Question for people who have been thru Chemo...?!
Question: My best friend starts her Chemo today, she has asked me to be there to pick her up from the hospital & help her get settled in after her first treatment...For anyone who has been thru Chem...can you tell me the things you wanted most when you got home? IE: food (Althought I know she will feel ill), blankets, things that cool or hot etc....Any first hand knowledge would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Answers: My best friend starts her Chemo today, she has asked me to be there to pick her up from the hospital & help her get settled in after her first treatment...For anyone who has been thru Chem...can you tell me the things you wanted most when you got home? IE: food (Althought I know she will feel ill), blankets, things that cool or hot etc....Any first hand knowledge would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
My niece went through chemo. For the first two days she felt okay, it was on day 3 that it hit her. She became incredibly tired and nauseous.
Try to get her friends and family together and arrange a chore/care schedule. It will help her to know that things are being taken care of. Make sure these are extremely close friends and family members, she needs to feel comfortable having them around.
Also remember that chemo lowers your resistance to disease, so make sure that whoever visits doesn't have an illness. Even a simple cold can become life-threats for your friend. Have everyone wash their hands constantly to prevent transfer of nasty germs.
I wouldn't crowd her too much. Be there for what she needs but leave her alone to rest when she needs it too. She's not going to be the friend that you know right now, she's going to be struggling, but she'll let you know when you can help.
Also, oral care is esential. They get extremely dry mouths, go out and buy her some lozenges/mouthwash geared towards dry mouth. If she doesn't feel like bathing don't force her, get a bowl and wash cloth, it's amazing what a face wash can do.
Don't try to sympathize, unless you've been through it, you can't possibly understand. Don't give her false reassurance but do listen to her and tell her that you're going to be by her side as long as necessary. If she gets angry with you, don't take it to heart, it's not intentional.
Finally, take care of yourself! Caregivers health is important too. You can't care for her if you're sick yourself.
All the best to the both of you!
She will probably feel pretty good for the first few hours, nausea won't set in for a while, I think it was around 12 hours for me. There are lots different kinds of chemo so really she has to follow the instructions that were given for her type.
For many types it is important to drink lots of fluids to flush the chemo out. Some kinds of slightly flavored water might be welcome. The tender mouth thing is common - Biotene toothpaste and mouthwash are good for that. If she has anti-nausea medications, urge her to take them exactly as prescribed, even if she isn't feeling sick. The trick is to keep ahead of the nausea.
I went through 6 months of chemo, and I always wanted to sleep after the treatments. Make sure she drinks a lot of water. Just make sure to be there for her. That's the best thing you can do.
Answers 1 and 2 are excellent.
I would just add, make sure she has crackers, white bread (for toast), applesauce (I recommend organic), and some lipton's soup or other "non chunky) mostly broth type of soups handy for Day 3 (when it really hits me too). The antiemitics and antinausea drugs are pretty darn good, but I still had no appetite. However, the foods I mentioned are very bland and easy on the stomach.
Also have plenty of cold water (put a pitcher in the fridge), some flavored water or juice since water will start to taste weird after a few days.