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Chemo Questions
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I'm going with my Mum to her chemo education session tomorrow, any suggestions on things I should ask? She starts chemo next week, they hope to shrink the tumor before she has surgery. I'm a little foggy on all the details as Mum was a bit too stunned to clearly pass on the information she got from the cancer clinic yesterday.

It's ovarian cancer that's spread throughout her abdomen, including her stomach lining. Also apparently to a lymph node in her neck. I know I need to ask about diet and infection control. My dad is in hospital waiting to go into long term care, so I'm not sure if visiting him could pose risks to her.

All the doctors and surgeons are optimistic about her prognosis. To me it sounds dire but I'll trust in their opinions.
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Re: Chemo Questions [Alibabwa] [ In reply to ]
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Percentage of patients in trials. Trials require good practice and protocols

What drugs, how often, side effects, what would require an out of hours emergency - which side effects should really concern you

How many cycles

Survival rates

What stage

I assume as outpatient
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Re: Chemo Questions [Alibabwa] [ In reply to ]
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Wife is almost 3 years out from triple negative breast cancer. Treatment was chemo followed by double masectomy.

There are different types of chemo. The regimen varies from everyday via pill to weekly, bi weekly or every third week via injection. Ask about the regimen and the recovery time after a dosage. My wife usually need 2-3 days before she wanted to get out of bed.

If weekly, bi weekly, etc. try to schedule injection day based on how much help she may need to recover. My wife was injected on a Thursday, was fair on Friday ,and then in bed all weekend.

Ask about side effects. Dry mouth, hair loss, lethargy, loss of appetite, weight gain, metallic taste, loss of finger nails, toe nails, etc. it’s different for different types of chemo.

Will she need a port (portacather) for injections?.

How long is the regimen? Does the regimen change to different types of chemo during the process?

If hair loss is expected, find a wig specialist hair dresser for her. It makes a difference than just buying a wig.


I probably will think of more.
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Re: Chemo Questions [Andrewmc] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, outpatient.

Thanks so much.
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Re: Chemo Questions [Mightygator] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you, these are all excellent questions.

I hope your wife is doing well.
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Re: Chemo Questions [Alibabwa] [ In reply to ]
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She is doing very well,. She Just had a follow up today with her oncologist and her surgeon. All was good.
Her chemo regimen lasted over 3 months. The masectomy followed that and then the reconstruction surgeries. She was diagnosed in March of 2016 and had her final surgery in Nov of 2017.
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Re: Chemo Questions [Alibabwa] [ In reply to ]
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Learn how do care for her because she will have problems remembering things and in dealing with things like cleaning a port. My port was not installed until the last few months of my treatment but its a big deal to keep it clean. More people die of infections than the cancer they are treated for in the first year of treatment.

Learn about the side effects too. Things like peripheral neuropathy, skin lesions, sensitivity to various foods, etc. Each chemotherapy has its own set of side effects, mine is the neuropathy, which will probably be a life long problem even though I am on the lowest level of chemo right now.

I hope things go well for your Mom!
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Re: Chemo Questions [Mightygator] [ In reply to ]
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That’s awesome to hear!
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Re: Chemo Questions [vecchia capra] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you.

The cancer agency gave her information on the drugs they’ll use and their side effects. I assume we’ll get more detail this morning.

Are you still in treatment for your cancer? My best wishes to you for your recovery. And thank you so much for sharing.
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Re: Chemo Questions [Alibabwa] [ In reply to ]
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Alibabwa wrote:
Thank you.

The cancer agency gave her information on the drugs they’ll use and their side effects. I assume we’ll get more detail this morning.

Are you still in treatment for your cancer? My best wishes to you for your recovery. And thank you so much for sharing.

Yes, my disease (multiple myeloma) is not curable so I will be in some treatment plan for the rest of my life. It's looking okay right now, I am in remission and staying active which helps keep it at bay. Based on current technology I have somewhere between 10-20 years before I get into the final stages of the disease but there are a lot of new treatments in the pipeline that may result in a cure for the cancer. One of the new technologies, a gene modification treatment, is already being used in a few places and will be introduced in my area soon.
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Re: Chemo Questions [Alibabwa] [ In reply to ]
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I'd ask specifically about constipation. Often these drug cocktails cause one or the other and it's a legitimately serious problem to be suffering with bowel problems in the middle of anything else. As you can imagine, the minor issues of life that are relatively small inconveniences for healthy people can be much more serious and have complications for someone who is already seriously ill and in the middle of a treatment program.

The same goes for the immune system - I'm sure the doctors will advise the same, but speaking from experience, your mother's immune system will be weak and she'll be more likely to catch every bug that comes through town and have a harder time beating it once she does so. I guess this isn't really what to ask the doctor, but my own advice from experience.

All the best to your family and your mum.
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Re: Chemo Questions [Marlonius] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for advice. The education session was very thorough and they covered constipation and diarrhea. On the way home I made sure she was stocked with supplies for both.

They also mentioned weakened immune systems. The sucky thing (for many reasons) is that my Dad is in hospital waiting for transfer to long term care. They really didn’t seem keen on the idea of Mum hanging out in a hospital. He is mostly with it, so knows what’s going one and is stressed not to be able to support her on even be there. Sucks all around.

I was very impressed with BC Cancer. The session covered almost all our questions and the nurse made sure to sort a few details out that Mum was unclear on. First chemo session is next Thursday- we’ll find out for real how she reacts then.
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Re: Chemo Questions [Alibabwa] [ In reply to ]
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I'm glad to hear it was a good meeting and you're feeling as confident as possible. It's a tough go and I think your parents are lucky to have you so close and able.
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