Miracles and Wonders
Wacky side effects
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By no means do I intend for this to be taken as side effects that all cancer patients have
from their treatments. Everyone has different side effects, and some are more
prevalent than others. These are just some of the more unusual ones that I want to
share. It seems like the doctors, nurses, and all the chemo reading material covered only
the major side effects which could be treated through diet, exercise, or medication.
What I’m going to mention are some of the weirder minor side effects that aren’t
shown on the Lifetime movie or discussed in a glossy three-color brochure because
these symptoms aren’t painful or dangerous. Actually I wouldn’t have thought about
sharing this but in talking with others dealing with their chemo treatments, I’ve
discovered that I wasn’t the only one who had these side effects. At the time, I didn’t
even realize that these things I was experiencing were even side effects - I thought it
was just my way of dealing with my treatments and the physical and psychological
changes I was going through. But now that I’ve heard of other people's stories, I’ll
share some of mine too. I know it made me feel better that I hadn’t just imagined these
things.
Cravings!! Like all the tv movies on cancer, I expected to be nauseous and sick
throughout my chemo. I expected to lose weight and look sick. But no, I was hungry
all the time and there were some foods that I could not get enough of. Anyone who
knows me, knows that I don’t have a sweet tooth. Matter of fact, I don’t even like
chocolate, but I couldn’t get enough sugar or carbs or fat. I had been so proud that
for 1 ½ years my husband and I had changed our eating life style to a low-fat, low-salt,
low-sugar diet, but that went out the door during my chemo treatments. I couldn’t get
enough bread, pasta, candy bars, bacon, avocados and mayonnaise. Instead of losing
weight, I gained steadily throughout my treatment. Now everyone tells me how healthy
I look, and I wonder if that's just code for "fat".
Partial hair loss!! Two weeks after the start of my chemo, I noticed that my hair was
coming out. I could run my hand through my hair and strand after strand would come
loose. The thought of all that hair all over my floor and furniture was worse than going
bald, so I had my husband buzz cut my hair and I was left with a stubble filled head.
Steadily the dark ones fell out, but almost all the gray stubble remained and continued to
grow throughout my treatments. First the hair on my head went, then my body hair,
then my eyebrows and eyelashes. But I never did have a smooth bald head. And
strangely enough, when I finished my treatments, it was the exact reverse order that
my hair is coming back. First the pure white hairs, then the various shades of grey, and
finally the ones that are still my natural color.
I can SO feel the chemo working!! Believe it or not, but I can. I doubted it myself for
the first treatment or two, but when it was for all seven of my treatments and always
starting around the 3rd day and lasting for the next few days, I knew it really was the
chemo. There was a cramping pain and burning sensation in each of the areas that I
know were filled with cancer. My surgery was successful in removing my ovarian
tumors and some of the cancer from my abdominal lymph nodes. But some cancer
remained in the lymph nodes on the right side of my abdomen and on the left side of my
neck. These were exactly the areas where I could "feel the burn". Although it was
somewhat painful, I felt satisfaction in knowing that the chemo was at least getting to
the right locations to attack my cancer. My doctor and nurse didn’t believe it, but my
neck lump did shrink with each treatment and the pain decreased as well.
Chemo fog! I found it very hard to concentrate on anything and was very forgetful
throughout my treatments. I wouldn’t describe it as cloudy thinking or sleepy, just not
quite being able to think clearly or remember things. There were a couple of references
to this symptom in my chemo brochure, but I didn't really believe it until I experienced
it for myself. The upside is that now I have a built in excuse in case I forget to do
something. I just look at my husband with a straight face and say "Chemo Fog".
Someday he'll catch on that it stops once the Chemo stops, but I think I can milk it for
another year or two at least.
from their treatments. Everyone has different side effects, and some are more
prevalent than others. These are just some of the more unusual ones that I want to
share. It seems like the doctors, nurses, and all the chemo reading material covered only
the major side effects which could be treated through diet, exercise, or medication.
What I’m going to mention are some of the weirder minor side effects that aren’t
shown on the Lifetime movie or discussed in a glossy three-color brochure because
these symptoms aren’t painful or dangerous. Actually I wouldn’t have thought about
sharing this but in talking with others dealing with their chemo treatments, I’ve
discovered that I wasn’t the only one who had these side effects. At the time, I didn’t
even realize that these things I was experiencing were even side effects - I thought it
was just my way of dealing with my treatments and the physical and psychological
changes I was going through. But now that I’ve heard of other people's stories, I’ll
share some of mine too. I know it made me feel better that I hadn’t just imagined these
things.
Cravings!! Like all the tv movies on cancer, I expected to be nauseous and sick
throughout my chemo. I expected to lose weight and look sick. But no, I was hungry
all the time and there were some foods that I could not get enough of. Anyone who
knows me, knows that I don’t have a sweet tooth. Matter of fact, I don’t even like
chocolate, but I couldn’t get enough sugar or carbs or fat. I had been so proud that
for 1 ½ years my husband and I had changed our eating life style to a low-fat, low-salt,
low-sugar diet, but that went out the door during my chemo treatments. I couldn’t get
enough bread, pasta, candy bars, bacon, avocados and mayonnaise. Instead of losing
weight, I gained steadily throughout my treatment. Now everyone tells me how healthy
I look, and I wonder if that's just code for "fat".
Partial hair loss!! Two weeks after the start of my chemo, I noticed that my hair was
coming out. I could run my hand through my hair and strand after strand would come
loose. The thought of all that hair all over my floor and furniture was worse than going
bald, so I had my husband buzz cut my hair and I was left with a stubble filled head.
Steadily the dark ones fell out, but almost all the gray stubble remained and continued to
grow throughout my treatments. First the hair on my head went, then my body hair,
then my eyebrows and eyelashes. But I never did have a smooth bald head. And
strangely enough, when I finished my treatments, it was the exact reverse order that
my hair is coming back. First the pure white hairs, then the various shades of grey, and
finally the ones that are still my natural color.
I can SO feel the chemo working!! Believe it or not, but I can. I doubted it myself for
the first treatment or two, but when it was for all seven of my treatments and always
starting around the 3rd day and lasting for the next few days, I knew it really was the
chemo. There was a cramping pain and burning sensation in each of the areas that I
know were filled with cancer. My surgery was successful in removing my ovarian
tumors and some of the cancer from my abdominal lymph nodes. But some cancer
remained in the lymph nodes on the right side of my abdomen and on the left side of my
neck. These were exactly the areas where I could "feel the burn". Although it was
somewhat painful, I felt satisfaction in knowing that the chemo was at least getting to
the right locations to attack my cancer. My doctor and nurse didn’t believe it, but my
neck lump did shrink with each treatment and the pain decreased as well.
Chemo fog! I found it very hard to concentrate on anything and was very forgetful
throughout my treatments. I wouldn’t describe it as cloudy thinking or sleepy, just not
quite being able to think clearly or remember things. There were a couple of references
to this symptom in my chemo brochure, but I didn't really believe it until I experienced
it for myself. The upside is that now I have a built in excuse in case I forget to do
something. I just look at my husband with a straight face and say "Chemo Fog".
Someday he'll catch on that it stops once the Chemo stops, but I think I can milk it for
another year or two at least.