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Chemotherapy is a word that strikes fear into most of our hearts. We've
seen the movies and heard such horrible stories about undergoing this
difficult treatment for a disease that could very well kill us. I
underwent chemo for breast cancer and know that, in some cases, the
cancer isn't hard … it isn't painful … it doesn't make us sick. That's
the case for most of us who have breast cancer, but don't have distant
metastases. But then, they say we need to do chemo and we know we'll
feel that.
Although chemo drugs haven't changed that much, and they're still
terribly hard on our bodies, the management drugs have changed a lot.
Chemotherapy, for many of us, isn't the show-stopper we thought it
would be. Of course, each of us is different and the chemo drugs affect
each of us in different ways, but, for the most part, chemo is
definitely doable.
My breast cancer was Stage IIIa, with a 5.8 cm tumor, 8 of 10 lymph
nodes positive, and I was only 39 years old. That bought me a ticket
for the chemo ride. And I was scared out of my wits. But, I found an
online breast cancer support group, at WebMD, and those women told me
everything to expect and more. I went through four rounds of adriamycin
and cytoxan. Both of them are some pretty stout breast cancer chemo
drugs. After that, I did a controversial treatment that involved
extremely high doses of cytoxan, taxol, and cisplatin, so I learned
quite a bit about surviving chemotherapy.
First of all, I would highly recommend getting a port. This is a line
that goes into a vein in your chest, the entrance to which sits just
under your skin, right below your collarbone. It requires a quick
surgery to put it in but, if you're having a mastectomy for your breast
cancer, you can get the chemo port put in at the same time. If you
choose not to do that, you'll have to get your chemo treatments through
your veins and chemo is really hard on your veins. This means that you
will, most likely, have to endure multiple attempts for them to find a
vein, as time goes by. With the port, it's already in a vein, so all
they have to do is stick the needle into the port to access it. If you
find this uncomfortable, there is a cream they can give you called Emla
cream. One of the first things I learned was to tell them the moment I
was uncomfortable. It's all fixable. You'll put the Emla cream on a bit
before you have to have your port accessed and it'll numb your skin.
Most breast cancer chemotherapy drugs will cause your hair to fall out.
This is because chemo kills the rapidly dividing cells in your body.
Your mucous areas and hair follicles are affected for this reason.
That's why you may have nausea or develop mouth or throat sores. Again,
all this sounds scary, but is totally manageable. Since you will
probably be losing your hair, which can be quite traumatic, I would
advise going wig or hat shopping before you even get your first chemo.
Take a girlfriend with you and be adventurous. Try on different styles,
and even colors. If you've always wanted to be a blonde, now's your
chance! Make a day of it and have fun with it. Goodness knows, you have
to look for that silver lining every chance you get. Also, make sure to
have your nausea med prescription filled before you go so you'll have
it waiting for you if you need it at home. You may be pretty tired,
afterward, so don't wait till then to get those meds.
On your first chemo day, they will probably give you some steroids,
intravenously or through your port, to help with the nausea. This may
make you hungry; it sure did for me! But, I would recommend you don't
eat your favorite food on chemo day. Chemo is manageable, but after
you're all done, you may find that you have associations. For example,
I used to love the cucumber melon fragrance when I was going through
chemo. I had cucumber melon everything! But, to this day, the smell of
cucumber melon makes my stomach do a little somersault because it
reminds me of such an unpleasant time in my life. The same can happen
with food. I still can't look a chicken burrito in the eye! But, I'm
sure glad I didn't eat a taco because I would've hated for that to be
ruined for me!
Many breast cancer chemo drugs are hard on your bladder, so be sure to
drink, drink, drink. If you don't feel like drinking water, then broth,
jello, or even popsicles will help. Since you've gotten your nausea
meds all filled in advance, be sure to take them as prescribed, whether
you think you need them or not. Chemo nausea isn't just any kind of
nausea and it's much easier to stay ahead of it than to try to fix it
once it occurs. If you do happen to get nauseated, and I can't stress
this enough, call your doctor!!! There are many, many nausea meds and
you do not have to feel sick just because you're doing chemo. Once they
find the right drug for you, it will be so much easier. So, do not
suffer this in silence! The same applies for if you get sores in your
mouth or throat.
You will be tired from this treatment. Most of us get more tired as the
treatments progress because they make our white blood cell counts drop
really low. Because of this, it's a good idea to keep some Purell, or
something similar, with you all the time for use when you've had to
touch, for example, public restroom door handles. Your risk of
infection will be much higher during this time.
If you lose your hair, it will typically happen in 10-14 days after
your first chemo treatment. If you have long hair, you might want to
cut it short in preparation. I know I felt so out of control of
everything, during that time. When your hair comes out, it lets go
quickly and in large clumps, getting all over your pillow and clogging
your drain. For many women, that is more traumatic than even losing a
breast. So, I figured that was the one thing I could control about this
whole breast cancer thing … when my hair came out. I cut it really
short, beforehand and, when it started to let go, I had my husband get
the clippers and shave my head. My daughter helped and we did a little
Mohawk and stripe action first!
That was my way of shaking my fist at this cancer … it might take my
breasts, and it might take my hair for a while, but I beat it to the
punch! It was my way of saying, "You cannot take my spirit!" You can do
the same thing. Your breast cancer does not define you. It is but a
speed bump in the course of your life. Strap on your gloves and step
into the ring. This chemo is your biggest punch. Your spirit is your
own and that breast cancer can't touch it! |