Tomorrow will be 10 days of RAD, 1 dose of cisplatin. Starting to feel the RAD effects, saliva and taste loss. Chemo wasn't too bad, nausea for 4 or 5 days, constant ringing in my ears. I didn't barf, we'll see on the next 2. I have the swollen lymph node on the left side of the neck that has become more swollen and red on and around it on that side of the neck. Quite painful at times, especially when wearing the mask. They have given me meds which help a lot. Is this normal? I think I should have had it removed, but 4 out of 5 doctors thought not. RADS would be needed anyway. Eating and drinking plenty, but losing my appetite. I know I have just begun, just want to know if this is all normal effects at this point.

Make sure to tell you MO immediately about the ringing in your ears. Some types of chemo (usually cisplatin) is known for permanent hearing loss. Your MO can switch you to another type of chemo. Do not get another dose without first consulting the MO.

So far it sounds like you are doing very well. The first 2 weeks are the easiest. Focus on what you can control, your intake. Every single day take in a minimum of 2500 calories and 48 oz of water. if you can push yourself to do more, thats even better. This is what will help you to get thru the whole thing easier.

Good luck!

Most start feeling the radiation effects, neck redness, others, between 10-14 days. Are you using the recommended cream own the neck? I agree with the hearing loss, ototoxicity, which is caused by chemo destroying the hair in the inner ear, cochlear, being hair is a fast acting cell, like cancer. Once the hearing is lost, diminished, it may not come back. I'm blind in one eye from chemo, which can effect the eyes too, so watch for vision changes, eye infections. Sounds pretty normal, so far, and can't say with my high dose cisplatin since I had tinnitus for 20 years, but did progressively worsen since then. Keep up the good work.

Thanks, Christine & Paul, I'm going to see my MO on Tuesday, a week before my second dose. Erbitux or generically known as Cetuximab was mentioned as an alternative in the beginning.

I have permanent high frequency hearing loss, the most common with Cisplatin, so do get them to switch you before the next chemo. I was told that the "ringing" you hear is DAMAGE so don't put this discussion off.

Into my third week now. It has become very hard to swallow now. The doctors prescribed lidocane. I'm trying to find out the best way to use it. I need to get it down into my throat. My mouth is getting very tender and I feel sore spots here and there. The ringing in my ears is still the same. I went to my MO today to see if I could use a different chemo drug other than cisplatin. He said he would rather keep using that. He could give it to me weekly at a lesser dose, or give me the higher dose as before just one more time, instead of 2 more every 3 weeks. I have a week to decide. Any advice would be much appreciated. BEST WISHES PAULB

Thanks Calhoun. Tough decisions. No matter which one there will still be toxicities, which also go by the dosage amount, rate of infusion, and duration. Maybe they can slow the rate of infusion? I posted an article with Weekly vs Large 3 bag Cisplatin, if you use search, noting the toxicities reactions, and overall survival etc, and may have been other discussions on other posts. I believe weekly, in this abstract, had higher grade mucocitis than the large doses, 3 bags had higher grade neutropenia. Weekly had bette overall survival. I had Induction chemo, which were large doses, 160mg Cisplatin at once, and one of the 3 chemos, so there was no stopping or time to see of any adverse reactions, which was one draw back. Good luck.

My first (of 3) infusions took roughly four hours. Big bag of fluids, bag of anti- nausea and bag of cisplatin simultaneously, then another bag of fluids. Had a little discomfort during cisplatin and they slowed things down a bit. A few hours later the vein in my right arm was hard as a rock from the IV point to my armpit. I thought I was a tough guy and gave it a go with no port. The vein was back to normal in time for round two. They overreacted and this one took 7 hours. Last one was the happy medium with no discomfort or hard veins.

I had weekly carboplatin during rads. It worked fine for me and still effective as it is platinum based. I have no personal reference to compare against the 3 week cycle and have zero interest in doing for the sake of comparing. lol

Only thing with some certainty is if you having ringing than that is a sign to get off the platinum stuff in a jiffy. good luck don

Do I want to get off platinum completely? I'm leaning toward the 4 weekly doses. If there is any problem with the first week, we can go from there. I had problems with the IV's the first time. Should I have a port put in, or a pic-line in my upper arm for the 4 weekly doses. Thank you all for your input.