Husband just diagnosed - need some help

[Trisha]

Jilleighn - how is your husband now... did he bounce back and gain weight back after chemo?

[DianeE]

Hi Trisha,

The chemo is no walk in the park, but it's something that so many
people get through. I remember when my son was in consultation
with the surgeon who was going to do his RPLND and my husband
and I were in the waiting room. The room was full of people who
were obviously chemo patients. One of them was a spunky lady
who I would guess was in her mid 60's. She was bouncing around
chatting with a few other folks and suddenly looked at her watch
and said, "Oops, I gotta go and get my chemo!!" She said it as
if she was going to a hair appointment!

When we were told after Brian's RPLND that HE would need chemo,
I was afraid of the whole chemo thing, but when I thought about
that woman's casual attitude, I decided it can't be as horrible as I was imagining.

Everyone reacts differently. If your husband does end up needing
chemo, read some of the threads from the guys who have gone
through it and what helped them with the side effects. A lot of the
guys actually gained weight during chemo! And most of the guys do
bounce back within days after finishing the last round. My son
only had to do two rounds, and was pretty much wiped out after
the second one, but within a few days of getting liquids and resting,
he was back to his normal self again.

Keep us updated.

Diane

[Trisha]

Thanks! To our fist oncology apponintment today - and our CT Scan later today. I feel more prepared for all of this thanks to all of you

[Marco1975]

about gaining weight....

Before 3xBEP: 192 cm per 73 kg.
After: 192 cm (yep, didn't shrink!!) per 95 kg.

Mum and girfriend (now wife) fed me well during and especially before treatment.

As for the side effects of chemo, i suggest to talk with the doctors. during first week of treatment i was very ill but i thought that was the price to pay to be cured... then i talked to my oncologist, told me how bad i had been and he mixed drugs, gave me more pills and a few injections to fight the side effects. guess what?during second and third week of treatment i was feeling much, much better!

[Trisha]

Pre-existing Kidney Disorder - worried about chemo

So we had our first onocologist visit and thanks to everything I have learned from this group and other sites there was no real surprises and that made it easier.

It appears (as many of you have said) that based on his nonseminoma and pT2 with VI and LI he will need to do something (chemo or RPLND or both). We are now awaiting his CT results due Monday.

I am really upset that the urologist did not take his blood markers the day of his surgery for a good baseline. In fact the blood was last checked one week before surgery. So it will be hard to tell if they are headed down since they may have risen during that week.

One thing I am worried about and looking for more information about is what his pre-existing kidney disorder will mean with the chemo (or surgery). He has IgA neprhopathy which is:
kidney disorder caused by deposits of the protein immunoglobulin A (IgA) inside the glomeruli (filters) within the kidney. These glomeruli (the singular form is glomerulus) normally filter wastes and excess water from the blood and send them to the bladder as urine. The IgA protein prevents this filtering process, leading to blood and protein in the urine and swelling in the hands and feet. This chronic kidney disease may progress over a period of 10 to 20 years. If this disorder leads to end-stage renal disease, the patient must go on dialysis or receive a kidney transplant.

They would not even give him the contrast injection to make the CT Scan easier to read because it is processed through the kidney. Does anyone have any info or resources about this issue?

thanks again for all your support you have really made a difference in our lives!

[Jilleighn]

Thanks for asking Trisha. My husband is doing amazing. He hits 2 years remission on Nov 8th! I am extremely excited and can not wait to celerbrate. The most shocking for me during treatment for me is how quickly Eric's white blood cells dropped. He was in the mist of his first ground and his blood cells dropped that they placed him in the hospital. He also lost his hair quickly to treatment. We made a promise to each other that we would not let it fall out in chunks but would shave it. As for the weight, it did not matter what I fed him or what ever I got him to eat he would just not hold ANYTHING down. He was very ill. My husbands Chemo meds where Cisplatin, VP-16 and Bleomycin.