You know you're on chemo when...

Try wearing the gloves before feeding the chook, cleaning up after the dog etc, to limit the amount of times you have to wash your hands, or at leas tthe length of time and vigour you need to use. and make sure you use hand wash eetc with moisturiser and moisturise yourhands as OFTEN as you can. (Take it fom a life long exercise sufferer, moisturiser is your friend ?)

Hi Shazinoz

Thank you for your great advice.  I did try it overnight but what i did was one hand with latex glove and cotton glove and other one with just cotton glove cause my sister spooked me by saying that with the latex glove it might get too wet overnight and cause an infection.

Anyway the hand with the latex glove has no peeling this morning (until i start washing my hands 100 times a day that is.  i have a dog and chooks :-)  The other hand is still peeling so I will go with both gloves in future.

Thanks heaps.  It is just one of the things we have to endure on this not so wonderful journey we are on hey??

Mich x

Check with your medical team first (because you don't want to risk an infection from the broken skin, and to make sure it is ok), but if it is ok, try applying a Thick layer of moisturise, then put on some disposable latex etc gloves & then somecotton or other warm gloves. The warmth helps your body to absorb it, the latex etc gloves stop the cream from rubbing off etc. The longer you leave it on the better, like overnight.

hope this helps.

you are considering goint out and buying gloves (both cotton and normal) in bulk because you are paranoid about infection but also because your hands are peeling. 

Any hints to help with peeling skin on hands please girls.

Mich x

you ask your husband to shower 4 times a day because you all of a sudden cant stand the smell of his aftershave that he has been using since Xmas. 

Poor man, he is wonderful and has been keeping all the balls in the air for our family and our business.  I even asked him to swap sides of the bed to accommodate my wounds and lately the sight of me whipping off the pillowslips every day to get rid of his "smells" must be quite deflating.

you panic when you get a cold and don't know what to do...

(No temperature, so not an emergency ER visit, but sick so??? called my chemo nurses and had to go on antibiotics, becasue by next morning was a chest infection. Aren't I lucky, 1st chemo cycle and a chest infection to boot, still not temperature spike though so  a little lucky I guess, no ER visit needed).

you panic when you get a cold and don't know what to do...

(No temperature, so not an emergency ER visit, but sick so??? called my chemo nurses and had to go on antibiotics, becasue by next morning was a chest infection. Aren't I lucky, 1st chemo cycle and a chest infection to boot, still not temperature spike though so  a little lucky I guess, no ER visit needed).

You think of all the money you are going to save on hair care products,  shaving/ waxing products etc once you hair falls out.

(and you are getting sick of the waiting (what person in their right mind gets sick of waiting to become bald - but the worry is worse than the event I think), knowing it is going to happen and should start anyday now, but not sure how it comes out, so am I going to go to the shops with a head full of hair and come home with a hair trail and looking like a mangey dog with a patchy head).

(Had my 1st TCH cycle on 02/04/12 and was told it would fall out in 2nd week (nadir week) which finishes tomorrow - scalp is itchy as anything though and driving me batty.

Hi TWH! I'll look forward to you adding your own thoughts once you experience the joys of chemo.  Good luck xx

Hi all, I start chemo in a couple of weeks and after reading this hilarious blog have a fairly good idea of what to expect.