Well we have made it through 7 out of 35. That is 20 %. Next week is first chemo. We will see how that goes. Expecting nausea and fatigue. I know that this is. Honeymoon period and more very bad days are on the horizon so we are enjoying the good days when we are blessed with them.

Good for both of you. I suppose if there is a good thing about radiation it is that you sink slowly so it gives you time to get used to it and learn how to cope. With any luck, by the time your husband starts to feel really bad, you will be on the countdown with more treatments under your belt than treatments to go. Alex and I were almost excited when we got to "10 to go" and then "5 to go" and then "last day"

Cisplatin is nasty but effective and Alex had a hard time with it. However, he had more cisplatin than most others, and by the time we got to radiation, he had already had 4 cycles with induction chemo. With induction it was 4 or 5 days before he really felt like crap and then a week of crap and then a week of feeling better.

During radiation, he had weekly doses of cisplatin and was either used to the side effects or they were not as severe as before due to the different dosing. He was one of those people who took one step at a time and almost looked forward to the daily trip to hospital, knowing he was "nuking" the cancer. He said he felt he was doing something active to fight it. He equated every new blister/ulcer with a battle and the worse he felt the more he thought it must be working. It got him through a tough time.

Our "chemo day" was a full day as it took hours to put through all the bits that go with cisplatin (steroids, anti-nausea, hydration etc). Even that became a challenge with Alex, who was determined to spend as little time hooked up as possible. By understanding the pump, and preventing the inevitable blockages (alarms go off if you kink your tubes), giving the nurses a 5 minute warning when bags were about to empty, and keeping track of his own fluid input and output he managed to be in and out in the fastest possible time. It gave him something keep him occupied.

Memory is a funny thing. I know looking back at my notes, Alex had a terrible time of it, yet now, we both think it wasn't so bad. Like childbirth I suppose ....

Make sure your husband gets extra water when he has chemo as it can be very hard on the kidneys.

Thank you both for the insight. We do expect to be at the hospital all day. I look at this the same way. Each time he is treated we are doing something to fight this. He has been drinking water like crazy.

I love your positive outlook Ellen! Your husband is very lucky to have you taking care of him.

A couple other hints about chemo. It normally will not hit a person immediately. If I remember correctly, my doc had me prepare to be ill about a week after I was given the chemo. I was to be given the 3 big doses too but my doc canceled the 3rd round. Chemo was pretty hard on me, but that was just how I reacted. Make sure your husband takes his anti-nausea meds even if he doesnt feel ill. If the nausea hits him it will be next to impossible to play catch up and get the meds to work. So better to take them to get ahead of the nausea. If your husband does get sick from the chemo, he will need to work twice as hard to get his daily fluids. Keep up your wonderful attitude and before you know it this rough spot will be over and your husband will be recovering.

Good luck next week.

Christine,
You are so wonderful and I think that we are all blessed to have you on this site. We received our anti nausea protocol and since we are both rather compulsive (hahahaha) will follow it to the letter. They keep telling us to stay ahead of pain and nausea too. Thank you for your wonderful words, you are an inspiration. After today we will fill that pill thing up for morning, noon and evening doses of everything under the sun, anti nausea, constipation and vitamin meds. Take good care and I will continue to read your posts.