Posted on 03/05/2020 6:19:27 AM PST by Bender2
I went to my radiation and chemo treatments scared to death. Good old Greg Allen drove me there and back and I will give him a gold star for his efforts.
I had a lot of pain holding my arms back while in the infernal radiation machine that whirled about me shooting left over parts of the Little Boy bomb at my cancer. Yet the good meds the doc gave me kicked in and the pain did not last very long after I got out the radiation's grip and put my arms down.
Then 30 minutes later I was in the chair for my chemo. My pucker factor was on high alert but the pin that went into my Bard Power Port hardly hurt at all.
Nurse Carrie stared the drip and I laid back with a book to try and read while I expected to shortly be puking up a storm over everything in creation.
Then--
Then--
Then nothing really happened. I sat there for near four hours while the nurses dripped different chemo drugs into my port.
I kept reading and every time they asked how I was, I said, "Okay."
I kept awaiting the "Big N" but the nausea never came. I felt a little bloated but nothing else that my fear has me feeling--
The nurse told me to stay well hydrated as it would really help. Brother am I going to stay hydrated!
After it was over I made it out to get in Greg's truck for a ride home. He asked how I was and I said, "Better than I ever expected to be!"
Now I am at home after taking just as a precaution, one of the anti-nausea pills. I've eaten a banana and washing down some crackers with cold water and all seems well.
Danny
Hey man what great news.
The prayers will keep coming and the weeks will be over before you know it.
Keep on keeping on!
This was written last night after I go home and posted it to Facebook but I wanted to also post it here for all those on FR that gave me their heavenly support—
Good news.
The cancer treatment centers in good hospitals pick great IV Nurses to give and handle the ivs in their cancer patients.
That makes for a lot of the positive differences in iv treatment.
I prayed for you and glad you’re doing so well. My mother is on one of these prayer lists - she has salivary duct carcinoma and is on week 3 now of radiation to her parotid gland. I hope you handle the radiation well if you’re getting it in your throat area. My mom’s voice is getting a bit raspy now, but they say a lot of the side effects will slowly go away after the radiation treatments are over. She will likely have dry mouth. Soft foods and things will be key, we believe, so FYI for you too!
BTT
You and I have not interacted much on FR over the years, but this is great news. People on FR all wish you the best.
They’re still comin’ pal. Hang in there and God Bless.
We praise Thee o Lord and we adore Thee.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, amen.
Good news is always to be shared with your friends. My wife is suffering from a bad case of gout and she’s miserable on our trip home from Marco island Florida. Miserable by the way breeds miserable in those closest and that’s been my 11 hour.drive today
Was this your first round? I pray for you. I had surgery for cancer last November but I’ve been fortunate not to have to have radiation or chemo, yet anyway.
There are several discussion forums for cancer patients and survivors.
Cancer Survivors Network
I like this one as it has cancer specific boards. And people share their experiences with the different treatments, etc.
Please keep us updated and I will keep you in my prayers.
I pray for your mom. I had surgery for oral cancer and was fortunate to not have to have radiation at this point. On the throat area can cause problems eating and talking. Some people get through it just fine.
Here is a forum that has cancer specific threads, cancer patients and survivors share their experiences with the treatments, etc.
thanks for that link, that will be very helpful! We’ll be sure to check that out for some ideas, etc. Yes, her voice has gotten raspy and she has dry mouth. We know it will be tough now till the treatment is over, but this dreadful tumor does seem to be shrinking a bit now. Honestly, with salivary duct carcinoma, we weren’t sure if it would even respond to radiation. It’s that monstrous of a tumor. She’s got some gastritis distress going on too, because I think the Ensure may be too rich, so I’ve been lurking around to find things she’ll eat that won’t bother her.
When I couldn’t eat anything solid, I just bought powdered protein drink and added to milk. Tasted better than ensure. Smoothies are good too.
I’m fixing to have to go through that again, though there is no new cancer, my tongue grew to the floor of my mouth, making it difficult to eat and talk, very uncomfortable. So I will be on a feeding tube around 10 days and heaven only knows how long until I can eat again after that. I’m everything I like now in anticipation, lol.
That site is great, people tell what worked for them and encourage each other. I’ve learned a lot.
Continuing to pray for you as you undergo treatment.
I used my first cycle of infusion to build my confidence I could endure it and soldier through as the later cycles gave me more side effects. Just remember: Chemo kills cancer and spreading metastasized cells — side effects are mostly temporary no matter how severe.
i’m so sorry to hear about your complication (ouch!!) and I’ll pray for you too. Hopefully you’ll heal quickly!
Thank you, tell your mom I’m praying for her also.
Hello Rusty 0604, I am wondering how you’re doing and if your surgery ever happened given the pandemic? If it did, I hope you are improving and not in extreme pain. And that you’re able to eat your protein drinks and smoothies.
I’m currently staying and working from my mom’s house. She really can’t go out in crowds with this virus going on...they would stop her radiation, so I’m doing shop from home so that neither of us get exposed to it and mess up her treatments.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.