Sat Jun 24, 2017 2:52 am

A really gentle face wash and moisturiser...my skin got sore patches starting after first treatment. Aqueous cream is cheap and invaluable.

My cousin made up a box for me with all sorts of stuff​ ... little sweet treats, a lovely cushion she made with a heart on... I took it with me the first few times as it was a comfort and a reminder that she was thinking of me. She included moisturiser shower gel etc all for dry, sensitive skin, bed socks and a set of little heart shaped led lights...planning to use them on my chair during my last session!!

If she is having Folfox with oxaliplatine..some warm gloves would be good. I needed them a lot and struggled to find some that I could wear during the day and still do normal jobs. Some folks only need them for the fridge, but, she'll need them at least by the fridge/freezer.

The most important thing for me was the support from friends and family....and this forum, so that I felt less alone on my journey.

I send my love to your mother and wish her well during her treatment. It's a scary time and your support is the most important thing.
Xxxx
May 2004 Breast cancer lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy, Tamoxifen 5 years, then Femara 2 years.

Jan 2017 resection around colo-rectal junction
T2bN1 M0
March 2017 Chemo Folfox started. Oxaliplatin for 4 treatments, then just 5 FU and Leucovorin for remaining 8 treatments.
June 2017 clear scan
Last chemo August 2017
August 2017 clear scan
February 2018 clear scan

inorganic8
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2017 6:13 pm

Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby inorganic8 » Sat Jun 24, 2017 8:16 am

Graham crackers may go nicely with the vanilla ensure. I try to bring saltines and peanut butter for my husband. Herbal, ginger teas are also a great idea. They help my husband with his nausea and are just comforting in general.

My $0.02, don't travel light to chemo. See if you can get your mom a rolling bag, like the rolling laptop bags lots of business folks use. She can load it up with snacks, drinks, books, crossword puzzles, and whatever else she finds entertaining. Chemo might also be a good time to try something new, maybe knitting, a hend-held video game, a new magazine, etc. A friend bought us a small "learn origami" set. It's good to keep the brain occupied to the extent possible.

Good luck. You and your mother will be in my prayers.
Wife to DH with CRC
Stage IV Diagnosis 1/27/17, Mets to Liver, Omentum, Peri
KRAS Mutation, G12, MSS
Folfirinox 2/8/17
Folfiri 6/14/17
Nov. scan - disease progression
1/24/18 15-hour HIPEC surgery.
June 2018 It's back, starting Stivarga
Aug. 2018 stopping Stivarga
Sep. 2018 clinical trial of Keytruda and ibrutanib
Dec. 2018 disease progression, stopped trial
Jan. 2019 small bowel obstruction and surgery
Mar. 2019 clinical trial TAK-164
May 2019 deteriorating rapidly
June 12, 2019 At Peace

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horizon
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Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby horizon » Sat Jun 24, 2017 8:16 am

A Kindle/iPad/Books/etc? I would have lost my mind without distractions during the hours of chemo.
I'm just a dude who still can't believe he had a resection and went through chemo (currently 13 years NED). Is this real life?

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Sunwaterandsky
Posts: 164
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Location: Hong Kong

Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby Sunwaterandsky » Sat Jun 24, 2017 10:07 am

A charger pack for her phone so that she never has to worry about running out of charge.
Stage 3B colon cancer at 47 years of age
small benign tumour on Rt adrenal gland
Xelox started 28/10/2011 finished 04/2012
CT scan clear 16/2012
Colonoscopy Clear October 2012
CT scan clear January 2013
CT scan Jan 2016 - small 9mm lung nodule
CT scan April 2017 - lung nodule 1.5 cm, bilateral thyroid lesions
Aug 2017 Right upper lobe lobectomy for lung nodule CC met

TXLiz
Posts: 249
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2016 3:31 pm

Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby TXLiz » Sat Jun 24, 2017 11:16 am

I liked pretzels during infusion days. Also lemon hard candies.
Vomiting and blockage 9/19/16 46 y F
R hemi colectomy 9/20/16
Stage 3 B CRC, located in cecum
3 out of 16 lymph nodes positive
perineural invasion/lymphovascular invasion
infiltrating, mod differentiated adenocarcinoma with a mucinous component
separate tumor nodules present in pericolonic adipose tissue
MSI-high
Baseline PET scan clear 9/16 CEA 0.5
FOLFOX 10/16- 3/17
April 16th, CT scan clear. CEA 1.1
Lynch "inconclusive"
Colonoscopy 10/5/2017 clear

Lee
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Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby Lee » Sat Jun 24, 2017 2:49 pm

Ginger helps with nausea.

Gingersnap cookies

Ginger ale soda

ginger root

Book of crosswords puzzle. Adult coloring book, etc

Lee
rectal cancer - April 2004
46 yrs old at diagnoses
stage III C - 6/13 lymph positive
radiation - 6 weeks
surgery - August 2004/hernia repair 2014
permanent colostomy
chemo - FOLFOX
NED - 16 years and counting!

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ocstacy
Posts: 264
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Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby ocstacy » Sat Jun 24, 2017 5:18 pm

These are all such great ideas!!Thank you SO much! :D <3
Caregiver/daughter to dear mother age 78, dx 5/09/17 because of me!! :wink:
Rectal CA Stage 3 low-grade adenocarcinoma- 6 cm
Neoadjuvant start 7/10/17 ended 08/16/17
3D Lap. surgery @ Keck USC, Dr. Sang Lee 10/17/17 temp ileostomy
11/1 hospitalized abscess/hernia - home 11/06/17 antibiotics
NO LYMPHS INVOLVED! NEAR PATHOLOGICAL RESPONSE! YAY! :shock:
Took her last chemo med 05/10/18! Ileo reversal 07/24/18
1st BM after reversal 07/25/18 Anal Fissure 8/15/18
Me:1st Colonoscopy age 38. 08/17 Benign polp.

sammer718
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2016 6:22 am

Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby sammer718 » Sun Jun 25, 2017 12:27 am

The utterly smooth hand creme is a must! I like to drop some lavender essential oil in with it.

I always get a metallic taste in my mouth on chemo weeks, so I like to suck on icebreaker sours or really any candy.

You could make her a playlist to listen to while at chemo.

Sending good thoughts!
30 year old female, currently Stage IV
09/2015: Stage IIIc colon cancer. Sigmoid colon resection, removal of tumor.
10/2015-03/2016:12 FOLFOX treatments.
NED until 04/2017: Found enlarged lymph nodes in peritoneal cavity.
05/2017-10/2017: 12 FOLFIRI + Avastin treatments.
NED again until 05/2018: Same enlarged lymph nodes in peritoneal cavity.
Currently doing FOLFIRI + Erbitux.

Stewsbetty
Posts: 170
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Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby Stewsbetty » Sun Jun 25, 2017 1:39 am

She will probably need imodium at some point. When I was feeling nauseous the melt under the tongue type were really great. So much easier to take than the large generic pills that you have to swallow. I don't know if you have to take steroids with Xeloda but I would get constipated on those days so I would take stool softeners those days. These aren't things that you take to chemo days but I stocked up at the beginning of treatment and never had to worry about running out. :)
42yo At diagnosis. Female in BC, Canada
Dx: CC ascending
Right Hemi colectomy 06/16 clear margins
Adenocarcinoma 6cm High Grade
pT3 pN2a Stage 3
10 out of 16 lymph involved
MSI-h, Kras mut, Braf wild
Finished chemo Feb. 2017
PET scan showing active area April 2017
July 2017 CT showing LN mass and spread to other LN
Stage 4
Aug 2017 failed Fofiri
Sept 2017 keytruda scans every 3 months showing shrinkage and stability
November 2018 CT shows only 1 small tumour left
September 2019 clear CT finally NED!!!

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ocstacy
Posts: 264
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Facebook Username: stacy

Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby ocstacy » Tue Jun 27, 2017 1:03 am

I will def get the omodium, gloves, fragrance free body wash, and hard candies. I also got her lemon ginger candies. It's 85-95 degrees here in the summer and she complains of being cold sometimes and chills. :|
Caregiver/daughter to dear mother age 78, dx 5/09/17 because of me!! :wink:
Rectal CA Stage 3 low-grade adenocarcinoma- 6 cm
Neoadjuvant start 7/10/17 ended 08/16/17
3D Lap. surgery @ Keck USC, Dr. Sang Lee 10/17/17 temp ileostomy
11/1 hospitalized abscess/hernia - home 11/06/17 antibiotics
NO LYMPHS INVOLVED! NEAR PATHOLOGICAL RESPONSE! YAY! :shock:
Took her last chemo med 05/10/18! Ileo reversal 07/24/18
1st BM after reversal 07/25/18 Anal Fissure 8/15/18
Me:1st Colonoscopy age 38. 08/17 Benign polp.

fumaros
Posts: 273
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2016 10:26 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY
Contact:

Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby fumaros » Tue Jun 27, 2017 7:57 am

Lots of small bottles of hand sanitizer. There are those with aloe vera and moisturizing oils, it smelled good, and made me feel protected when my white blood cell count was really low. I had little bottles of them stashed all over the place, the car, jackets, work etc.
Diagnosed 4/8/16, age 29
Colectomy 4/20/16
Stage III, T4bN1 Tumor 7x6.5x2. Muscinous Adenocarcinoma with SRC features
2/16 lymph nodes
Stage IV, Peri mets 5/2019
CEA 4/14/16 - 16.8
CEA 6/2/16 - 1.9
CEA 6/17/16 - 0.87, 7/16 - 1.33, 12/16 - 1.14, 4/17 - 0.6, 7/17 - 0.5, 10/17 - 0.9, 3/19 -5.8, 4/19 -10
FOLFOX began 6/24/16 - 11/25/16, FOLFIRI - 5/10/19
10 round FOLFOX, 2 round 5-FU & Leucovorin, 1 round FOLFIRI
MRI & CT 8/16 - NED, CT 12/16 - 10/17 - NED

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juliej
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Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby juliej » Tue Jun 27, 2017 5:27 pm

Xeloda's biggest issue is HFS (hand foot syndrome), which causes redness, swelling, and pain on the palms of the hands and/or the soles of the feet. She'll need to reduce friction and heat exposure to her hands and feet so have her avoid washing dishes, gripping things like knives or garden tools. etc. It even hurt my hands to open a screw-top bottle!

I used Aquaphor and then put on cotton gloves afterwards and that helped a lot. I also applied it to my feet before bedtime and wore loose socks to sleep. Cold compresses helped when my hands and feet felt hot. I remember sleeping with cold compresses against the bottom of my feet. Also, look for nice comfy shoes with a wide toebox and insulated insoles because your feet can get very sore.

Taking Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) may be beneficial to some patients in lessening the effects of HFS. I took 100 mg with each dose of Xeloda. Ask her oncologist before taking it though.

Also, watch the timing of Xeloda. It needs to be taken within 30 minutes after eating a meal, but it seems to vary for each person on the right time. I had a lot of nausea if I took mine too soon after eating. My "sweet spot" was exactly 20 minutes after finishing a meal. And make sure she takes it with a FULL glass of water, not just a sip.

I second the recommendation on ginger! :D I also found that Goldfish crackers were a bit help with nausea. Nibbling on them calmed down my stomach.

Hope this helps!
Stage IVb, liver/lung mets 8/4/2010
Xelox+Avastin 8/18/10 to 10/21/2011
LAR, liver resec, HAI pump 11/2011
Adjuvant Irinotecan + FUDR
Double lung surgery + ileo reversal 2/2012
Adjuvant FUDR + Xeloda
VATS rt. lung 12/2012 - benign granuloma!
VATS left lung 11/2013
NED 11/22/13 to 12/18/2019, CEA<1

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HopeForJesse
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Location: Philadelphia

Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby HopeForJesse » Tue Jun 27, 2017 9:33 pm

You can google 'Erbitux skin care kit' or follow the link here also for a nice free mesh bag with Aveeno soap and oatmeal bath and lotions and sunscreen samples. Good luck to your Mom!

https://orderlillyresources.com/order/m ... 0EA4D6166B
DH DX 01/16 49 YO inop RC stage IV liver mets
MSS TP53 APC,BRCA2
12/15 CEA 241, FOLFOX to 11/16
LAR/ileo 5/16 Clear margins 1/29 nodes
HAI, reversal, liver resections7/16
FUDR 8/16 -NED 3 mos
Rising CEA 3/17 Xeloda, 5/17 -12/17 Erbitux & Iri stable but lung/lymph mets CEA 2.7
5/18 5 days SBRT radiation to sternum 10/22/18 surgery to remove zyphoid process met
6/11/19 5FU added to cetuximab and irinotecan CEA 16
Ephesians 3:20 Our God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine!

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Jacques
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Location: Occitanie

Re: Products must have list for Chemo

Postby Jacques » Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:05 am

There are also some "must not use" products for chemo/rad, namely any kind of cream that contains zinc oxide, since zinc oxide reacts with radiation to cause radiation burns:
.
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=46560&p=340923#p340923


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