First Round of BEP done today!

[jenpat]

I have not been on in a while, my fiance just finished his first round of BEP today! He has not had too many side effects at all, and it is starting to make me nervous...I read about every side effect and warned him and bought him the Lance Armstrong book and it seems to be going pretty good for him??? Is this normal, is it at least a good sign that he hasn't suffered too many side effects? I know the 2nd and 3rd rounds will probably be worse, right?

Anyway, another question...his doctor had him start this Monday...in two weeks round 2 begins, but the clinic is closed January 1st, which would be the first day, and also closed on Saturday and Sunday...the nurse told him today that they will probably just have him start on Tuesday and come back the following Monday for the last dose. Is that alright...what is the purpose of 5 days on if they can skip 2 because of a holiday??

[mikeygti]

Glad to hear that his first round went so well. Hopefully the others go just as smoothly,but the effects are cumulative.

I ran into a similar situation last year,where my final round of BEP ran into Christmas holidays. What they ended up doing,was running 5 days worth of chemo,in 4 days. I really didn't notice the extra "weed killer" that was administered.

Best Wishes

[jenpat]

Thanks...

5 treatments in 4 days makes sense, that nurse probably just didn't know and made something up which wouldn't be a first...

[DianeE]

Hi Jenpat,

I think you should talk with the oncologist about what the nurse told
you. My son had a consultation with Dr. David Vaughn, who is one of
the experts listed at TCRC, back in June when he was scheduling his
chemo. Dr. Vaughn said he admits his patients to the hospital on holidays,
so there is no delay or change in the proven successful treatment
schedule.

Diane

[Already Bald]

JenPat,
I agree with Diane- I am a being treated by Dr. Vaughn (4xEP).
I was lucky that my schedule skirted the holidays, If I had started one week earilier, I would have spent Thanksgiving in the hospital
I think you should try to stict to the five days straight if at all possible.
Good luck, hope the side effects aren't to bad going forward.
Joe

[Owen]

I have the same problem this week with my first round. I have been scheduled to go into the hospital for my 5th day, to keep me on schedule.

The reason for the 5 days in a row is to kill all the new cell growth during a complete cycle (so I understand - I am NO doctor), so it makes most sense to actaully do 5 days in a row.

Fortunate for us, hospitals don't get to close for weekends and holidays!

[wannalive]

Actually I didn't have much side effects as well and it got better (except fatigue and dizzyness) until the end

just keep on drinking water, I started during 3rd and 4th only after I start to have neuropathy now it is ok with support of vitamins (fingers crossed)

best wishes

[Davie]

The standard protocol in the UK is to administer each BEP cycle over a 3 day period as an in-patient.

Based on this, I imagine on a 5 day cycle a day here or there doesn't matter too much.

Davie

[Scott]

From what I've heard through TC-NET, three-day cycles and in-patient treatment are more common in Europe, while five-day cycles and out-patient treatment are more common in the U.S. Both treatments are effective, but delivering the chemotherapy over a longer period reduces short-term side effects.

[stevenh77]

I wouldn't be too worried about him not showing many side effects. I also never noticed most of the side effects people usually associate with chemotherapy, my oncologist said my body was just tolerating the drugs much better than the average patient does. The worst of my side effects was a complete loss of appetite during the first week of round 1, I had to drink a lot of Ensure to keep from losing weight that week, but then I felt almost normal after that.

Now it's been two months since my last bleo injection and I almost feel 100% again. I'm still really tired sometimes and I have a very slight ringing in my ears that seems to only come on when I hear certain sounds, but the doctors said that'll all pass in time.