Chemo had some great side effects, anyone else see benefits beyond curing cancer?

[david1110]

smoking!

i was a heavy smoker and found it hard to quit, especially with the stress of having cancer, but when I had the chemo I felt so rotten that i couldn't stand the taste and sensation of smoking cigarettes so I packed it in.

[TSX]

Kind of embarrassing, but I've had a wart on one of my fingers that I've been trying to get rid of for years. It's totally gone now, and it has been gone since about halfway through 3xBEP.

It was only after I finished chemo that I found out that dermatologists will sometimes inject Bleomycin directly into warts to get rid of them. Apparently it's very effective, and since it is local and not systemic, none of the lung problems are risked.

-TSX

[Don]

Oddly enough I haven't been sick or caught a cold either since chemo --Even after everyone in my house was sick with flu bugs that the kids contracted in school. I have been fine since....DON

[Andy Leftgone]

great thread this one

since I had my one dose of carboplatin i haven't had a single cold, even though at times here in the UK just about everyone around me is snivelling and sneezing

[Vinny]

Again, this is not chemo-related, but post orchiectomy, I'm less likely to sit on the boys (or the boy in my case). Also less likely to get tangled up when walking, even on hot humid days.

[mrb1980]

I believe my hair grew in with less gray than it had before. Too bad chemo doesn't have an effect on the aging process (sigh).

Mentally--having gone through surgery and chemo, I'm also much more dedicated to taking care of myself. I turn 50 later this year, and have already arranged to undergo the dreaded colonoscopy (using what I euphemistically call "the chrome stallion") to check for colon polyps. One case of cancer is enough for my lifetime.

[Vinny]

I despised being tickled. Now, if Sarah goes for my left thigh to tickle me, I can't feel it. I guess that's orchiectomy/RPLND, not chemo...

Also, I don't have to shave as much of my face anymore.

[AaronK]

Not so much a side effect of the chemo.But I get a "kick" out of now 4 months post-chemo,when "carring" co-workers and friends ask how I'm doing,thinking I'm near death from the chemo. I smile and say "great",as I bound up the stairs,on my way to the gym !



Best Wishes

Thats hilarious.

[indiana9]

I forgot to mention that I had high blood pressure for a couple of years before testicular cancer which has normalized since the chemo/rplnd. My oncologist agrees that this is unusual, but thinks that either the autonomic nervous system that assists with blood pressure regulation was altered during the rplnd surgery or that the kidney hormone that regulates BP was altered in some way during chemo. Not a bad bonus........ and I can only hope that I can say a year from now that it is still normal.
Brian

[mikeygti]

I have a size 13 foot.... I used to stub my toes all the time and be in pain to the piont I thought I broke my toes... Now after chemo I have been stricken with neuropathy so basically when I bang my feet " I can't feel it"

Don,

If you lived up here in Canada,you wouldn't need to buy snow ski's !

Best Wishes

[Don]

I have a size 13 foot.... I used to stub my toes all the time and be in pain to the piont I thought I broke my toes... Now after chemo I have been stricken with neuropathy so basically when I bang my feet " I can't feel it"

[jmontana16]

Just read the thread......

You guys are all amazing. I have a smile on my face and I am touched to the core.

I've had TC but not chemo. However, I would say that a benefit to TC and chemo would be the opportunity to connect (whether in person, or internet, whatever...) with people like you. "Thanks" cannot in any way/shape/form express what I want to express to you all, so that being the case...............

Thanks!

[Chris'Mom]

Just to add one more thing...Chris has become much more spiritual than he was before....even reads the Bible.....so even though I'm sure at school he parties a little?!...he still has become much more introspective....Mary Ellen

[indiana9]

Pre-chemo my feet would sweat profusely and now 6 months later, my socks are dry at the end of the day AND my beautiful wife of 26 years has volunteered to rub them nightly with moisturizing lotion. I also developed a much better grasp on the difference between what is important in life vs. what is really important in life.

[dadmo]

Smartie:
Welcome to the forum. It's always nice to meet other survivors and co-survivors.