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Hi John,
I am on a very similar regimen for liver mets. I get weekly herceptin, carboplatin and a new BMS study drug that is similar to taxol. I am 9 weeks into a 24 week treatment plan so I have a few recommendations. However, remember that everyone responds differently.
On infusion day, I'm pretty wiped but the premeds they give me keep the nausea at bay. I am able to eat a light dinner that night, log a little sofa time then go to bed early. On day 2 and 3, I'm usually a little tired and take it easy. By day 4, I start to feel much better.
My side effects are:
1)Nausea, sour stomach - I manage these with one Marinol tab let 2 times per day. I also started taking Protonix - to manage all the stomach acid that seems to pop up. I have managed to maintain my weight the last 9 weeks!
2)Sleeplessness - I take a sleeping pill daily.
3)Constipation - This was a huge and unexpected problem until I figured out how to manage it. Starting the day before chemo, I take a Senekot every night for 4 nights.
These are my big 3 - also expect fatigue and hair to fall out. I heard some people get numbness in hands and feet from taxol, so I started taking 100 mg of Vit B6 every evening. No neuropathy so far!
Tell your wife to try to take one treatment at a time - it's too daunting to focus on the war - win a battle every day!
Wishing you both hope and strength,
Donna
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