Jessica you CAN get thru this. We are here to help you every step of the way. Quitting is NOT an option. You will suffer thru like we all have done. No, its not easy at all but you must force yourself to push thru and finish every single treatment. you dont want to be in a situation where it comes back and your options are limited.

Get something for your pain. many including myself have used the fentanyl patch. You should start out with a 50mg and can always go up or down from there. Every change is a stepping stone and will need to be gradually reduced back down. Follow the directions exactly! never bend, fold tear or cut the patch. No long hot showers or baths. It takes about 24 hours for your body to adapt to the patch and you will feel some relief when it kicks in.

Also ask for a prescription for magic mouthwash. That will temporarily numb your mouth so you can eat and drink. No matter what you need to keep swallowing every single day even if it hurts. you dont want to have problems later with relearning how to swallow again.

Ask your doc for a prescription to get hydrated 3 times a week (Mon, Wed and Fri) in the chemo lab. This will greatly help you to get enough liquid intake. The key to this whole thing is your nutrition and hydration. Every single day you MUST get 48 oz of water and 2500 calories. If you dont get that much then you will feel so much worse and have a much harder time. Push yourself if you have to but do whatever it takes to get these amounts every single day. If you dont it will catch up with you and you will end up being hospitalized. It happened to me so I am very well versed in this. I felt like I was dying being malnourished and dehydrated. If you can get 3000 calorie and 60 oz of water a day, even better! I know it sounds like an outrageous amount but its not at all, its the minimum. Your body is fighting the cancer and also the treatments trying to rebuild itself which burns up calories at an incredible rate.

Not sure if you have a feeding tube or not but if you are struggling you may need to get one. If you have one ask for a feeding pump from your doctor. It takes a prescription. You can let this run overnight while you sleep and get an extra 1200 calories while you sleep. That will help you to meet your daily requirements. Talk all of this over with your nurses and doctors. they are there to help get you thru this. Ask for a nutritionist too, they can give all kinds of advice. Oh yeah, here is a list of easy to eat foods which may help you to take more in.

You CAN get thru this, we will guide you and help you every step of the way.
Hang in there!!!!!

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