Laura’s Chemotherapy Tips

I had plans to write this post at some point, but a dear friend of mine has a parent about to embark on the chemo ride. If you don’t mind sending out those good, healing vibes out into the universe like you did for me, I’d appreciate it.

Note that I did NOT use any of the ice on my extremities or my head. I didn’t want to sit for chemo longer than I had to.

Chemo Tips

1. Everyone’s symptoms/side effects are vastly different. It can be tough to hear others are doing better or worse. You’ll find after talking to many cancer patients that experiences have a wide range. Do YOU. Manage YOUR symptoms.
2. Listen to your doctor and nurses. Seriously. As minor as their advice might be, they’ve been through this a few times. My doctors and nurses told me frequently I was doing so well during chemo because I did whatever they told me.
3. Along similar lines, tell them any and all symptoms. You’d be surprised at how many things they can cover. Don’t be a martyr. Don’t suffer needlessly. No one’s giving you a prize for suffering the most. Tell them ASAP and you’ll feel better that much faster.
4. Water, water, water to infinity. I know folks hear this a lot, but I attribute my “ease” through chemo to all of the water I drank. Go to Amazon, buy a big ass water bottle. If you can, drink it BEFORE you start chemo. Try to drink as much as you can WHILE you can. You may be laying down a lot. If I drank a bunch ahead of my infusion, I generally did better after the infusion, because I could sleep for longer thanks to “pre-gaming” with water.
   Above I mentioned using ice so as to not get neuropathy in the fingers or toes. I didn’t do that, but I noticed that the tingling got better the more water I drank, so there’s another benefit to drinking a ton of water.
5. Track your symptoms. This was most helpful at the beginning of chemo when I wasn’t sure how my body was going to react. There are lots of ways to do this. I’m a planner, so I got myself another daily planner to track cancer-related stuff. There are apps that do it, as well – not for chemo specifically. I recommend the Bearable app.
6. Don’t wait to feel sick to take the nausea meds. Take them on a schedule. It doesn’t matter if you feel fine, TAKE THEM. By the time you feel sick, it’s too late. My infusions were three weeks apart; I took them the whole time, even at the end of my cycle. I found that I still got nauseous from chemo wrecking my stomach.
7. Rest when your body tells you. This is probably the hardest for most people. You have to stop and rest when your body is telling you. It’s doing that for a reason. My brain might not have been tired, but my body was. Doing too much zaps your energy – save it for important things.
8. Make chemo days fun. I looked forward to my infusion days because I’d get to spend time with a friend. They helped me take my mind off things, and they turned into fun memories instead!
9. Ice works better than lidocaine. Way better.
10. Don’t google symptoms. Let your support network do that for you. It never ends well.
11. Try eating sour foods. I got sick of sour foods as time went on, but they worked really well at the beginning of chemo. Problem was I ate too many sour candies which caused my limbs to swell…well, that and the salty pickles. So maybe try to eat sugar and salt free…
12. Don’t eat spicy foods. Your docs should tell you this. Bland foods go down better even if you can’t taste them. Spice is way more intense on chemo even if you’re used to eating spicy foods. They’ll also tell you not to eat your favorite foods. I didn’t have a huge food issue, but I can see why that’s the advice they give you. Food tastes weird on chemo.
13. For mouth sores, DRINK A SHITTON OF WATER. I ended up with a ton of dry-mouth wash (Biotene) but I only really used it at the beginning. Water usually got rid of the dry mouth for me!
14. Move your body. I found that I did this anyway between dropping the kids off at two different places. I know it hurts to move, but move, just a little bit. It makes a huge difference. Doesn’t matter what it is; it could just be walking around the house. Move just a little bit each day.
15. Practice mental health self-care. Besides water, my mental health game is the big reason why I did pretty well through cancer treatment. If you don’t have a therapist, get one. Track your anxiety or depression and report back to your doctors. Again, don’t be a martyr! What you are going through is really fucking hard. Take care of your body and your mind.
16. Reach out. People want to help because they can’t cure your cancer. Let them. Even tell them what you need! It’s a huge burden lifted for you, and they feel good being able to help. Two great and practical ideas are sending meals and hiring a cleaning service.

There were some other things that helped me get through chemo that aren’t necessary tricks. More product-based.

• WiFi enabled thermometer. I used the Kinsa thermometer. The cool thing about it is that your temperature is recorded on the phone app. You can use the app to track your symptoms alongside the temperature.
• Bracelet for hot flashes. A side effect of the chemo is hot flashes (I still get them this far out). I found the Embr Wave, a bracelet that goes hot or cold depending on how you feel. This was pretty nice when I was in the thick of it. It’s not inexpensive, though.
• Soft caps. I think folks find their own favorite caps when the hair falls out. My favorites were these soft turbans from Amazon. They are super soft and have a hole in the cap – so they’re more form fitting. I’m not a great hat person but I liked these enough to wear them all the time. I wasn’t comfortable in wigs. They were too itchy and heavy for me.

Take things easy. Go slow. Incorporate things as you know you can tolerate them (like food or an outing). My body got tired as chemo went on, but the symptoms (heartburn, neuropathy, hot flashes, etc.) got better as more time went on and the more water I drank.

Chemo is hard, but being idle for that long is harder. You need a good mental game. You’ll not be feeling good for an extended period of time, and it’s easier to endure if you can focus on the silver linings.

YOU’VE GOT THIS.