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Coughing a lot after lung cancer treatment. Don't know why

Lung Cancer | Last Active: Apr 10 9:03am | Replies (77)

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@sglaza

Hello Sanygita15,
I had a similar situation to what you are facing regarding your upcoming chemo treatment so I thought I would share the following (this is largely based on my personal experience):

1) The cisplatin/permextred combination you will be receiving is what I was also treated with about a month after my lung surgery. Cisplatin is a toxic drug.......it is meant to kill whatever cancer cells might still be existing in your body. However there are a number of known side effects. There are less toxic platinum based drugs utilized however they may not be as effective as cisplatin.
2) Be sure to read the materials supplied by your oncologist team and adhere to all the pre- and post-treatment drug treatments that they provide. They have undoubtedly treated many patients before and can anticipate very well how you will be progress through the treatments. However, every person is different and react differently to chemo and its side effects.
3) On your infusion treatment days it will be a long day (probably at least 5-6 hours) as it takes time to set you up, administer hydration fluids and then to slowly infuse the chemo drugs and then most likely more infused hydration fluids. You will be undoubtedly quite tired at the end of each infusion treatment.
4) At about 4-6 days post treatment you may start to feel tired and nauseous.....that will probably last a couple of days.......keep up with your prescribed medications as needed and absolutely get rest when your body tells you to rest.
5) Staying hydrated is absolutely critical to help ward off the potential kidney damage that cisplatin can cause. You may need a number of different beverages available (water, sport drinks, juices) because finding something that you can really drink that much of may be a challenge. Food is another issue...........your appetite will most likely be impacted including your sense of taste. I went through so many phases of what I wanted to eat, what tasted at least OK, and what I could no longer eat was just crazy. Resort to your comfort foods to get you by.
6) By the time of your next chemo treatment day you will probably be feeling pretty good and then the cycle starts all over again. Keep track of you specific side effects and keep your oncology team informed and reach out to them if you are really struggling. And stay hydrated!
7) Just two other comments.......for your infusion treatments you may be asked if you want a port installed or just go with direct arm vein administration. I went with the direct arm vein administration without any real difficulties. Be aware that another possible side effect of cisplatin is hearing loss. You may want to see if you can have a baseline hearing test done just to be able to monitor any changes in your hearing after the chemo is completed.

As I have stated before......chemo can be a challenge however you can get through it by following the instructions from your oncology team and listening to your body and reacting accordingly.

Finally, you had previously asked about financial assistance to help defray the costs of Tagrisso particularly for non-US patients. I would suggest that you reach out directly to the AstraZeneca Tagrisso patient assistance team to see what may be available for someone in your situation.

Good luck!!

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Replies to "Hello Sanygita15, I had a similar situation to what you are facing regarding your upcoming chemo..."

Thanks@sglaza for your valuable insights on chemo. They are giving me
platinum therapy. As mentioned before they have provided a booklet which
has tablet names n post treatment care instructions. No infornation on
whether i need to come empty stomach or not for the chemo . They have asked
me to come at 9 am n said discharge would be at 6 pm in the evening. Only
Nausea n hairfall are the two effects they told me about. I have asked my
medical oncologist to share his personal no so i can stay in touch whenever
required with my post treatment experiences. I will also ask them if i
can have electrol and coconut water along side water to stay hydrated. Also
n terms of food i thought of having hard boiled eggs n chicken soup n rice
for now. Basis how my apetite is n nausea or any other side effect will
make modifications in my diet. Thanks a lot for your help. Take care. Best
wishes. Stay in touch.