Must-haves for chemo
Hi all. I am about to start chemotherapy next week, fortnightly for 8 weeks and then weekly for 12. There is SOOOOOOOOOO much out there about what it will be like, what the side effects will be, what ...
Forum Discussion
Hi @ShazLou,
I had chemo in 2020 and I did pretty well with it but as you are probably aware we are all different and respond differently. So the way I got through it was with the following:
# Lots of water especially the day before and the days after,
# juice to help my liver process the drugs - beetroot, celery, ginger, carrot and berries for sweetness. I just blended it all together because i like the pulp. Lots of recipes for it online,
# cook a few meals and freeze for days you don't want to cook,
# accept help from anyone
# dealing with hair - you can cold cap to keep it but it adds alot of time to treatment. It's an individual decision but I shaved my head, well I took it down to a number 1 blade. Hair starts falling out about day 17,
# take care of your skin. I used moogoo as I figured I had enough chemicals and it had none,
# Oral hygiene- incredibly important to floss and gargle with salty water after eating to avoid mouth ulcers. I was really strict about this and never got any mouth issues,
# take a friend or a book as it all takes time,
# don't suffer with nausea if you get it so take the pills if you feel nauseous. I only had nausea twice.
# rest when you need to. They tend to give steroids with chemo and this can give you alot of energy for a couple of days but then there is a crash after that and you feel tired. I took steroids the first couple rounds and then when I knew Mt body was handling it, I went off them after discussing with my oncologist,
# the other thing I did and it may sound weird but as the chemo was administered I use to imagine it as a golden light healing me, killing the cancer but not impacting the other cells,
# put yourself first - be very kind to yourself.
Best wishes
I had chemo in 2020 and I did pretty well with it but as you are probably aware we are all different and respond differently. So the way I got through it was with the following:
# Lots of water especially the day before and the days after,
# juice to help my liver process the drugs - beetroot, celery, ginger, carrot and berries for sweetness. I just blended it all together because i like the pulp. Lots of recipes for it online,
# cook a few meals and freeze for days you don't want to cook,
# accept help from anyone
# dealing with hair - you can cold cap to keep it but it adds alot of time to treatment. It's an individual decision but I shaved my head, well I took it down to a number 1 blade. Hair starts falling out about day 17,
# take care of your skin. I used moogoo as I figured I had enough chemicals and it had none,
# Oral hygiene- incredibly important to floss and gargle with salty water after eating to avoid mouth ulcers. I was really strict about this and never got any mouth issues,
# take a friend or a book as it all takes time,
# don't suffer with nausea if you get it so take the pills if you feel nauseous. I only had nausea twice.
# rest when you need to. They tend to give steroids with chemo and this can give you alot of energy for a couple of days but then there is a crash after that and you feel tired. I took steroids the first couple rounds and then when I knew Mt body was handling it, I went off them after discussing with my oncologist,
# the other thing I did and it may sound weird but as the chemo was administered I use to imagine it as a golden light healing me, killing the cancer but not impacting the other cells,
# put yourself first - be very kind to yourself.
Best wishes