From the very beginning, I’ve been blessed with several people giving me advice on cancer treatment. Now that I’ve got more of my own experience to add to the mix, I thought I’d write for the readers who are going through their own treatment – with some specific bits for those taking Taxol and Carboplatin.
Use the sniff test. If you’re struggling with nausea, lack of taste buds, and/or lack of appetite, you’re not going to feel like eating. The good/strange news is that you can maneuver around these symptoms somewhat by using your nose. If you’re faced with a food or beverage that you haven’t eaten successfully, take a good deep whiff. If your stomach is willing to try it, your mouth will water. If not, it won’t.
Drink water constantly. Even when your body is not trying to flush out the chemo drugs as fast as it can, it needs lots and lots of water to stay properly balanced. Choose a big water bottle, a pitcher, a carafe, or any other container bigger than the standard 16-oz. glass and keep it near. Sip if you’re nauseated, drink as usual if you’re not, but keep this container full at all times. Your liver, your kidneys, your blood-dependent systems, and even your stomach and mouth will all work better if you do.
Choose your protein. Your body is going through a massive battle to repair itself, and protein is essential for this process. Find a protein source that doesn’t make your stomach lurch and – ideally – gives you some hint of good flavor, and invest in a Costco-binge-sized supply. (Here’s a list of foods containing protein to give you a starting place.)
Choose your sugar. Almost every cancer patient and/or survivor has told me they were overwhelmed by sugar cravings thanks to the steroids in the chemo cocktail. No matter what your stance on sugar happened to be prior to your diagnosis, it’s time to get realistic. You can manage the craving somewhat, but your body will be crying out for calories if you’re experiencing any sort of side effect that interferes with eating. Give yourself a break and permission to eat some sort of treat. It doesn’t have to be massively bad for you; if you’re used to eating clean, try berries, apples, peanut butter, honey, and carrots first because they all have lots of natural sugars. The point is this: if you can eat something that makes your craving meter say, ‘yes! LOTS OF THAT RIGHT NOW!’ it will help dramatically.
Find your cold spot. This bit of advice came from another fellow patient who took Carboplatin, but I’ve heard it from others, too. Between any platinum-based drugs and the steroids everyone seems to receive, your internal thermostat is going to get all out of whack. The platinum in the ‘cold’ drugs will make you feel as if your bones are made of ice, while steroids will suddenly overheat you and drench you in a sweat. I almost always wear a cotton or woolly hat, indoors or outdoors, because most body heat gets lost through the top of your head. But the best trick for managing temperature-related surges is to find the specific other part(s) of your body that make you feel cooler. For me, I can’t warm up if my feet and the back of my neck are not covered, so I’ve been wearing socks and pashminas constantly. Find your cold spots, figure out what garments will cover them adequately, and keep them nearby.
Buy baby wipes. You’re going to sweat profusely when you don’t want to, you’re going to cry at the drop of a hat, and – to put it delicately – you might need extra cleansing help in the bathroom. To be honest, too, I don’t feel steady enough on my feet for those first five to seven days after an infusion to take regular showers, so I clean up with wipes. I keep the regular-sized packs of wipes at home and a stash of on-the-go-sized packs in my purse. One thing, though: you’re not supposed to flush them down the toilet. To get around this challenge, if the wipes are stinky I put them in air sickness bags. They seal very well, they’re waterproof, and discreet enough that you can toss them into any trash bin.
Do all you can to sleep. Your body repairs itself more efficiently and more quickly when you’re asleep. But damn it’s hard for me to get consistent quality sleep, with all the worrying and steroids and gastrointestinal distress. I’ll spare you the list of all the things I tried that didn’t work and go straight to the combination that does. At night, I take lorazepam (prescription) and diphenhydramine (OTC) combined with all the other meds on my list that say they cause dizziness or drowsiness. I wear socks, drape a tee shirt over the back of my neck, and pile on layers of blankets to maintain the right temperature. If all of that doesn’t work and I’m still rolling around, I go sleep in the guest bedroom because I have that option and I don’t want to wake Steve up. He needs his rest as well – a respite from all his own worries and the extra slack he’s had to pick up.
Do what makes you feel productive. It’s taken a few rounds, but I’ve figured out things I can do to make myself feel (mostly) as if I am still here and contributing – even on days when I’m glued to the couch. Overall we’ve been making do with wrinkled clothes because I wash laundry just before treatment, and fold it in batches afterwards. I also keep the kitty brushes and claw clippers at hand because the cats pile on when I’m stationary. When I get past that first week and a half after treatment, I can putter like usual in shorter bursts. It’s not entirely satisfying but it usually keeps me from feeling like a carbuncle – if you have the same sort of nagging demoralizing concern, find small ways to fight back. It takes some creative thinking but it’s possible.
medicinal sausage 