Anything Christine says is gold.

She mentioned a prescription for hydration, which is one of the things I didn't know about at the time, though being on the feeding tube, I was mostly okay. But since my chemo was in the same building as my radiation, if I had actually had an issue, my doctors would have been able to just send me upstairs and make them hydrate me ... if your dad's treatments are all in one location, that can happen for him, too, if necessary. Is he having a chemo port put in? That makes a lot of difference, getting all those pokes and prods, and helps for the blood draws and hydration and stuff as well as the chemo infusions. (They may do chemo without it, I don't know, so I'm asking just in case. It felt scary, but it turned out to be well worth getting.) So ... totally ASK if you're worried about anything, and get the doctors to listen.

Let them know when he's in pain (especially if he's anything like my dad was, and refuses to admit pain to medical professionals). It took me time to realize that my pain was above and beyond, but when I did say something, they were on top of it and had meds (pain patches, etc) ready to go. I just should have asked sooner ... it's always okay to ask.

Side effects really do differ. I mentioned that I did have hair loss, earlier. I knew to expect it, but it was still very surprising. Given the radiation and surgeries and stuff, I'd already planned ahead and had it cut short (likely not an issue for your dad, unless he grows it waist length like I do, LOL), but it still startled me how much there was to lose ... we have more than we think! It's not a terrible thing ... just something to prepare for. Not sure what your temperatures are like, but do be prepared to guard against sunburn and such if this begins to happen. And for maybe a year after radiation, I was cautioned to guard against too much sun ... we had a beach trip half a year later, and I wore a big sun hat to protect my head and my neck ... my hair was doing better, but I also had to protect my neck, which looked healed but still needed care. Just one of those little things to keep in mind ... my initial stuff was in winter, when we don't think of such things, but this is summer, and it might matter for your dad now.

Some folks get nausea, some don't. There are prescriptions for that. Sometimes they even include some of it in with the chemo treatment ... they'll tell you if they do, and also give stuff for at home if needed. That was one issue I was blessed to avoid.

When you find out which chemo treatment they plan to give your dad, you'll be able to look that up more specifically, and also those here who've had it can chime in more specifically. I'm one of those who reads all the prescription pamphlets with meds I get because if there's a wonky side effect, I'm bound to get it ... but since they don't hand those out at chemo centers (maybe another thing one can ask about?) reliable websites are useful in that case. (I did read the info they had me sign off on at my first treatment, and refused at least one treatment based on the paperwork they gave me ... interesting story on that one ... but the nurses were great about it once they understood I was serious.) Anyway, that goes again with Never Be Afraid to Ask. They WANT to help.

((hugs))

Kristen