Hello all. Well, the warnings of my doctors, nurses, and practitioners about the impacts of side effects from combined chemoradiation treatments are playing out in my body as we speak. I still feel that I am fortunate to be experiencing impacts that are discomort, rather than pain or debilitating effects that stop treatment (like what happens to other people). Nevertheless, we have noticed changes.
CHEMOTHERAPY – For people who prefer not to hear too much gory detail, it maybe enough for me to to leave my report at: the “nasty tricksy” chemo drugs are currently playing havoc with my basic bodily functions. For detail lovers, I report that in my case, (and every person is different), although the medications are effective in limiting my nausea to discomfort levels, they do not eradicate it. I feel queasy and nauseous to varying degrees day and night. With a little willpower I am able to override the feelings and eat well enough to not lose weight – stable weight is important to enable continuation of treatment.
The other side effect of these important drugs for me is that they lead to constipation. So I feel my bowels loading up and anxiously wait for the dam gates to open, so to speak. Until that happens, the feeling of bloatedness adds to the queasiness and and leaves me feeling blah. Again, it is not super bad, just an awareness constantly resurfacing in my body and mind. I am expecting relief in the next couple of days, (as happened in Cycle 1), after I came off the “big gun” anti-nausea drugs.
RADIATION – From the beginning, the medicos have been warning that heavy fatigue is likely to set in at some stage as a side effect of radiation treatment. I got off pretty lightly in Cycle 1, but this time around I am feeling the fatigue much more. Mornings are best for me but by lunch time I am ready to snooze. Some days after treatment I lie down for a little rest and fall into deep deep sleep for 3-5 hours. And, a bit like the effects of the chemo drugs, awareness of the radiation fatigue is a constant throughout the day. In addition. there are increasing signs that the oeasohagitis may become more of an issue as swallowing is starting to require a little more concentration. I need to be aware of what I am eating and either chew a lot or make sure that the food is moist. Amazingly, when I put things in my mouth my body seems to know exactly what needs to be done to make the swallowing easy. One time, it would not let me even try to get a piece of food down. When I put the food into my mouth I instantly started hiccuping. Before I had time to do anything consciously about it, the food had been automatically coughed out of my mouth. Now that was an unseemly event – luckily I wasn’t eating lunch with King Charles and Queen Camilla!
These side effects are standard challenges and trials for people on my path. I am not the only one going through them. The majority of people being treated around me are also “elderly” (as we are described in the medical literature!). I still find it disconcerting to see a young woman or man in the treatment rooms. Yesterday there was a young girl (around 12) who was having her first radiation treatment. Sweet little thing and her parents looking so worried. It made me feel extremely fortunate and grateful for the longevity that I have experienced.
Michele van der Sander says:
🤗
Den says:
Hello Michele … thanks dear friend.
Mary Fogarty says:
That fatigue is rather apparent in that photo, Dennis. Resting, snoozing can become tedious but really invaluable.
Christian says:
Thanks for the update, gUncle. Some people who I have spoken with who have been on the same boat did mention that week 4 was a toughie. Very sorry to hear about the side-effects 🙁 Just like Mary said, get as much rest as you can, two more weeks and hopefully this will be a thing of the past 😘