Scared Sh**less!

You poor thing. It sounds like you have heard all the horror stories and chemo is scary enough without having people tell you the worst. I bet you there is not one person that hasn't been scared sh...less. As Donna said its no walk in the park but you will get through. Everyone's experience is different. I wrote down all the symptoms I had and when they occured after my first round no matter how small they were so I could tell my Oncologist and she was able to adjust the chemo as we went along. Eat a light meal before your treatment and drink as much fluid as possible. I took a big bag with some supplies with me, I called it my chemo bag (daaaaah) and probably will never use it again :) A friend of mine suggested Fruit Tingles to suck on as they have bicarb in them and give some relief from heart burn which I suffered from. Also your Oncologist can prescribe Nexium for stronger relief if needed. I also sucked on icy-poles during treatment which I found helped with mouth sores and dry mouth. Tissues, headphones if you would like to listen to music, if you have a smart tablet like an iPad to play games on or a book to read, all help to pass the time quickly. Plastic bags just in case of.... on the way home. This only happened to me once and it was when we were trying to work out if one of the anti-nausea drugs was giving me headaches and my Onc suggested we try leaving it out. I don't recommend this as I was really sick. Dress comfortably. I dressed in a track suit. For the first round I also took along with me any vitamins and supplements I was taking and showed them to the Hospital Pharmacist for his okay. He told me not to take some for a certain time before and after chemo as they might have had a negative effect so this might be something you might think of. One of the chemo drugs is nicknamed the red devil and this turns your urine red the first time you go to the loo so if you are on this one, don't freak out. I was warned about it by the chemo nurse but a friend wasn't and she panicked thinking there was something terribly wrong. Ask your chemo nurses if you are unsure. Ask plenty of questions, forearmed is forewarned. I know this all sounds overwhelming to you but once you are over the first one, you'll get your own routine going. It's really not having the chemo that's bad it's what happens when the side effects kick in around day 3 or 4 for me. Again remember that we are all different and the side effects will be different for you. I will keep my fingers crossed that you will breeze through with mild side effects. But you'll find your inner strength to fight any side effects no matter what they bring. Take all the help that is offered to you. You are número uno through this. Take each day as it comes. Being scared of the unknown is perfectly natural but once you know what to expect, you'll do okay and before you know it you'll be through.

Sorry about the book, I do tend to rambled on :)

Sending you hugs and kisses. Love Janey xxxooo