Craig has now had 1 chemo and 4 radiation treatments. He has had some nausea which is mostly managed by the drugs at this point.

He has two symptoms I am not sure about.

First, he keeps getting chills. When I told the nurse she suggested he might actually be feverish so I took his temperature the next time it happened, 93.6F, so it is a bit low. Is this normal?

Second, he says everything tastes like it has fat on it. Is this just part of the taste buds starting to not work properly, or something else? He still has saliva.

We're still new to this and haven't met with the oncologist since treatment started.

Chills were an intermittent symptom for me, and I periodically get those even today. As always, keep the doctors in the loop on these. Taste is very individual -- at this point it is more likely a reaction to chemo rather than radiation. My mother-in-law has been treated for lymphoma for the last 2 years, and has had only chemo. Her taste has been almost as disrupted as mine.

Nothing to worry about, in all likelihood, but I would mention next visit with the doctor. If you feel the need, call ahead and mention it now.

Hi Marina - good to hear from you, I've been wondering what was happening with youu guys. I read on the other posts thta you all had the flu - yuck! I think we are pretty close on our husband's treatment schedules. Dan started the Friday before your husband on Tuesday. What chemo regime are they doing for you guys?

Dan's nausea is the same as you describe, no taste issues yet, fatigue is starting and sore throat and his voice sounds hoarse.

Hi Marina. When my husband was receiving treatment he also had chills and was sensitive to cold. His hands and feet were also always cold. We were told when he started treatment to get a thermometer and check his temperature regularly to monitor for fevers and call the treatment team if his temperature was 38 celcius degrees or above. I do remember his temperature being below what is considered normal on several occasions. I expect you have numbers to call with any concerns you have between appointments. Do not hesitate to use them so that you do not worry needlessly. At our cancer centre all enquiries were handled by a triage nurse, sometimes I had to leave a voice mail, but were always handled promptly and appropriately. The staff at the cancer centres know how stressful the disease and treatment is and are very supportive. Lean on them as much as you need to.

[quote=luvmyhubby]Hi Marina - good to hear from you, I've been wondering what was happening with youu guys. I read on the other posts thta you all had the flu - yuck! I think we are pretty close on our husband's treatment schedules. Dan started the Friday before your husband on Tuesday. What chemo regime are they doing for you guys?[/quote]

Hi Michelle,
You're right, our hubbies are almost in sync with their schedules.

Our chemo regime is 3 chemos every 3 weeks (at 0,3,6 weeks) combined with the 7 weeks of radiation.

My husband has had chills all along the process. The only bad experince for my husband (Craig too) was when he got dehydrated and the shakes i thought were chills turned out to be a sign of something more serious. My husband had sweats later in treatment and then that gave him chills. He would go thru 5 tshirts in one night. Good luck and take one day at a time because every day is different.