Posted 1/9/2015 6:13 PM (GMT -5)
Dear Traveling Guy,
You are right on top of your research and becoming an advocate for your own medical care. That's great !
A few more informal tips, that might help you or others in the same situation:
My hair fell out after just a couple of weeks after the first chemotherapy infusion. Some fellows keep their hair a while longer, and some keep their hair the entire time. Mine lasted less than two weeks. It all started falling out in the shower one morning, without warning. I went and got a "buzz cut" that night, but within a few days, even the "buzz cut" started falling out and I had to shave it all off. Just be ready for that possibility --- it changed my looks a great deal, but I think it's easier for men to deal with than women because so many men have bald heads these days, anyway. But this was something that no one had really talked to me about before, so I think it's fair for me to let you know that losing your hair is a strong possibility and to prepare yourself for this. I've had to get used to it.
To help myself with some social situations and ALSO cold winter weather, I have purchased a wide variety of hats --- stocking hats for outdoor activities and cold weather ---- dress hats for social situations such as restaurants and public occasions and even church and the work-out gym. I wasn't ever in the habit of wearing hats before chemotherapy, so this has been a change for me, too. Having a few hats for social situations has helped me feel more comfortable and confident. Each fellow is different, but I found this helped me. Women help each other with these topics ---- we fellows need this forum for brotherly advice for situations like this, I think !
If you can find a friend or a relative to go with you to your 6 chemotherapy infusions, that can also really help. It helps to have someone there to pass the time and to visit with and to keep you company. It's also just a great form of moral support to have someone there to encourage you and support you. It takes that special kind of person to be there with you for this, but it helped me to have someone there each time. Bring some snacks and juice or something with you to snack on during chemotherapy treatments --- they can take a while.
Get some moral support rounded up when you start chemotherapy. It can be a friend, colleague, neighbor, or relative ---- but you've got to get a few people that you can trust and turn to during the course of chemotherapy. You're going to just need someone to talk to about it and to understand and listen sometimes. You can ALWAYS turn to this forum for all kinds of moral support, day or night. If you are a person of faith, stay in touch with fellow church members and clergy during your treatments, because that can provide another layer of support in your life during your treatments.
I have also formed some new friendships with a few cancer patients over the past few months, and that has been very helpful to me. I've never joined a support group, but I do know that some fellows do find that very helpful --- I consider this forum a support group in every sense of the word. You can see that there are hundreds of caring people out there that will give their moral support for any situation you might face. So keep in touch !
Starting chemotherapy can be daunting and you need some people that you can connect with, to help encourage you all the way through. Once you get a few treatments done, you'll fall into a pattern and routine. My treatments were every three weeks and the time between treatments seemed to go very quickly. Pretty soon --- you'll be halfway done --- and then they are all finished. But get in contact with some people that will support and encourage you all the way through --- visit them --- telephone them --- E-mail them --- message them privately through Facebook --- get together with them --- go out to dinner with them --- go to a sporting event with them --- go to the coffee shop with them --- whatever it is that will keep you connected.
I would recommend that you stay as active as you can during your chemotherapy regimen. You will need some rest in the evenings, but try to keep up with your usual activities and interests as much as possible. I went to work every day, kept up most of my social life, kept volunteering, went for walks in the evenings whenever I could, went to my usual activities, and tried very hard to keep following my hobbies and interests. Don't be afraid to rest in the evenings, if you need to. There were some evenings when I needed to rest on the couch and just watch some television, so that I could "recharge my batteries" to go to work the next day. I can't emphasize enough the importance of drinking water, in the days before and after each treatment. Once you have had a treatment or two, you will learn how to manage your schedule and how your body reacts to the chemotherapy. I was very thankful that my side effects were relatively mild, overall.
I found that it was harder to read a book or watch a movie during the course of chemotherapy treatments --- some people describe this as "chemo brain" --- I did fine at my work all day, but found that trying to read a long book or pay attention to a full-length movie with a complex plot was challenging --- don't be alarmed if this happens to you --- I have heard a few others describe the same phenomenon --- just content yourself with things that don't require as much attention and do seek out some activities that you find uplifting or distracting during the course of your chemotherapy treatments. You've got to find some ways to keep yourself going through all the weeks of treatment, especially when you are first getting started. Soon enough, you will find that you have several treatments completed, and then it gets easier. Now that my 6 chemotherapy treatments are over, I find that I can once again watch an entire movie or read a challenging book once again --- but you will likely feel physically lethargic sometimes and this can even impact your cognitive abilities during the course of chemotherapy. Again --- just being honest --- and I think it's important to share brotherly advice like this that comes directly from first-hand experiences.
These are a few things that I discovered as I went through the treatments --- perhaps things that I had to learn on my own by going through the experiences of chemotherapy myself --- I hope I have helped shine a little light on the path that lies before you and I hope I have put down a few stepping stones for you to walk on confidently, as you start chemotherapy. When you go through experiences like this, you look back and want to help others that are walking just a few steps behind you on the same path !
Keeping in touch,
Cyclone