rinksgal Posted July 18, 2003 Posted July 18, 2003 Could someone please tell me if they have taken these meds for chemo or if you know someone that has. 1. Cisplatin (Brand name: Platinol) 2. Etoposide (also knowm as VP-16) If anyone knows of anyone whom has taken these could you please give me some information or if you know someone who has taken them. I'd like to know how others got along with this and what kind of side effects you had. I know there is a 100% guarentee the oncologist said that he will lose all body hair. He isn't concerned with this. His kids though have never seened him without a beard, so hes gonna shave it all off hisself this weekend. We think it might not be quite so hard on them as seeing it all fall out. Quote
Donna G Posted July 18, 2003 Posted July 18, 2003 I took bothe of those chemos for weeks before I had surgery with radiation and for weeks after I had surgery. One positive side my best effect is it will be 6 yrs since I was diagnosed in December and no signs of cancer returning. Within days of starting the VP 16 my just about every hair fell out. During the last session I started to fall down etc and found that I had neuropathy in my feet so the Dr cancelled the last doses. You can find lots about these drugs at http://www.chemocare.com Quote
Carleen Posted July 19, 2003 Posted July 19, 2003 My husband is currently taking both of those drugs. He gets the Cisplatin and VP-16 on Monday, and just the VP-16 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then a break for 21 days. He is Very fatigued and pretty nauseous for the first 6 days. Then he starts to get a bit better. He is still tired, but able to get up and do things, just needs to take breaks. He is pretty much back to himself after about 9 days. This last cycle he also had a loud ringing in his ears that lasted about a week. He said it was pretty anoying, and had to keep asking me to repeat myself. Keith did lose the hair on his head with these drugs (the last combo he received he didn't). He has also lost a lot of the hair on his legs. However, he has not lost any of his eyelashes or eyebrows yet. And his facial hair has not thinned at all. I actually think he'd appreciate it if it did, because he gets stubble and could need to shave daily. Quote
rinksgal Posted July 19, 2003 Author Posted July 19, 2003 Thanks so much for the information... Its very helpful! I will have to tell Darrell about that beard thing, maybe he won't lose his beard either... Not that it matters really. I'm just worried about side effects that are gonna make him sick. He never gets sick, I hope hes the same way through all of this treatment thats ahead for him...I don't want to see him sick!! Of course hes sick now because of the fever and the lack of energy he has. Is there any kind of advice or words of wisdom anyone wants to give me that will help me help Darrell while he is going through this. Things maybe I should or shouldn't do?? I feel like I just babble any more!! I've cried alot lately, I just haven't been able to pull myself together very good!!! My doctor just called in a medicine that I need to go pick up for me. To help me get a hold of myself. I'm no good to no one if I'm falling apart and crying on and off all day... I guess bottom line is I know its bad with another tumor growing in his chest and a node swollen. I guess I feel like hes gonna die and no matter how much I try to will him to live, nothing is gonna work.... I feel like the doctors weren't aggressive enough and should have done test sooner. But, Darrell feels like he's in good hands and that we have to trust the doctors and their judgement. I have a lot harder time doing this. I don't trust any of them, not just his, I second guess everything they do!! I've seened too many doctors make bad and deadly mistakes! But I am glad he trust them and hes trying to do everything he can to live. He told me last night that if he thought he wasn't gonna make it at least 2 to 3 years by doing treatment. He wouldn't even do it! He said you know maybe I need to ask them about that, cause I wouldn't go through all of this if I thought I was gonna die in 6 months anyways... I do give him total hope and encouragement, but sometimes I cry because I don't want to be without him... How do you tell the person you love most in the world you love them and are so afraid of losing them, without making them think they aren't gonna make it?? God Bless all of you and thanks a million for your concern and all the information all of you give me!! My prayers are with all of you daily, I hope the choice that god makes for the ones that we love is the same choice we want!!! Quote
Carleen Posted July 19, 2003 Posted July 19, 2003 rinksgal, Feel free to babble all you want. That's one of the things we are here for. I wish I could just give you a big hug, because I can totally relate to how you are feeling, and have felt the same things myself many times. It is so hard to watch the ones we love more than anything go through this disease. I have a hard time just writing the word disease, because disease isn't a horrible enough word, nothing in the english language can express what I feel about this thing. "cancer" "disease" "hell" "all encompassing torturous heartbreak" still not strong enough. I HATE it so much. It makes me Fear so much, it makes me Cry so much, it makes me Doubt so much, it makes me Die inside so much. I too have a hard time expressing my feelings to Keith, because I want him to know I believe in him, and I want to keep his positive attitude up. More important, I need to GET my positive attitude up. But I do tell him, that I am scared, I know he is going to beat this, but there are times I am so scared of what we are going to go through to get there, and I am scared for him, and I am scared of doctor's making mistakes. Usually when I talk to him, I really reiterate that I KNOW he is going to beat this, but then talk about the fears, and it actually lets him express to me what he is feeling, because he isn't one to talk about his feelings relating to his cancer. As far as things to know and watch out for, I'm sure you've read all the posts here that talk about dehydration. It is mentioned so much because it is so common and so important. Make sure that Darrell has ample supplies of water, gatorade, juice etc... and keep it coming. Also, make sure he eats, even if he may not exactly feel like it because of the nausea, he will need to keep his strength up. Plus food helps the body rebuild and keeps the blood counts generating. I've heard from a number of people that instead of eating a normal sized meal, eating small amounts every couple of hours can actually help with the nausea as it keeps the stomach from being empty with only the drugs interacting with the digestive tract. Tell Darrell to rest when he feels he needs to, and listen to his body. Take his anti-nausea meds first thing in the morning as scheduled. They work great as a preventitive medicine, but don't always do a good job at stopping nausea if it's already started. Other than those things, I guess I'd just suggest to play it by ear, and listen to what his body wants. If he's running a fever, monitor that. If he's feeling good, let him do things that make him feel like things are normal. That will help his emotional outlook. For you, just enjoy your time together today. Don't think about tomorrow, because nobody knows about tomorrow. Try and live for this moment and love for now. Love him with all your heart, and let him know what you feel and the depths of your passion and love. If God's will is not what our is, then we will know that we've cherished every second without wasting it on negative emotions, and the people we love will have felt and known how important and loved they are, and what they have meant to our lives. Carleen Quote
rinksgal Posted July 20, 2003 Author Posted July 20, 2003 Carleen, Thanks so much for your support!!! Its so nice to know I'm not all alone in this. Sometimes you feel like no one can understand how you feel and then I read the other post on here. and it could have been written by me, and the sad part is, it makes you realized that there are others out there going through this horrible pain, the same pain, confusion, and torment that I feel inside!!! Its something that I wish no one would ever have to go through!!! I'm like you, cancer is the uglyiest word I know!!! I wish I could wipe it out of everyone's life that it has infected!!!! I wish God would just make it go away!!! thanks for all of your advice I will take it all to heart!! I loved your last paragraph. About cherishing the time we do have together... I read a post the other day and something in it clicked that made me realize I was so assumed with searching on here for ways to help him, which I need to do, but not quite so much. that I was letting it take me away from spending the time with him that we should be spending. So now I try to just get online during the time hes sleeping.. I wish you and your husband the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote
t_beanes Posted July 20, 2003 Posted July 20, 2003 My husband was on exactly the same drugs as well. He had this ringing in his ears as well . We went to see an ear doc who told him that this was a nerve problem. Similar to a tinnitus. People with diabetis could get it as well. It would go away again. Richard tried to eat tinned pears and peaches which were soft on the mouth and he could get them as diet version as well so they were not so sweet. We tried Actimel as well . . . a kind of yoghurt drink here in Europe. His food moods changed by the day if not by the hour . I just ran for anything which took his fancy just as quckly as he said it . It was easy because we lived only 3 miles away from a literally huge supermarket, We used thew days he was free of chemo taste to go out and have the most wonderful meals he had wished for. We invited friends on the last days before yet another chemo because that allowed him to live life as almost normal . There was a window of about 4 days before a new bang.Try all you can if you can...but you will anyway I'm sure Quote
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