Judy M. Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 Had scans last Wednesday and started chemo on Thursday. Doc is wanting to keep scans his little secret until I see him on Wed. I may let him. Lol. Not too bad until this morning when nausea hit in spite of meds. Lemon water and peppermint candy is helping, so thought I'd pass that along. Hope all you guys are doing well.Judy M Sent from my SM-J100VPP using Tapatalk Julie in SoCal, Fred G and Mally 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mally Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 The nausea is the pits ...i feel for you... and i might have to try the peppermint candy because same here that i take the nausea meds but still have to put up with it for a couple of days ...Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk Judy M. and Julie in SoCal 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M. Posted June 5, 2017 Author Share Posted June 5, 2017 Lemon water helps also. Both have backed it off for now Sent from my SM-J100VPP using Tapatalk Mally, Fred G and Julie in SoCal 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M. Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Chemo QuestionsDoes chemo brain last at all or is it only temporary? And is there a time limit on how long food tastes nasty? Or is all this just individual? Thanks for any input.Just MSent from my SM-J100VPP using Tapatalk Mally 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Judy, Chemo brain is real. I worked as an engineering director during 2 years of taxol and carboplatin chemotherapy, and I randomly encountered difficulty applying simple engineering concepts, that I well understood. I continued working after chemotherapy and completely recovered my practice skills. I believe the "chemo brain" phenomena is temporary, at least in me. Now I have only "old age" to blame for mental problems. I also experienced unusual food tasting experience during chemotherapy. Most everything I ate had a sulphur-like or metallic taste and this problem ended shortly after my chemotherapy ended. In talking with other survivors, I've found some that had no problem with taste and some who had lots of problems so I think this side-effect varies from person to person and perhaps from chemo recipe to chemo recipe. Stay the course. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M. Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 TomThanks so much. Glad to hear that Chemo brain will end. Since I have 3 weeks between treatments was hoping this horrible taste would end some time before my next treatment, but maybe not. Everything except sugary things tastes extremely bitter like a bitter pill.I do want to share with you that even though I don't have the results on my scans I'm experiencing the results of the S.B.R.T. My shortness if breath that I thought was C.O.P.D. has definitely improved. So I'm supposing that was the result of the tumors. Explains why my C.O.P.D. diagnosis went from mild to severe all of a sudden. Judy MSent from my SM-J100VPP using Tapatalk Fred G, Tom Galli and Mally 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred G Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Just wanted to thank all for this valuable information regarding what I may expect during my treatment phase, as I began my 3D Radiation on my right lung yesterday and I am now receiving my first chemo treatment (Paclitaxel, Carboplatin) this morning.Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk Tom Galli and Judy M. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M. Posted June 8, 2017 Author Share Posted June 8, 2017 Yet Another QuestionDay 7 after chemo and getting my energy back. Have 3 more rounds to go. So my question is whether recovery will be about the same each time or do progressive rounds take longer each time to recover from. Tom, after just one round my hat's off to you for surviving 18 rounds in 3 years. Chemo isn't for wimps.Judy MSent from my SM-J100VPP using Tapatalk Fred G 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M. Posted June 8, 2017 Author Share Posted June 8, 2017 And is there a difference between S.B.R.T. And 3D radiation or is it the same thing?Sent from my SM-J100VPP using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 Judy, Just to be clear, you've two questions: is recovery from chemo repetitive or does it get more difficult after further infusions and is there a difference between SBRT and 3-d radiation. First the chemo, my experience is side-effects and recovery from infusions stayed the same after each infusion. Side effects started and ended about the same time and I started feeling normal about the same time. So, I did not experience any progression of symptoms or lengthening of recovery time. Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) is similar but different from Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT). The difference is 3D-CRT uses beam forming technology to more precisely aim at the tumor while SBRT targets the tumor precisely using computer modeling and computer-aided radiation delivery techniques. My SBRT aimed at 5 gold implants that were surgically placed around my tumor to ensure precision and account for chest movement while breathing. The objective is to fry the tumor but the approach is different. I wouldn't know whether one is better than the other. Stay the course. Tom Fred G and Julie in SoCal 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M. Posted June 9, 2017 Author Share Posted June 9, 2017 Thank you, Tom. Glad to hear it's about the same each time rather than becoming more difficult. My S.B.R.T. Didn't use the gold fiducials you had. The machine was a Varian TrueBeam and used C.T. to actually see my tumors each time. An elastic band was placed around my diaphragm as part of the planning and used to track my breathing.Judy M.Sent from my SM-J100VPP using Tapatalk Tom Galli 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Galli Posted June 9, 2017 Share Posted June 9, 2017 Judy, Another forum member told me, in jest, that I was a survivor of the "Jurassic Era". I was one of the first lung cancer patients in the Dallas areas to receive my SBRT, then called Cyber Knife. No doubt, technology has advanced to eliminate the need for gold fiducials and aim it in real time using a scan. Regardless, it worked for me and I hope it works for you. Stay the course. Tom Fred G, Judy M. and LaurenH 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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