your BEP chemo experiences?

[retroperitommy]

anyone like to share their recent BEP chemo experience, in a nutshell? whats the worst that can happen?

thanks all :P

[AdrianB1971]

hi

in my opinion the worst thing during chemo is anxiety and depresion. Long hours of standing at bed and takeing the poison in your veins. I want to give you some advices [critical for me]
1. Dont try to shorten the duration of infusion.More time, less side effects
2. The hydratation is the key word. So, to save your kidney and all your body from excesive posoning yu MUST drink a plenty of water
3. Eat very small meals and no 'havy' aliments

I recomend you to insist for 5days/week protocol instead of 3/w.

BEP is not a nice experience. It's one of the hardest chemo regim. Fortunately it really works. Use antinausea medication [zofran or kitril].

Also you can use high dose vit e for neuropathy prevention [400IU/day 1 week before chemo until 3 months after chemo - BUT THIS IS YOUR CHOICE]

all the best

[Eric]

I agree with adrian on anxiety and depression because physically i was not that bad. When i have done my chemo i was in a big room with about 20 patients receiving chemo. I was the first in and the last out(because of my protocol). A part of my chemo was in december and i was looking in the window outside to see the snow falling and see people preparing for christmas(very tough). Another thing that was really hard was to see people doing chemo with me dying during my treatment. A nice lady about 3 years older than me with lung cancer but never smoked(look like Dana reeve) passed away during my treatment. Two weeks before she was in better shape than me and with a better attitude than mine. She had some complications with her treatment somewhere in the brain. It was very hard for me to read about her death in the newspaper. The hardest part was after my first cycle. I was in my 2 weeks off and was in good shape but feeling a little fever. At the hospital they told me i was completely out of WBC so they put me in a room with plexiglass wall for 4 days with only a little bed in the middle. Peoples had to put a mask to enter to see me. That was the beginning of my neupogen shot that i had to take till the end of my treatments. Sometime i think about it and i pray to never have to do this again.

[Lori]

My husband just finished his first round of high dose chemo. We were expecting so many bad things to happen, but he did remarkably well. Not that this is scientific but I think the following really helped him:

- he never drank less than 64 oz of water a day and most days he was over 80 oz. that was on top of the 2 liters they gave him each day via IV.

- he walked a little every day. even if it was just 20 minutes - he did it.

[Toms Wife]

Also just finished first week

My husband just finished his first week of the 3 week BEP cycle. He was feeling okay in the beginning of the week, but now that the drugs are working through his system he is completely exhausted. He has slept all weekend. I'm worried about him and wish he was walking outside a little bit, but have left him alone and am happy he is listening to his body and not pushing it.

He had the I/O in February, we opted for observation and they found two inflamed lymph nodes at the 6 month check up recently.

[dadmo]

Toms Wife:
Between the chemo and the mental stress he's sure to be exhausted. Let him listen to his body but try and get him out even if it's just for 10-15 min.

[Ras Joe]

The second cycle was the worst for me-- by the third I was riding the high of seeing the end of chemo only days away. I would suggest slamming the H2O, the days that I couldn't drink much because of the vomiting were the worst days as far as I can remember. All and all it really felt like a couple month hang-over. It will be nothing that you can't endure, trust me-- if I could do it, anyone can.

[petep]

here is my thread of experiences...

http://www.tc-cancer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3699

pete

[Michael112]

Has anyone gone into chemo with symptoms of parkinsism or perepherial neurophathy symptoms before starting chemo?
If so what did you do to combat it, did it worsen?
I am having problems sleeping at the moment, and I am only sleeping about 4-6 hours a night, I wake up and cant get back to sleep.