Heavenleah,
Bless you, hun. Get all comfy. Got anyone to help you out there?

Hey Heavenleah,

The American Cancer Society chapter in our area has volunteers that help with errand running, house stuff, etc. for folks undergoing chemo, radiation, etc.

I felt a little odd about it, since I'm able to take care of my Mom, but they assured me that they were still happy to help even though I'm her caregiver. I've opted not to use the volunteers' time so that they can use it to help folks who are alone and really need it.....but I recommend giving them a call, or checking out their website.

Sometimes, just having someone run to the store, or toss in a load of laundry, can be a real help.

Hugs,
Jo

Hello all! My Mom is doing really well. Amazingly so. She had a radiation treatment last week. She had no side effects and it was not too hard for her. She has gained 10 pounds since she started chemotherapy.

This week she had a fever a couple of days but her white cell count was ok. She in on antibiotics and seems to be ok with that. They are tapering her off the steroids slowly. Next week she will start her fourth round of chemotherapy.

She got two super cute wigs and that has made her very happy. They look great!

HeavenleAngel I hope you are feeling well and will call the cancer center. I have started volunteering with seniors and I get so much pleasure from helping. Anyone who is volunteering wants to help and you will be doing them a favor by allowing them to help you!

Be well everyone.

Hi Heavenlea,

Sorry you're feeling so bad. My mom struggles with dehydration and it was a major issue. We found that adding Pedialyte did her a world of good. Right now we use the unflavored variety and mix it half and half with juice a couple times a day. It's worth a try. :)

Thanks for the suggestion. I naively started guzzling Chrystal Lite, but the dr told me any kind of beverages that have "lite" in the name will just run right through me and NOT to drink them. Who knew, right? I have started eating ice chips, too. It's all water..lol, and popsickles. I hope your Mom feels better soon! You are very special for caring for her. Wish I could say the same about my family.

Heavenleaangel,

There have been a number of studies done that have shown that even the smallest amount of exercise helps with fatigue during chemo. Even just taking a 5-10 minute, slow walk will make a difference. Built up from there.

Ok, so I didn't follow that advice consistently myself during chemo, but I thought I would let you know what I have read in more than one place.

Don't forget that Gatorade is great for dehydration. It has the electrolytes to get you back into balance (you lose this when you are dehydrated). If you start to lose weight and have a hard time not getting it under control, choose the Pedialyte, for certain. Or do Gatorade for dehydration and protein shakes for calories/health.

Also, drinking a lot of water is important after chemo. It flushes the chemo out of your system. You will feel less shitty the sooner you get that stuff out.

Pedialyte pops are good too. Especially if the chemotherapy is causing mouth sores. My Mom is also rinsing with baking soda twice a day and that has helped the mouth sores this time around.

Yes my Mom has the prescription but she has not filled it yet. Magic Mouthwash I think it is called. She likes popsicles so that works for her. I don't know about the BioTene. I will have to get that for her. She has a bridge that she takes out at night and that was really irritating her mouth. She left it in at night and that helped but that also annoyed her! So now she is back to taking it out again. Thanks for the info Clay and I hope you are feeling well.

You are so very welcome, Julieis...and yes, it IS called Magic Mouthwash...I am fine....thanks for asking...give mom a hug...have a great weekend...Clay

Julie, just to let you know "Magic Mouthwash" comes in cherry and regular. The pharmacist actually mixes up the product right there. My pharmacist said cherry is the automatic choice, so she had to specifically order the plain for me. I did not want the cherry b/c the way I used the mouth wash was to take a mouthful of it and "hold it" over the sore in my mouth until it was numbed a few minutes before I ate. It only somewhat worked, but it was a way I could eat. I didn't want the cherry flavor b/c it effected the taste of my food. The product really only worked for about 10 minutes.

My chemo was one week on, one week off. The week off was when I had the mouth sores, so I hardly ate. The week on, I didn't have mouth sores, so I ate a lot, in order to bring my weight back up. I did this for 6 months. I actually had to miss work sometimes b/c it would be extremely painful to even talk (I meet with people all day = a lot of talking!).

I was told the baking soda rinse would not help after the mouth sores appeared, but was supposed to keep them from occurring (?). I am glad it helps your mom though, Julie.

Magic mouthwash is supposed to soothe, but unfortunately, not eradicate the mouth sores. My oncologist told me there was nothing else out there and then I saw in "cure" magazine an advertised new product. I suggested to my oncologist that they request free samples from the company, and they did. By the time they got it in, I had finished my last chemo and the mouth sores had gone away. Subsequently, I couldn't be their "guinea pig" for the product as they had hoped. lol I'm sorry that I don't remember the name of the product and it was too new to get up on google. It may be there now (this would have been 9 months ago).

Ok, so I just remembered they gave me a sample of a different product that was also new out. It burned my mouth. They saw the ingredients included alcohol, so they literally tossed it into the trash (alcohol was the reason for the burning, so it is pretty stupid they put it in there).

It is so funny how memories continue to come back here and there about my time in the hospital and memories about chemo. It is weird, as you would think I would remember it all by now.

For all of you caregivers and for people currently fighting cancer, look into getting Cure magazine (tommi put a link in this thread a ways back). It is an interesting and useful read and is free to the two above named groups.

Take care, everyone!

cuz we all can use a laugh
 

good one deb..ty for sharing
 

Great online support network: http://csn.cancer.org/

I looked and couldn't find a clip like that. :(

Hi All,

Just got back from NYC in the wee hours this morning. We spent the bulk of Friday at the NYU Cancer Center with my sister as she went through chemo #4. So different from anything we have experienced. She is getting the R-CHOP drugs for her lymphoma and really hasn't had many of the same side effects. Some hair loss, but she still has her eyebrows and eyelashes. She got up Saturday morning and taught her usual two hour yoga class! Then she met us Sunday for brunch and also walked the 1.5 mile long high line walk way AND BACK! She's pretty amazing! Just a little update on her and to say thanks again for all the support!! :bunchflowers: