jmills Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Met with mom's dr today. She starts chemo tomorrow with Gemcitabine & Cisplatin, then has just Gemcitabine on Day 8. Her bone scan & brain CT are clear. They couldn't determine the type, but the dr suspects Sqamous Cells, due to high calcium & the cells being "spindly". She is very scared of the chemo making her sick. Has anyone had experience with these drugs? Also the dr said her hair may get thinner but won't all fall out. Sqamous cell type is supposed to be less aggressive, so this is good news? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloesmom Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 I had that chemo. It wasn't as bad as I had expected. My hair thinned, but not so much that anyone except me noticed. I had a metal taste in my mouth during treatment, which others have also complained about. I always had an appetite (gained weight during treatment that I did not need), but other than being tired all the time, I carried on normally. I didn't feel great, but was nowhere near laying around all the time feeling sick to my stomach. I still worked full time, and even took a business trip to Colorado right in the middle of it all. The gemzar is hard on your blood counts, so my treatments got off schedule because of too low platelets a couple of times and I had to get Aranesp shots. Once the treatments were over, I started feeling lots better after a week or so. A major side effect with this treatment is neuropathy, a tingling in your legs and feet. For me, I felt it, but it wasn't disabling and it went away eventually. Others get it with some pretty severe effects, such as falling down because they can't feel their feet. Another side effect is ringing or buzzing in your ears. I think I did suffer a slight hearing loss as a result of this chemo, but I still don't regret doing it. Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muriel Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 My side effects were about the same as Chloes Mom's but, I'm a lot older and it did pretty well knock me out. After a few treatments, I didn't do much but watch tv. My ears are still ringing, the tingling in my feet is pretty much gone. It never was very bad. Also, this was my second chemo (in 2005). Survived Carbo and Taxol in 2003. Good luck. Muriel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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