Things to know before you take chemotherapy

These are some tips for people who are going to take chemotherapy or is supporting a cancer patient taking chemo.

First and foremost

· Chemotherapy is just like drips - you will have a tube inserted into your vein and the medicine is sent through that

· The process might take anywhere between 3 to 5 hours based on the type of cancer treatment you are undergoing

· Medicines and their combinations are different for different cancers

Things to do before you go for your first chemo:

· First of all, do not panic, because its just a prick and then you will not have any pain

· Eat your food before you go to the hospital

· Anti-nausea (anti-vomiting) medicines are given along with chemo to avoid vomiting sensation

· Take some fresh juice or light snack with you to have if you feel hungry

· Wear a light dress unless you feel cold (half slack preferably)

· Take a person who can talk well and ease you out while you are taking chemotherapy.

· Listen to songs in low volume if you feel like.

· After chemotherapy, you will in fact feel much more energetic because of the boosting medicines given

Facts:

· Chemo medicines are not given straight away to any patient - a sample is given to check how the patient responds, after 10 minutes, the patient is given the full chemotherapy

· 90% of chemotherapy medicines that are existing in market right now cause hair fall

· But targeted chemotherapy doesn't necessarily cause hair fall

· But as a feedback from patients, I hear that normal chemotherapy kills cancer cells effectively when compared to targeted chemotherapy (unless it involves organs like liver/pancreas)

Alternative treatments:

· People say its good to go for alternative treatments for cancer - but I have talked to around 100 people who have taken alternative treatments but unable to get cured.

· Shimoga/Ayurveda - they can sustain you in the current level of cancer but I have not seen anyone getting a complete cure by only taking these medicines.

· Do not mix therapies -- Ayurveda + allopathy etc - it might be dangerous sometimes

· If the patient is in his/her 70s, then I would suggest an alternative treatment instead of chemotherapy as the person will not be able to withstand the side effects

Supplements:

· Taking supplements during chemotherapy -- it is better to take natural supplements instead of artificial ones (my doc strictly said no to such products)

· Take 2 figs, 2 dates, 2 walnuts and 2 almonds everyday while you take your chemotherapy - this would help in retaining your haemoglobin at desired levels and walnuts help in fighting cancer, almonds give you the strength needed

· Eat fruits after removing the peel. you can have papaya - but not more since your body will get heated up (chemotherapy causes heat)

· Eat musk melon/water melon/pomegranate

· Avoid lemon or orange if you are allergic (coz some people might get cold after having them)  

Food precautions:

· Any cooked food is good to have with less/medium oil

· Do not eat raw food or salads during this time (because pesticides might affect you during this time)

· You can have outside food at times (provided its cooked and from a good place)

· If you have nausea, try to make your favourite food and have in smaller portions

· Do not stay empty stomach just because you have vomiting sensation - you need strength to fight

· Non vegetarians - Fish and eggs are a welcome - you can avoid taking other non veg items in your diet to make sure that your body is able to digest food easily.(avoid red meat)

· But if you seriously cant survive without non veg - eat in lesser quantities (coz taking food is much more important during chemotherapy)

First three days of chemo:

· The first 2 days after chemo is perfectly normal - the patient might not feel any effects in his/her body.

· Drink 3 liters of water each day for the first 3 days after chemotherapy ( this would flush out the toxins in the body)

· You might find side effects like throat ulcers/stomach pain/diarrhea(in some cases) once you reach the 3rd day

Going out:

· If you feel comfortable, you can go out after chemotherapy, but kindly avoid crowded places since your immunity will be low

· If you are supposed to go out, try to wear a thick mask (white mask you get in medical shops) -- not the normal green mask, and go out

For people who come to visit a patient

· Cancer is not a communicable disease and chemotherapy is not going to affect you - so please feel free to come and visit a cancer patient at home

· If you are suffering from some cold/fever or any infections, kindly avoid visiting a cancer patient, since your infection might affect the patient who is having low immunity

· Do not treat a cancer patient different - treat him/her equally

WBC:

· Chemotherapy affects both cancer cells and normal cells and hence your WBC cell count becomes low

· This cannot be prevented (assume that the medicine works well for you)

· There are injections like Neopogen given to bring back the WBC to normal count

· Keep doing normal household activities and keep yourself active atleast for sometime everyday so that your body's immune system is kept active

Side effects and how to combat them:

· Throat ulcers/mouth ulcers -- eat mild spicy food/ manathakaali vathal(dried wonder green rice) to avoid this

· Feeling burning sensation in stomach (drink water and coconut water)

· Some medicines are viscous and so might cause burning sensation in veins

· Drink home made butter milk with one spoon fenugreek seeds(swallow like a tablet)

· The injection that you take for WBC -might cause joint pain, back pain-- kindly take rest for those 2 days after the injection has been given

· Feeling a burning sensation of whole body

Blackouts - rarely, and headaches are a common side effect

Menstrual cycle 

• Girls do have the problem of irregular periods during chemotherapy 
• Some girls complain of irregular periods and some complain of heavy flow. 
• Nothing to panic in both cases - you will get back your periods soon on track. 

Hairfall and hair growth

· Some people suggest to shave your head even before chemotherapy

· I do not personally suggest that because for some cases, the hairfall will not be so intense

· Once you see a considerable amount of hair fall, you go for a short cut and then when balding happens, shave your head with a knife

· Shaving the head with a knife causes faster hair growth (even parlours do that)

· Keep applying normal coconut oil everyday - massage for 2 minutes on your head

· Apply one spoon of oil only on the roots and massage gently during night (the next day, your hair wont be oily but still hydrated)

· Use normal shampoo that you use regularly, do not change shampoo

Mind diversion

· I was working and had to take a break during chemotherapy. So to keep my mind occupied I started quilling, joined aerobics (that helped me boost my self confidence), also learnt car driving

· Keep doing things that you like - so that you forget about the disease and its side effects

· If you are too weak - just do something at home

· Watch feel good movies and do household activities like cleaning which involves less dust

· Keeping your mind occupied and positive will help curing the disease in a much faster pace

Doing some walking or mild exercises is recommended to boost your self confidence -- do not forget to do this everyday to feel fresh and active  

Note: This article is based on my personal experience with chemotherapy and cancer

Reach out to vaidehi1986@gmail.com if you have questions on anything related to cancer, treatment, motivation topics 

Check out my other blogs to know more about my journey