Chemo must haves

My first battle is the surgery, but as soon as my tissues have healed enough they begin chemotherapy. This could happen as early as two weeks after surgery or possibly as long out as four weeks.

There are two different chemo approaches for my type of cancer. At the time of surgery they will send my tissues off to pathology to determine the best course for chemo. I will do eighteen weeks of treatment either way.

Option1- (my preferred method) This is once every three weeks.  Followed by a year of Herceptin infusions. 

Option 2- This is once every two weeks four four sessions. It is then followed up by once a week until you reach 18 weeks. Then the Herceptin is administered for a year.

Chemo takes forever. Huntsman starts by drawing your blood before chemo and it is sent to the lab. This is how they mix your perfect chemo. That takes 45 minutes. Then you wait for your chemo to be produced....another 45 minutes. Then you wait for an opening in the infusion room, maybe 20 minutes. Then it takes 90 minutes once the infusions begin.

The following day you return for a shot. And then you wait for symptoms to present.

Obviously I can't tell you more than that until it begins. But I am a planner so I have been scouring the internet to get advice. 

Following is an excerpt about what chemo does:

"The body is made up of trillions of normal healthy cells. Cancer starts when something causes changes in a normal cell. This cancer cell then grows out of control and makes more cancer cells. Each type of cancer affects the body in different ways. If cancer is not treated, it can spread and affect the rest of your body.
Chemo kills cancer cells. These drugs can affect normal cells, too. (Especially fast growing cells) This is why you loose hair, nails, etc.  But most normal cells can repair themselves over time."
-American Cancer Society

Here is the shopping list I compiled from many different sources. I would love to credit them all, but since I read it at 2 am one night I forgot to keep my citations!! So credit goes to the angels who guided me through the internet.

Each doctor prefers either Aleve, Advil or Tylenol based on your specific chemo cocktail. Better to have all three in hand! And Immodium is a must! Grrrr!

Pedialyte is great for when you are dehydrated from the runs.... (Sorry!) Colacd for the opposite problem from the pain medication. Dry mouth rinse for the sore in your mouth. Chemo makes you produce less saliva. And this Peroxyl mix is for sores that appear in your mouth. Everyone recommends getting fluoride treatments from your dentist while having chemo. Guess I better call Paul Larsen!! He is the greatest dentist!

You need a new reliable thermometer to monitor your temperature for infections. Tears since your eyes dry out and hurt. Pampers and flush able wipes for oh so tender private parts due to the side effects.

What can you eat? What can you keep down? Think of the BRAT diet. Bread, rice, applesauce, toast. One lady loved animal crackers. Another swears by saltines. And everyone says to suck on lemon drops during the actual infusion to disguise the chemo taste. They suggest having cottage cheese and egg beaters. Soup was a suggestion and my favorite two were orange Popsicles and lemon sorbet!!

New toothbrushes to avoid bacteria. And spin brushes if you have had mastectomy. Kleenex for leaky eyes and for sad days. 

Of course hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes are essential.

And it was recommended to use Udderly Smooth hand cream.

Most of our blog readers won't need all this info, but this was helpful to me to gather this information. I'm not excited for chemo.... In fact I'm scared. But I am awaiting the day that the chemo will start to kill my cancer cells. That thought comforts me.