Chemo does not change your life, Yes, while you are on it, it can be not too bad or a real pain, Again, no two people are the same. I was in an Ancan.org Advanced prostate cancer meeting and one guy came in and said he was doing chemo but after doing chemo, for 10 days, he couldn’t eat food, didn’t taste good. He lost a lot of weight then he’d have a few days where he’d recovered completely, ate a lot of food, then back to the next chemo session. The other people that said they were just uncomfortable for a few days after, had to rest to recover.
I just finished six infusions in October. I was very fortunate and did not need the nausea medications or mouthwash prescription. I had no problems with fingers and toes. The most notable side effects were fatigue for nine or 10 days between cycles and loss of 85% of my hair. I traveled between five of the six infusions to see family, going to the beach, etc.
As mentioned above, every person is different. However, I am a firm believer that exercise and diet make a tremendous difference in all treatments. I strived to exercise every day, doing less on the more tired days. I ate lots of fruit, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc., adding more protein to my diet during the treatment process. I also fasted, either via a three day water fast, or a five day Prolon fasting mimicking diet for each of the infusions. There is a growing number of studies suggesting this limits side effects, and possibly improves efficacy.
Good luck getting through the treatment. I didn’t find them that bad, and wish the same for you.
Hello,
My hubby only got nauseous after the first infusion but not again after that. He actually gained weight, we think because the steroids made him hungry all the time. Lots of fatigue, lost his hair and got neuropathy in his toes. For him, the worst part was the fatigue. Instead of the ice mittens and booties, we used compression sicks and gloves to try and prevent the worst of the neuropathy. It seemed to work keeping it away from his hands.
My husband is on triple therapy, with docetaxel. He is also stage 4 metastatic.
He is tolerating it fairly well (2 treatments of 6 so far). He feels a bit unwell and fatigued for about the 2nd day after to about the 6th day after, but nothing major.
He is on a steroid for 3 days (the day prior through the day after treatment).
The science for chemo has come a long way from my understanding. It’s not anywhere near as bad as we thought it may be.
Good luck to you!
My husband is stage 4 as well and was very nervous about docetaxel too but did it last summer.... Surprisingly the side effects were minimal, tiredness that got worse after each dosage.... the worst part was the steroids the night before and the morning of it, he was like the Energizer bunny for 36 hrs! Then day 3 or 4 the tiredness hit and took about a week then a week of feeling fine and start all over again... also tired from ADT!
He got a strange side effect from the steroids!- hiccups! He had it for 45 min in the evening after the second shot I think... nothing helped until a nurse friend told him to breathe into a Ziploc until he couldn't any more then he was gasping for air and the hiccups stopped. He got it again when he woke up to pee at night but the bag worked again. The next day the Dr prescribed something for it but it was too late and the following infusion he used the bag again.
Hair loss happened after the 2 or 3 time, started coming out in lumps in the shower so he shaved it off...
Now he has more grey hair than before.
Chemo does not change your life, Yes, while you are on it, it can be not too bad or a real pain, Again, no two people are the same. I was in an Ancan.org Advanced prostate cancer meeting and one guy came in and said he was doing chemo but after doing chemo, for 10 days, he couldn’t eat food, didn’t taste good. He lost a lot of weight then he’d have a few days where he’d recovered completely, ate a lot of food, then back to the next chemo session. The other people that said they were just uncomfortable for a few days after, had to rest to recover.
I just finished six infusions in October. I was very fortunate and did not need the nausea medications or mouthwash prescription. I had no problems with fingers and toes. The most notable side effects were fatigue for nine or 10 days between cycles and loss of 85% of my hair. I traveled between five of the six infusions to see family, going to the beach, etc.
As mentioned above, every person is different. However, I am a firm believer that exercise and diet make a tremendous difference in all treatments. I strived to exercise every day, doing less on the more tired days. I ate lots of fruit, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc., adding more protein to my diet during the treatment process. I also fasted, either via a three day water fast, or a five day Prolon fasting mimicking diet for each of the infusions. There is a growing number of studies suggesting this limits side effects, and possibly improves efficacy.
Good luck getting through the treatment. I didn’t find them that bad, and wish the same for you.
My husband is on triple therapy, with docetaxel. He is also stage 4 metastatic.
He is tolerating it fairly well (2 treatments of 6 so far). He feels a bit unwell and fatigued for about the 2nd day after to about the 6th day after, but nothing major.
He is on a steroid for 3 days (the day prior through the day after treatment).
The science for chemo has come a long way from my understanding. It’s not anywhere near as bad as we thought it may be.
Good luck to you!
Chemo does not change your life, Yes, while you are on it, it can be not too bad or a real pain, Again, no two people are the same. I was in an Ancan.org Advanced prostate cancer meeting and one guy came in and said he was doing chemo but after doing chemo, for 10 days, he couldn’t eat food, didn’t taste good. He lost a lot of weight then he’d have a few days where he’d recovered completely, ate a lot of food, then back to the next chemo session. The other people that said they were just uncomfortable for a few days after, had to rest to recover.
Good chemo issues explanations
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1379518/
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1380026/
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1 ReactionI just finished six infusions in October. I was very fortunate and did not need the nausea medications or mouthwash prescription. I had no problems with fingers and toes. The most notable side effects were fatigue for nine or 10 days between cycles and loss of 85% of my hair. I traveled between five of the six infusions to see family, going to the beach, etc.
As mentioned above, every person is different. However, I am a firm believer that exercise and diet make a tremendous difference in all treatments. I strived to exercise every day, doing less on the more tired days. I ate lots of fruit, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc., adding more protein to my diet during the treatment process. I also fasted, either via a three day water fast, or a five day Prolon fasting mimicking diet for each of the infusions. There is a growing number of studies suggesting this limits side effects, and possibly improves efficacy.
Good luck getting through the treatment. I didn’t find them that bad, and wish the same for you.
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2 ReactionsHello,
My hubby only got nauseous after the first infusion but not again after that. He actually gained weight, we think because the steroids made him hungry all the time. Lots of fatigue, lost his hair and got neuropathy in his toes. For him, the worst part was the fatigue. Instead of the ice mittens and booties, we used compression sicks and gloves to try and prevent the worst of the neuropathy. It seemed to work keeping it away from his hands.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 ReactionsMy husband is on triple therapy, with docetaxel. He is also stage 4 metastatic.
He is tolerating it fairly well (2 treatments of 6 so far). He feels a bit unwell and fatigued for about the 2nd day after to about the 6th day after, but nothing major.
He is on a steroid for 3 days (the day prior through the day after treatment).
The science for chemo has come a long way from my understanding. It’s not anywhere near as bad as we thought it may be.
Good luck to you!
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 ReactionsMy husband is stage 4 as well and was very nervous about docetaxel too but did it last summer.... Surprisingly the side effects were minimal, tiredness that got worse after each dosage.... the worst part was the steroids the night before and the morning of it, he was like the Energizer bunny for 36 hrs! Then day 3 or 4 the tiredness hit and took about a week then a week of feeling fine and start all over again... also tired from ADT!
He got a strange side effect from the steroids!- hiccups! He had it for 45 min in the evening after the second shot I think... nothing helped until a nurse friend told him to breathe into a Ziploc until he couldn't any more then he was gasping for air and the hiccups stopped. He got it again when he woke up to pee at night but the bag worked again. The next day the Dr prescribed something for it but it was too late and the following infusion he used the bag again.
Hair loss happened after the 2 or 3 time, started coming out in lumps in the shower so he shaved it off...
Now he has more grey hair than before.
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2 ReactionsWell, for most patients it's manageable, but it killed my dad so...Any new symptom-go straight to the ER.
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1 Reaction@jeffmarc Thank you for your very helpful comments.
@florida11 Thank you for helping me.
@canadaanne Thank you for helping me.
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1 Reaction@inconsolable Thank you. Scarey but useful.