I start chemo soon. Is there anything I can do before my appointment to relieve nausea or other symptoms?

Question

The chemo follows my lobectomy eight weeks ago for non small celll lung cancer. There was no lymph node involvement. I will receive four cycles in four weeks, assuming I can handle it physically.

Answer 1

Dear Worried One,

I am an oncology certified registered nurse, and would like to answer your question.

There are some very good anti-nausea medications such as Kytril, Anzemet, Zofran, and Aloxi specifically for chemotherapy related nausea. You will most likely not have nausea during the infusion of the chemotherapy, but the nause may happen after the treatment and could continue for a couple of days.

Your doctor will most likely order an antinausea medication be given intraveneously just before you are given the chemo. This is to prevent nausea the same day of chemo administration. Then your doctor will give you a prescription for an anti-nausea med to take at home. If one does not work, call your physician and ask for another one.

Sometimes high anxiety or dread of the treatment can cause nausea even before the chemo starts. If this happens to you, your doctor can precribe an anti-anxiety medication.

As one of the respondants indicated, marijuana is also a good antiemetic. There is a legal pill form that can be prescribed by your physician, but it is very expensive. It you have insurance, maybe it would be covered.

The gentlemen who wrote a book about the evils of chemotherapy and the virtues of raw vegetables is misinformed. He is very correct about the importance of a good diet to help your body recover, but he does not understand the priciples of how chemotherapy works. Chemotherapy is not one drug, but many, and each type chemo approaches the cancer from a different angle. If one does not work, your doctor may try another one. Some chemo drugs stop the cancer by interfering with their cell division. Other newer drugs like Avastin specifically target the blood supply to the tumor, shrinking the blood vessels which in turn, causes the turmor to shrink. No treatment promises a cure. A better way to think about cancer is to think of it as a condition that you will fight and attempt to control with medication, diet, exercise, and faith, even if it turns out that your particular cancer is not cureable. (Many other conditions are not cureable, but people live with them....diabetes, epilepsy, hypertension, heart failure). Also, there are many different kinds of treatments available now with more in development.

My best advice to you is to:
1. Follow your oncologist's plan of treatment...he has only your best interest in mind and is qualified to decide the best course of treatment for you.
2. Minimize stress in your life (stress suppresses the immune system).
3. Eat small, frequent meals and include a nutritional supplement to give your body plenty of fuel to fight the disease. (Prosure is one nutritional supplement specifically for cancer patients).
4. Don't isolate yourself from family and friends. You need them now more than ever. Spend time with the ones you love, and go places you have always wanted to go.
5. Finally, pray and believe that God is in control of your life and that whatever happens will be His will for you.

God bless you.

Answer 2

Hello, I am so sorry to hear about your situation, but you will get through it, take one day at a time. I have had chemo for the past year and my nausea was UNCONTROLLABLE until they gave me IV meds through my port. Here are some to ask your doctor about (everyone is different, this is just so you have the names):
1.) Emend (NEW: a series of 3 pills, taken PRIOR to starting chemo)
2.) Reglan
3.) Zofran (gives me a really bad headache if I take them too close)
4.) Phenegran (Spelling? I was allergic to that one:)
5.) The marijuana pill : Marinol
6.) Ativan, this also helps to calm you down

It is important to keep hydrated prior to chemo. These were just some that I've taken over time, yours may not be that bad, but that way you have the names in case some don't work. Good luck...you'll get through this!!!
Take care.

Answer 3

Do not worry. This side effect varies with different people. About 75% of patient can be relieved of these side effect by using modern anti-emetics (anti vomiting). Common drugs causing N&V are platinum analogues an doxorubicin. The dose of the anti-emetic will be adjusted to match that the dose of chemo (by the physician of course). Just tell him if treatment works or not so he can adjust it accordinly. Alternative medicine also works i.e. acupuncture needle positioned at point P6. If it does not go as mentioned above, you can question again on the net. We'll take it from there Well hear from you soon and all the best.

Answer 4

I am a chemo RN and give chemotherapy on a regular basis. I think you would benefit from hydrating yourself before you go to the appointment. Start working on drinking extra fluids a couple of days before the appointment and make your calories count, drink milk or juice or something with some calories in it, For example, drink a whole glass of orange juice with your medicine. and drink 2 full glasses of milk or juice with every meal. Keep somthing to drink available all of the time and sip.
The nurse giving your chemotherapy will be giving you something for nausea, which should keep you from feeling like your going to vomit your socks off for 24 hrs after the chemo.
Also, your physician will be prescribing you nausea medication for home use. Now days, Oncolgist are very aggresive at treating the symptoms associated with chemotherapy.



Good luck.

Answer 5

I think you should ask your doctors that question and perhaps you have in order to get good advise on what can be prescribed for you. My heart tells me to also express to you my prayers and sincere hope that the chemo doesn't cause you too much distress. Your Yahoo friends are with you so think about the people who care about you and all things good and sweet in life so you will be distracted from the effects of chemo. Be strong and know others are there for you. Here's a big hug for you.

Answer 6

get plenty of sleep, be well hydrated, chemo is very dehydrating. but know that they have very good medications now to prevent the nausea. although, it's different for each person, and it depends on the chemo agent, many people go through without the horrible nausea typically associated with it. Take care, and I hope it's a swift and effective treatment for you.

Answer 7

Try ginger, also take B12 and B6. But, be careful taking anti oxidents in pill form.
Ask some of the nurses who will give you the Chemo what you should take. They are a good source of information. Good luck.

Answer 8

Hate to say it but pot helps......seen least 6 go through chemo of all ages and all ended up using some to get past the nausea.

Answer 9

Don't do it!!!!!!!!!

'Chemotherapy and radiotherapy will make the ancient method of drilling holes in a patient's head, to permit the escape of demons, look relatively advanced...the use of cobalt...effectively closes the door on cure.'17

The five year survival rates for the different onslaughts are: 11

Surgery - 22 percent

Radiotherapy -12 percent

Surgery/radiotherapy combined - 6 percent

Chemotherapy plus others - 2.5 percent

Chemotherapy alone - 1.6 percent

.none of which has stopped the cancer industry from carrying out the same procedures, day in, day out, for decades: with the same deadly, inevitable results.



This is an article worth reading for anyone who needs to be disabused of the belief that the orthodox cancer treatments with toxic chemo-"therapy" actually work. Since when is the destruction of one's immune system with toxic chemo and radiation therapeutic? And how does cutting out a part of the body solve a 'whole-body' problem? Something to ponder while reading the article.

The 5-year survival figures, (for orthodox treatment), not to be confused with the successful treatment of the disease, for the major cancers are:

stomach - 5 percent

trachea, bronchus and lung -5 percent

breast -50 percent

oesophagus -5 percent

large intestine - 22 percent

pancreas - 4 percent

liver - 2 percent

According to the government's own figures, around 2 percent of chemotherapy recipients are still alive after 5 years: the term 'alive' is used, here, in its literal sense: i.e. not yet clinically dead.


'Chemotherapy and radiotherapy will make the ancient method of drilling holes in a patient's head, to permit the escape of demons, look relatively advanced...the use of cobalt...effectively closes the door on cure.'17

The five year survival rates for the different onslaughts are: 11

Surgery - 22 percent

Radiotherapy -12 percent

Surgery/radiotherapy combined - 6 percent

Chemotherapy plus others - 2.5 percent

Chemotherapy alone - 1.6 percent

.none of which has stopped the cancer industry from carrying out the same procedures, day in, day out, for decades: with the same deadly, inevitable results.


'It is utter nonsense to claim that catching cancer symptoms early enough will increase the patient's chances of survival: not one scientist or study has proven that in any way. My studies have proved conclusively that untreated cancer victims live up to four times longer than treated individuals. If one has cancer and opts to do nothing at all, he will live longer and feel better than if he undergoes radiation, chemotherapy or surgery, other than used in immediate life-threatening situation.'

EAT:

Organically-grown, if possible, fruit, vegetables, peas, beans, rice: chemically-grown carrots are out. Non-organic cabbage, broccoli, sprouts, mushrooms etc. should be boiled for a couple of minutes in salted water, drained and rinsed, then cooked. Lettuce and similar foods which cannot be cleansed with this process or peeled should be home-grown or avoided.

Emphasise raw foods; whole grain breads; soya products: tofu, soymilk, miso.

Eat B17 foods regularly - seeds of apricot, peach, plum, cherry, apple; sprouted alfalfa, mung and wheat seeds; millet, lentils, watercress, lima beans, blackeye beans, broccoli, cabbage, buckwheat, linseed etc. (Hard seeds like peach and apricot should be broken open, and the soft inside eaten)

Garlic is the supreme plant from a physician's and a cook's point of view: eat it raw, cooked: grow it: use it as a medicine for everything from cancer and tuberculosis to coughs, colds, infections, high blood pressure, whooping cough, chemical/heavy metal/radiation detoxification etc., etc.

Take a look at the site below which explains many misunderstood things about the cancer industry, and has some natural cures too.

Cancer
http://dgwa1.fortunecity.com/body/cancer.html

Answer 10

Sorry to hear that kathleen, i dont know of anything you can take or do..
My mom went through chemo and got really sick, but we were all there to help her feel better and she is fine now..
Hope you have family close by and i wish you the best of luck...