Health Tips:


Chemotherapy Tips:
Listed below are helpful tips gathered from breast cancer survivors who underwent chemotherapy. Each person may experience different side effects and her family/friends may react to treatment differently. Some tips may be helpful for you and some may not. Please take from this list what you believe to be appropriate for you. Please keep in mind that this is not medical advice. Please always remember to consult with your doctor regarding your condition and what is best for you.

• Prepare Yourself Prior to Treatment 
  
  • I remember following someone’s advice who told me to get all of my doctor’s visits in before I started treatment. For example, I went and saw the dentist and podiatrist. I was afraid that my body would have a slower rate of healing from certain procedures once in treatment.
  • I arranged a schedule to have people help me care for my children on the days when I was feeling really bad.
  • I hired a woman to clean the house and arranged for family members to help with the laundry.
  • I arranged for friends to take me to chemotherapy, because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to drive, and I wanted to have company.
  • My friends designed a food schedule for me and my family.
  • I went shopping for wigs, hats, and scarves before treatment, so I had it all ready. I was definitely not up for shopping while in treatment. Not to mention that I had no desire to shop!
    
    
• Hair Loss
  
  • I cut my hair short before treatment so that less would fall out later. -I found it helpful to sleep on a satin pillow case – less friction on my head before my hair fell out. When my hair started to fall out, I slept with a towel over the pillow to catch the hair – it was easier to clean up.
  • I shaved my head because on the 17th day after receiving chemo, my hair would have been all over the house.
  • My hair began to fall out right after the second treatment. It fell out in clumps and was messy. It was too hard to watch the disappearance of my hair. I had to have my hair dresser come over while the kids were out and shave my head. My husband was there for support. Losing my hair was so emotional for me. I remember just sobbing. For the first time, I looked like a cancer patient. I wasn’t truly prepared for the emotions that went along with the hair loss.
  • I read a book to my daughter about chemotherapy and hair loss, and we cried together. That’s what we needed to do to be able to move on.
  • I let my three children cut my hair before I got my head shaved. They thought it was so cool to actually cut real hair and not a doll’s synthetic hair. It made their view of mom losing her hair a little less traumatic. We made mustaches out of the hair locks. They had fun and accepted mom’s hair loss so much more. -I loved my human hair wig although it was hot!! I checked with my insurance company to see what percentage they would cover for the wig. My insurance covered it in full. I also had fun with hats.
  • I preferred wearing scarves. I had friends and family members out trying to find me scarves from all different places. I felt like I was in high school again, always worried about coordinating my scarf with my clothes. I guess the coordination obsession was something to distract me.
  • I wore earrings and make-up on the days that I felt better, because these things seemed to help me feel more feminine. I felt a loss of femininity when my hair was gone. I had to try to find clothes and things to make me feel pretty.
    
    
• Other Hair Loss
  • Yes, I lost hair everywhere and some was a blessing. I felt like I was 12 years old again and free.
  • My eye lashes and eyebrows went away too. I lost mine the second to last treatment which was a real bummer. This loss really made me look sick. I consulted with the “Look Good Feel Better” program. I also went to Bobby Brown at Lord & Taylor and had a makeover. Both places taught me a lot and showed me the different ways to compensate for the loss.
    
    
• Your Body & Emotions
  • My body told me when to rest. I had to listen and rest, rest, when I could. Someone said to me that this is probably the first and only time in my life that I can be selfish. I turned off the phone and some people did and didn’t understand. I also learned to say “no” for the first time in my life.
  • I tried to stay as stress free as possible. I really tried to take care of myself and participate in activities on the days that I felt well. I tried to do things that made me happy.
  • My friend created a website for me that helped to keep people in my life informed and decrease my stress level.
  • I sought out help from other survivors/support groups and talked about my experiences, thoughts, and feelings. I did this and it helped so much.
    
    
• The Chemotherapy Session
  • On the days prior to chemo, I drank lots of water. This helped me to prepare my veins to get blood drawn and to get the infusions. The water and fluids were also so important for me before and after treatment to help flush the toxins and to keep me hydrated.
  • A heating pad/cloth was helpful with opening up my veins prior to the administration of treatment.
  • Chemo can take hours. I couldn’t read during my chemo because I couldn’t focus. I talked with friends and other patients. I brought a portable DVD player and watched movies. Some people bring a walkman too.
  • My mom always came to chemo with me until I met another patient who became my “chemo buddy.” We started scheduling our sessions together. I always brought lots of reading material, but never read anything because I always talked and talked to my “chemo buddy.” For me, meeting someone that I could call my “chemo buddy” was very helpful.
  • I always brought a cozy blanket, wore long pants, and a sweater because it was always so cold in the treatment office.
  • I always ate a very light meal before treatment, because I always felt fuzzy and nauseous during/after treatment.
  • I would drink ginger ale and snack on saltines during treatment to settle my stomach.
  • I always ate before chemo, then waited 4 hours after receiving chemo.
  • If I ate right after chemo I would possibly be nauseous and might vomit later in the evening.
    
    
• Side Effects
  • Nausea
    • I listened to my doctor and took all my anti nausea pills on time. The pills really worked for me.
    • I found that crackers, bread, pretzels, and basically any carbohydrate helped so much with the nausea.
    • I also found that feeding my body “good food” (protein) every few hours helped so much with the nausea and energy level.
    • I couldn’t eat spicy foods and just the smell of hard core spices made me sick.
    • I craved certain foods and had aversions towards others. I always wanted plain comfort food. People always told me to eat whatever worked for me and to keep up the calories for strength and better absorption of the medications.
    • I liked anything with ginger. Ginger really helped settle my stomach- like ginger tea, ginger ale, ginger lollipops.
    • I used the “Pregi Pops.” They come in the form of lollipops or hard candy for nausea.
    • Soups were so comforting for me, especially on the days after receiving chemo. My body strived for warmth, since the meds were all so cold going into my body.
    • In addition to the nausea, I had serious heartburn and had to have the doctor prescribe something to help. I stayed away from certain foods, since they aggravated the situation.
  • Dry Mouth & Sores
    • Ice pops and lozenges helped me with dry mouth.
    • I tried to keep my mouth as clean as possible. I had a few sores and would use a helpful mouth wash and tooth paste. I used Biotene toothpaste and Tea Tree Oil mouthwash.
  • Skin Care
    • I was always a tank top gal in 80-90 degree weather, but I was told never to go out without covering up during chemo. I was warned my skin could turn brown from too much sun exposure. So, I always wore a big brim hat, long sleeves, and sun block to protect myself.
    • I was very careful with the soaps and lotions that I used during chemo, since my skin was very sensitive.
    • Everyone seems to be warned about injury or bruising during chemo, because it may take longer to heal, and some patients may actually have complications. For me, I took this notion very seriously and often felt like I should have been living in a bubble. I was always worried about contracting something.
    • I still got manicures. I would drive the manicurist at the nail salon crazy. I would remind her a thousand times not to touch my cuticles, because I was afraid of getting cut or getting an infection.
  • Immune System
    • I was told that your immune system can go down during chemo and that it can be harder to fight off illness. So, I always made sure I carried around a bottle of hand sanitizer and washed my hands often to try to keep down the germ count. I always tried to stay away from people that were sick. Again, my immune system was just another matter to worry about and to increase my level of paranoia. I have to say that I also didn’t want to ever be told that my count was too low to receive treatment on a certain day. I just wanted to get in there and get them over with as quickly as possible.
  • The Physical Reactions that Your Body Faces
    • I think when you picture a person undergoing chemo, you see them as being very skinny. The truth for me and most people that I know is that you gain weight. But, I never worried about the weight I put on during treatment. My goal had to be to eat and to stay healthy.
    • A heating pad was helpful during the last phase of chemo when I was experiencing leg cramps.
    • I can now say that chemo brain is not a myth and that it took at least a year after treatment to gain all of my facilities back. I was so forgetful and spacey all the time.