My friend underwent stage 3 colon cancer surgery. Anyway, she is healing well and?
has to go through 6 months of chemotherapy. How awful is that? Now will the drugs make her very sick? Or will the doctors give her anti-nausea medication. That is a long time to be on "CHEMO." The cancer was in 3 of the 12 lymph nodes. She is around 50 or 60. I do not ask age due to it is personal.
Cancer - 4 Answers
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1 :
Everyone reacts differently to chemo and if she needs anti-nausea medication the doctor will give it to her.
2 :
I had this and six months of chemo. I used to have an injection every day for 5 days & then 3 weeks rest before doing it again. I had very little in the way of side effects, my hair stopped growing but none fell out. About half way through the week after treatment I felt tired & lethargic for a couple of days. That was it. The chemo was called "mayo". I had 7 out of 13 lymph nodes removed; that was 5 years ago.
3 :
I went through the exact same surgery on October 1 for stage 3 (2 lymph nodes invaded), and finished chemo, once every two weeks, on April 28. I was very lucky. My only symptoms from the chemo were tiredness (not bad) and my hands hurt when they got cold. She will probably be taking 3 medicines: 5-FU, which has been around since the 1950's, Oxalyplatin, which is another anti-cancer drug, and Leucovorin, which is a vitamin that helps the 5-FU work better. In addition, I received 2 different types of anti-nausea medicines, and was offered another pill in case I needed it the first few days after treatment (I didn't). My oncologist said that with all the anti-nausea medicines available, no one should have nausea. There is only a 5% chance she will lose her hair, 20% will have their hair thin. Mine stopped growing, so naturally it was thinner by the time I was finished. I was more tired than usual, but I slept an extra hour each night and I was OK. She will almost certainly have the problem with her hands, due to the Oxalyplatin. Most people get cotton gloves to wear when they have to deal with anything cold, like taking things out of the refrigerator. Her immune system will be suppressed because of the chemo, since it affects all types of fast-growing cells (like white blood cells), not just the chemo. If her white blood cell count is too low, they may have to delay chemo for a week or 2 to give it a chance to build back up. Most people get mouth sores, too, but they can prescribe a medicine to gargle with, or she can even use salt water. The coldness of drinks also can make some people have problems swallowing. My chemo took about 4 hours (6 hours later, because I had an allergic reaction). They will give her an anti-nausea medicine first, then the Leucovorin and Oxaliplatin, then another anti-nausea medicine, then the 5-FU. I was given the 5-FU in two parts: for about an hour at the hospital, then in a pouch like a fanny pack (I called it my saddle bag) for 22 hours. I was able to take mine off myself, since I had someone teach me, but they can send a home health care nurse to do it instead.
4 :
I under went 12 months of Chemo , I felt tired most of the time The Doctors will give her Anti nausea pills to take in order to keep her from getting real sick. What you can do to help her out is tell her funny jokes to keep her spirits high. Help her keep a positive out look on life and she will recover quicker. My family did this for me , I'm a 2year survivor, of stage 4 cancer.
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