Squamous cell carcinoma (glottis) metastsized: Anxious about chemo

My husband had 2 sessions,each over 2 days,so 4 cisplatin infusions. Tbe first were not that bad,hevwas given steroids for 5 days and anti nausea meds for a week,these helped. The next 2 were 3 weeks later. He was weak and a little nauseous, didn't want to eat. He feels steroids should be given for a week as these symptoms came on day 5, for him they lasted 2 days. However it does pass, take any and all meds that are offered to you. Sincerely hope you have an easy time,remember it's to help you live.

You have my sympathy. It's not an easy path you are on. I received radiation and chemo concurrently, and it was no picnic. Things have changed a lot in the past 20-years since I underwent treatment. Treatment seems more targeted, and hopefully, medications have improved. I can say that my discomfort was an inconvenience which is but a distant memory that no longer matters. I hope it goes just as well for you. Good luck!

Chemo for this particular disease isn’t all that bad. Cisplatin or carbotaxol are given along with a variety of other meds that control nausea in most patients. The only times I came close to vomiting were from gagging on phlegm (a radiation side effect). You’ll do fine. Good luck!

I just completed treatment for the very same diagnosis a little over three months ago. Surgery, chemo x 2 (Docetaxel), and photon radiation x 20 over 10days. (De-escalation regimen / DART trial)

Since my chemo was concurrent with radiation it's hard to discern what caused what, but I experienced just about what the team prepared me for. I reacted to each chemo infusion in the first 1-2 minutes and that was not fun. Towards the end of my treatment I experienced persistent nausea / queasiness for a couple weeks. The rest of my symptoms were more related to radiation : significant throat pain, mouth ulceration, fatigue, and dry mouth / ropey saliva.

The good news is that as unpleasant as it was, it was temporary and managed well with with Fentanyl patches and backup liquid oxy / lidocaine rinses. Not sure I directly answered your questions but I hope it helps. Good luck and focus on daily improvement. It will get better.

*Edit....just saw you had Glottis carcinoma. Mine was oropharygeal with cervical lymph node metastasis. Apologies.

Welcome @bsw1950 . That's just rotten news that you have this battle going on. Likely the next couple of months will mostly be staying home and watching baseball or whatever rather than enjoying a normal life. Standard advice is to just get through each day one at a time and eventually this will all be behind you. This is a good place to vent or ask questions. I would rather welcome you to a spring picnic but here we are, so let's get through this.

Hello @bsw1950. So sorry about you needing to join the head and neck cancer group. I feel like you have been through the worst already with radiation. My son in law just finished 7 weeks of chemo and radiation together. The proton radiation side effects have been much worse than the chemo. He had Cisplatin and with the steroids and nausea medication used, he really had minimal nausea. My husband had Cisplatin a few years ago and had no nausea with the meds given with the infusions. Work with your medical team if you have problems and they will address it as needed. I had a different drug 14 years ago during radiation, but when nausea became an issue they added meds to control it. You are on the home stretch...... you can do it.

@bsw1950, have you had your first chemo treatment? How are you doing?