Thanks so much for the support. As a follow-up, we drove to University of Miami on Friday for Rad treatment (1X AM and 1X PM) We were half ther when Toff got very sick in the car, vomiting. Fortunately he gave in and let me drive. He also gets these shooting pains starting in his neck and traveling to his head and around his eye. He takes his breath away it is so bad. We have Percoset which the Dr gace us for the pain which I gave him 1/2 tablet in the car. Surprizingly it helped the pain and took away the neusea. He had both Rad treatmeent and even enjoyed a light lunch in between. We also saw the Dr who presribed Compezine for neusea. He started to feel bad Friday night and by Saturday he developed a 102.9 fever and still neusea even with the meds. The on call Dr prescribed an antibotic Climdamycin and Tylenol right away. Today (Sun) he woke up with no fever and feels a little better. The Dr mentioned possibly tumor fever. Any on know anything about this? We start again on Monday and he starts Chemo on Tuesday. Becasue of our 2 hr drive to Miami, the Cancer Society is trying to locate an apartment we can stay at during the week to avoid Todd having to go thru that long drive every day. I am sure after Tuesday I will have lots of of questions. This forum is wonderful!!

Hi, L & T. I hate to tell you, but undetermined fever seems to come with the territory! It can pop up out of nowhere. We'd try to keep track of where John has been and who he has been around to rule out "flu bugs, colds, etc." But often noone has a clue why he is running the temp. I do hope you can get the apartment arranged because, altho being away from home is hard, you both are going to need rest. Amy in the Ozarks

Hi Linda --

Compazine is usually NOT SUFFICIENT to control the often-severe nausea associated with certain chemotherapy drugs, especially a strong emetic such as cisplatin. The latter can, in some unfortunate individuals, cause lingering nausea and vomiting for some days after infusion. Todd almost certainly needs to take a strong serotonin-uptake drug such as Anzemet, Zofran or Kytril after chemo and possibly for some days afterwards.

I assume Todd is getting an IV anti-emetic such as Anzemet before he gets his chemo infusion. (Ask about this). This lasts for about 24 hours, then the **** can hit the fan for some folks. At Hopkins they give Zofran (a similar drug, but only lasts 8 hours) to take the next day. My husband usually had his chemo at about 3 pm and sure enough, about 23 hours later would start to feel a bit "iffy" -- the Zofran took care of that. He did not get much help at all from Compazine even with mild nausea, but others on this forum have. The problem with Zofran is that it is (like Anzemet and Kytril) a very expensive drug although insurance may cover it and also, the drug companies have programs to provide them at lower cost for patients who ned assistance. My husband said, however, that for him they were worth evey penny as they made his chemo essentially a "non-issue" re side effects. (That is, compared to radiation!)

It is important not to let nausea take effect but to be proactive.

On eating, Hopkins says to eat before chemo but not within two hours and never to eat a favorite food as if you get sick, then in the future this food may forever be disgusting to you. This is the infamous "Sauce Bernaise Syndrome" -- google this for an interesting explanation of the phenomenon.

Gail