April 20, 2009
Side Effects
As you know, Portland Firefly is undertaking a series of chemo-therapies in an attempt to slow down the aggressive peritoneal cancer that she has. I’m sure that you have all heard of the nausea that is well-known to follow chemo. But there are many other side-effects that also accompany this form of treatment. Portland Firefly is providing them here as a means of public education — nothing else.
The nausea is the most well-known of side effects. There are several excellent drugs that help to counter this nausea and that was not a surprise to me at all. The surprise was in the cost of the drugs; anywhere from over $50 per pill down to about $1 per pill….. the same pill just different pharmacies. Call and check prices first. I must take at least 5 of one pill every time I have chemo; if still nauseated, then, I must take another drug…. and then a third one. The goal is to not throw up at all because once you start …..
Another side effect of chemo is constipation; take the worst constipation you can imagine and then multiply it by 10. Not only are the chemo drugs constipating, but ALL pain meds also add to this problem. (If you offend easily, skip to the next paragraph.) At my “chemo class” the no-nonsense nurse told us about a natural laxative product called Senna -S and she gave us a little rhyme which everyone laughs at when they hear. “Take two in the PM for a BM in AM. ” It is a silly little rhyme, but it works and is easy to remember.
Neuropathy. What is that, you ask? Well, it has to do with the nerves in your hands and feet. You begin to lose feeling in your extremities and they become numb and sometimes tingle. The neuropathy in my feet started with my first chemo session and has never completely gone away. Some days, like today, my feet are completely numb and I know they are there, but I cannot feel them. Even the natural remedy that the oncologist (cancer doctor) recommended doesn’t completely remove this side-effect.
Headaches… sometimes you have them, sometimes you don’t.
Indigestion. This one caught me off guard and completely by surprise. Again, it started with my first chemo session and was so severe that I actually considered calling 911. Is it indigestion (I didn’t know it could be this intense), or is it really a heart attack? The remedy is to take something like a prilosec daily.
Fatigue. I doubt if my energy level will ever be what it once was. I do a lot of “resting”.
Chemo-brain. This is probably my favorite side-effect. It is sort of like dementia, because I can’t remember anything. The good news is you can tell me the same thing again and I’ll probably enjoy it just as much as I did the first time!! Actually, what really happens is that I forget my train of thought but sometimes I’ll even remember what it is that I was trying to say. I have to write everything down or I forget it but sometimes, I feel so disorganized that I can’t even find a pen or note pad. It is a struggle to keep organized because you just don’t feel like it most of the time. Think of me as “lovably ditsy”.
Hair-loss. No need to explain this one to you. And, no it does not become easier (to adjust to) as the weeks go by. I love scarves and hats, but come-on! wearing one 24 hours a day! My head gets cold even in the house.
I left out Depression. Along with the depression comes stifling inertia where you just can’t seem to get organized enough to get any thing done. Things just pile up. Just reading this is probably enough to make YOU cry, so you can imagine how someone going through this feels. Loving Friends are the best medicine for this side effect. Yes, call, if you want. If someone is too tired to talk, they’ll tell you so. If not, just knowing that someone cares enough to think of you helps a lot.
I left out the loss of balance, which (along with the neuropathy) is the reason that I can no longer do my beloved Flamenco dancing. The stomping in my lovely Spanish Gallardo Flamenco shoes would be just too painful and I’d lose my balance. Wouldn’t look good!
These drugs that are in my system are so powerful it is not surprising that the side-effects are many, varied and intense. One thing I found out last week after my second Chemo is that the side effects tend to increase in severity as your body becomes more toxic with each successive chemo treatment.
