Hello bal72,

Welcome to Cancer Chat!

I am sorry to hear you have been experiencing these side effects from chemotherapy treatment. I am sure our members will share similar stories with you as well as their coping strategies to deal with these side effects.

We have some information on our site on sickness and cancer drugs which you can find here. It includes tips on how to reduce sickness. We also have some general information on chemotherapy side effects here. You are also welcome to ring our team of nurses on this free number 0808 800 4040, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm as they may have some helpful suggestions for you. 

Best wishes,

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Thanks for your reply Lucie,

You may be interested in my todays posting under the heading Re: Chemotherapy...is it really that bad????..your experiences please,

I thought I'd refer you to the above as it provides the background for my attitude concerning the lightness and cosiness that the title "Cancer Chat" suggests. For some of us this experience is far from light or cosy. Some of us face a terminal disease and are dealing with treatment, that in my case, is very much worst than my symtoms.  I guess a constructive suggestion could be to create a dedicated forum for people with a particular disease,

Thank you for the opportunity to express my point of view.

Regards

Hi,

Hope you don't mind me jumping in, a dedicated forum for a particular disease might be one way forward, but there's a risk that the potentially small number of people who would qualify for membership would make it unviable. Those of us facing a terminal diagnosis tend not to be members for very long, for obvious reasons. 

Your point about Cancer Chat being light and cosy is correct up to a point, but I've recently had some pretty difficult private message conversations with a friend from this forum who has entered end of life care. I personally struggle with getting a balance between being open and honest about my experiences and not scaring to death anyone newly diagnosed, or influencing them to refuse treatment which could save their lives. Inevitably, I self censor my posts and perhaps fall into the trap of appearing light and cosy. 

Your description of your chemo experience and the fact that the chemo made you feel worse than the cancer ever has done was something I could easily relate to. Facing chemo a second time when my cancer starts to grow again (as it inevitably will) is going to be especially hard - I can easily understand why some people refuse chemo second time round. For me, chemo was physically and emotionally gruelling but it bought me extra precious months with my family enjoying the same quality of life as I had prior to my diagnosis - apart from the anxiety associated with knowing that a relapse is inevitable. 

Best wishes

Dave