Posted 1/24/2017 7:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi ArtistMark-
I really love your new PSA- it looks great on you!
I had skin issues, they believe it was "radiation recall" where skin cells damaged by sun over the years became inflamed when exposed to the chemo- these symptoms did not show in my case until days 6-9 post chemo, likely because the steroids they give you during chemo keep inflammation down for about a week.
For me it got bad enough I was treating twice a day over large areas of my body with prescription steroid cream, which did help, but successive chemo infusions just piled on, and I was limited to 4 cycles of taxotere instead of 6.
buy some chapstick- you will likely need it as mucous membranes can suffer under chemo- my lips got dry and cracked at corners.
I made a cup of baking soda: salt in a 2:1 ratio; added about a teaspoon to 1/4 cup of water and swished in my mouth 2-3 times per day or as desired (always made my mouth feel better).
Try to be active when you can, it will help you to feel better, but you will notice activity gets harder with each cycle (of course stay on the couch during crash days)- also, even walking will help push fluid out of your legs- one SE can be capillary leak syndrome, and in lower legs they get real puffy from edema- and keep legs elevated when not walking as much as you can
do not ignore signs of neuropathy- chart in your mind what you may have at start (and that may be exacerbated by chemo) and notice new funny sensations (numbness, hot or cold sensations, pains) that may occur in extremities, be sure to inform doc- dosage can be reduced to try and minimize neuropathic symptoms and still be effective, but not if you don't tell the doc- I did not notice significant neuropathic change until 3rd cycle IIRC. PRoblem with chemo-induced neuropathy is that it may or may not go away with time- mine did go away, mostly (last chemo was last September). neuropathy is not highly common based upon literature (range 10-30% roughly based upon different studies).
Stay warm on that crash couch.
If you get any skin breaks, clean and treat with triple antibiotic ointment until healing seems assured- you will not heal so well during chemo for sure, and your skin may show extreme inflammation response to injury- but you got to worry about infections while on chemo- so take good care of any breaches in your defenses.
They tell you to call the doc if you get a temp of 100.5 or more- the fear here is potential for sepsis, which can be life-threatening- HOWEVER, moderate fever is not an unexpected result from the systemic damage the chemo is causing throughout your body, you are given permission not to freak out until 100.5; I soldiered through a 101 one afternoon with tylenol and a nap, but I was at the height of my skin inflammation at the time, had it not gone down in a couple hours, I would have called the doc, but who can afford an ER co-pay if not absolutely necessary- your doc will help you to make that decision when you call.
Its all good- a little scary going in, a bit of a balancing act during the process, and a not unpleasant memory in the rearview mirror- because in chemo you actually feel like you are aggressively punching back- most other therapies seem like something "they" do to you. In chemo, it seems like you are a more active part of the process, as you work to pull it off safely and with as much comfort as you can. It is your mission for a while, and most people accomplish it- which feels good- should drive your PSA even lower I would think (maybe you will earn the "<" in front of your number.. what a grand day that will be!)
rock and roll, dude- knock it outta the park
and here's to fightin'
rf