Chemo and Immunotherapy: Any tips before I start?

@jc100 I had 6 cycles of the standard carboplatin, taxol, as well as immunotherapy (traztuzumab or Herceptin). I've not connected with anyone here who received Herceptin. Anyone else on Herceptin for endometrial cancer? I know it is most often used for other indications. Healing wishes to all.....

Hi, Sabwal. Try not to worry. I hate to say it because many have struggled with the chemo, but many do not. I had stage 3c high grade serous cancer, for which I was treated with taxol and carboplatin. After one round the taxol was changed to Abraxane, which has the same active ingredient as taxol but a different binder because many people are allergic to the binder in taxol. Also I opted for weekly abraxane/taxol treatment to try and reduce the side effects. I made sure I ate well and I iced religiously to avoid neuropathy. I did not cold cap, as I understand it’s not always effective and I wasn’t willing to spend the additional icing hours required. I went through seven rounds of chemo, surgery, and then three more rounds of chemo. I was looking a little rough by the end, but I only had nausea once or twice and pretty much went about my life. I shopped, went out to eat, and traveled by airplane from Orlando to Houston on many occasions. I was able to drive to chemo two hours away on a weekly basis. I had seven rounds of chemo, surgery, and three more rounds of chemo. My numbers remained stable and I have no lingering neuropathy. I did lose my hair, but I wore an elastic scarf I got off of eBay and it was fine. My doctor said the most important thing was nutrition, nutrition, nutrition, so I drank smoothies of all kinds almost daily. For me vegetables helped to keep the nausea at bay. I was 68 when I was diagnosed and continued to walk 3 or 4 miles with my friends. So some of us do just fine and the others get through too, though it’s not always as easy. Accept help from your loved ones and friends, try to stay positive, and keep moving forward. You have no other choice if you want to live. You will get through this and in the end I suspect will find that the process has been rewarding. I’m now in a clinical trial and doing fine, living a mostly normal life. Hugs to you. We are all pulling for you.

@juliea55 thank you! My first cycle is Tuesday. I think my worry is that they put me on Eliquis because my cancer tends to create blood clots (I had one from surgery) - that has its own side effects. Then the two chemo drugs plus immuno drug - my head just wonders how do I even make sense of the cocktail & all of its side effects. For example, I was considering CBD & CBG for relief but when I looked into its combo with DOACs, problems occur. The hyper-vigilancy to check all combos is exhausting. How do I stay a responsible self-advocating patient while also staying present and positive?