Right after I was diagnosed, the doctor ordered a colonoscopy, chest x-ray and CT scan, to see if the cancer had spread. All were clear, thank God. My treatment at Barnes-Jewish Hospital to date has been five weeks of radiation and chemotherapy, completed Oct. 16. I got the radiation Monday through Friday, and the chemo 24/7 -- I wore a little "fanny pack" around my waist that contained a battery-operated pump and a little bag of chemo that was changed weekly. I've got a "port" in my chest that the chemo tubing was plugged into, and really, that port doesn't bother me at all. Wish I could say the same for the chemo!
While I didn't lose my hair, the last two weeks of treatment were pretty rough. My most debilitating side effect was chemo-induced mouth sores -- nickel-sized open sores on the roof of my mouth and top of my throat that made eating and drinking (even water!) pure torture. My oncologist looked at them and said, "Well, they're bad, but I've seen worse, and we're not stopping the chemo." So I got a "magic mouthwash" that numbed my mouth for, like, 10 minutes, just long enough to eat. But you could only use it once every 3 or 4 hours -- what a gimmick!
Anyway, eating became such a hassle that I lost about 15 pounds -- not a diet I recommend! But I'm happy to report that I've gained at least 10 back! Three days after I stopped the chemo, I started eating "real food" again (I'd been living on soft foods like oatmeal, chicken-noodle soup and Ensure) and believe me, since then I've made up for lost calories in a big way!
Thanks for visiting!
Until next time ...
P
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