Chemo Effects

[Jennifer D]

my dad started his 1st chemo treatment on Friday. He has stage IV lung cancer met to brain. He had localized rad to brain. So, I am surprised by his reaction to the chemo. He said he feels fine. Not tired or ill. He has 5 more treatments to go. I think they gave him nauseua medicine in the treatment.

So, generally does chemo get worse with each treatment or since he took the first one fine he will take the rest fine? I realize it is diff. for each people but generally has anyone else felt totally fine after chemo?

[Don Wood]

Each person reacts differently to chemo. Normally, the side effects get worse with each application. Don

[Andrea]

Hi Jennifer.

My mom started chemo on a Friday, November 21, and she tolerated it pretty well the first few days. Around day 10 or so she felt worse, then better. She started her second round this Friday and is noticing that she feels progressively worse. It seems to be a cumulative effect, but hopefully it will get them better!

[Debaroo]

Jennifer, I believe that the effects of chemo are different for everyone. It depends on the type of chemo-as well as the duration of the treatments. Chemo has cumulative effects on the body, both treatment wise and side effect wise. So, the more of the drugs in the body, in time, the person can experience side effects. But that is not true for everyone. Some people can pretty much cruise through chemo. I know that my dad got through his chemo of taxol/carbol with pretty mild effects, he did loose his hair, and would experience fatigue, but not nearly as badly as we thought he would. The worse side effect that Dad experienced took a while to show up, and that was the terrible 'metalic' taste in his mouth, which was so annying to him, and he still sometimes gets this. In the beginning this didn't effect his appetite as much as you would think it would, but he would have to stay away from certain foods that would make this taste worse. Sometimes he wouldn't get the taste until after he'd eaten, and he'd try to eat mints, etc. to help get rid of the taste.

You didn't metion in this post (but may have in another post, forgive me for not remembering) what type of chemo he was getting.

From what I've heard, side effects usually start after about 3 rounds of chemo...on the other hand, my MOM had carpoplatin (sp?) and Taxol and had NO SIDE EFFECTS other than hair loss and a bit of fatigue. Oh, she did have bone pain, which is pretty common due to the taxol being made from the bark of a tree (many people experience a type of allergic reaction that causes pain)the fact that she has rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalga didn't help her any, though.

My point is, everyone is different. If he feels good tell him to RUN WITH IT. Rest when he needs it, and do what he can to keep his immune system healthy.

Take care, Deb

[sharyn]

Hi Jennifer -

My Dad had Taxol and then Carbo/Gemzar and he had no ill effects from any of them. He was given medicine for the nausea, but only took it the first treatment. He use to go out to lunch following Chemo. So... It is possible that you have no problems at all. He did lose his hair, but he felt good enough to golf... There you have it... Everyone is definetely different. Sharon

[Guest]

Dad was tired on Sunday after treatment and wound up sleeping all day but still wasn't nauseus. Guess he has medicine for that. So, he has at least 5 more treatments to go. So, are the reactions cummlative, basically the more treatmetns the harder it gets or if you feel good after the first one, you are in the clear.

[Andrea S.]

Jennifer, my mom tolerated chemo very well. She had some mild fatigue at first, which seemed to get better with time. She never had any nausea at all until her 7th cycle, although that was controlled well with medication.

[Andrea S.]

Jennifer, my mom tolerated chemo very well. She had some mild fatigue at first, which seemed to get better with time. She never had any nausea at all until her 7th cycle, although that was controlled well with medication.