Well,  I said I would report back and here I am, finally at the end of the chemo journey.  Had my last (of 8) cycle 3 days ago.  For me, the Paclitaxel was way easier to handle than the EC. I didn't believe them when they said no sickness but there wasn't any sickness! This made all the difference to getting on with life. Yes, there are endless side effects- losing toe nails, pains and muscle weakness in legs, little nose bleeds, a few days of dizziness and exhaustion, a bit of swelling... but for me at least I could take these in my stride much easier so long as I could function and not spend my life languishing on the sofa.  They had to reduce my final dose to 75% because of the numbness and pains in my fingers, to prevent permanent damage, but otherwise it's been quite straightforward.

I may not come back here so just want to wish everyone well on their journey.  Chemo is a nasty evil treatment, but for good reason and we want it being nasty and evil to the cancer, right?

Keep on keeping on xx

I had a lobectomy for lung cancer nearly five months ago and because it had also spread to the hilar lymph node I was offered four back-to-back cycles of cisplatin/vinorelbine adjuvant chemo which I finished a week ago.

I found the anticipation of waiting for it to start much worse than the actual treatment. I suffered occasional mild nausea at first but no sickness and apart from the fatigue, which is cumulative, the whole process was tolerable so I'm glad I went through with it so that I can feel reassured that I've done everything I can at this stage to fight the disease.

One thing I would recommend for anyone who gets put on steroids for sickness control is to ask the oncologist for an extra supply so that you can reduce the dose gradually rather than stopping dead as I found the withdrawal symptoms brutal - I felt physically flattened - but once that was sorted out it was all fine. I know some people don't like steroids but once you get used to them making you feel very 'speedy' and the sleep disruption it's worth taking them to avoid the CINV (chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting).

My chemo involved spending one day at the start of each cycle hooked up to a drip for 11 hours while they flush your system and feed in the cisplatin. The process is not unpleasant and you can pass the time with music, books, naps and chats with the chemo nurses. The vinorelbine is in a pill format taken on the same evening as the cisplatin and also one week later after a blood test. That's it for the actual chemotherapy drugs, everything else if to deal with the side effects. Another drug which you can ask your oncologist or GP for is Omeprazole which protects your stomach and deals with the heartburn caused by some of the other drugs.

Once I had completed my first cycle I went back to work though mostly I have been able to work from home and avoid the commute (and commuters with their germs!) and now all I have to deal with is the tiredness which will hopefully start to diminish with time. In respect of other side effects I was fairly lucky as I didn't lose my hair and my sense of taste has been altered but I've been able to eat - in fact I've put on weight - and I've coped with the general rollercoaster feeling of the drug cycles.

One thing I did get was pulmonary embolism which was probably triggered by piling up two many risk factors - two major surgeries and chemo - and that has had more of an effect than the actual chemo.

Only time will tell how it all works out but I have no regrets about doing the chemo and it was nowhere near as bad as I had anticipated.

Sorry for your diagnosis LadyTerry. I am waiting for the results of biopsies to tell me if I have cancer in my lymph nodes/liver. 

What kind of cancer do you have?

One thing I know is that different chemo drugs have different side effects.

I'm emetophobic - so this is NOT good - since the chemo for liver cancer is in the 'severe' category for nausea and vomiting. :(

I wish you luck and strength. This forum is amazing... 

Emily

I was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer which has spread to my lymph nodes and ovaries and uterus on 27th July 2017. I had a colostomy done mid August as the tumour was threatening to burst my bowel. I started 6 rounds of fortnightly chemo on 22nd September 2017. I'm on Folfox through a PICC line in my right arm and I have a chemo pump for an additional 46 hours. The first dose didn't hit me too hard, my mouth became very dry and eating lumps was a problem for the first week and I lost 7.5lbs. I did get a DVT around my PICC line so I am now on Fragmjn injections every day. The 2nd dose wasn't too bad either, same thing with my mouth, I was hungry and I could barely eat. I also had a prolapse in my stoma which looked really scary but wasn't serious so I was in hospital for That! Dose 3 knocked me for 6, I spent 6 days in bed and I ended up with oral thrush which was agony. I was very hungry but I could barely eat, only mild liquids were okay but it was still very painful. I lost 13lbs with dose 3. I've had dose 4 yesterday and they nearly didn't let me out of hospital because my blood sugars were very high (I am diabetic) so I've spent today in bed, eating barely anything (mouth not right again) and testing my blood sugars. Generally, I had nausea for the first round so I got stronger anti genetics. I also developed indigestion so I'm now on Omneprazle. I get the pins and needles in my hands and feet when they're cold and I have had a cold nose for the last month and it hurts like Hell when I sneeze! I'm tired pretty much the whole time and losing so much weight each time means I'm a bit wobbly on my pins! The worst thing so far has definitely been the thrush, I have never known pain like it. I also can't tolerate anything cold to eat or drink for at least the first week as it's painful. 

Dear  Imabloke, 

Even before I was diagnosed to have cancer, I was already scared of  Chemo and I promised myself not to have it. But  I was not able to say NO  to the reccomendation of my ONCO after my surgery.

In my experience Chemo  is not bad at all. It maybe because I had only 3 doses. I did not feel any side effects, no falling hair, no nausea and it seems everything was just normal. this maybe bacause   of my habit of drinking 15 glasses of water everyday and I increaded it to 18 glasses while having my cemo session.