A Chemotherapy Fashion Show (Chemo Survival Guide Part 6)
Chemotherapy can be uncomfortable enough already, so anything that aids in making the experience more comfortable is a big plus. As a new chemotherapy patient soon finds out, dressing correctly for chemotherapy is an important part of getting ready for treatment. Sure, some patients dress how they do in their everyday lives, but I noticed after a few months of my own chemotherapy treatments that individual patients developed their own set of chemotherapy dress code. Some patients even looked like they never even changed (and maybe they didn’t!).
There are many things that go on in chemo, but here are a few to consider when getting dressed… Cancer treatment centers tend to be cold, so warm clothing becomes a little bit important. Your nurse needs easy access to chemo-ports (portacath or medports). For those of you who will be getting large amounts of fluids and spending quite a bit of the day in treatment, anything that helps the process of going to the restroom should be considered. Also, consider what clothes make it easier for you to sleep on. Let’s look at individual pieces of clothing and how they can help:
1) Head gear… in chemo?: Most chemo patients wear hats or wigs to hide the loss of hair, but you should also consider wearing something like a beanie on your head to keep your head a bit warmer. As with anything cold room related, this becomes especially more important for patients who will be spending almost the entire day in therapy. It doesn’t matter if it is 90°F in some Sahara Desert chemo center, if you’re going to be cold during therapy, wear the beanie. I’ve also seen chemo patients wearing cold-weather gloves in the middle of a Caribbean summer.
2) Solar shields (a.k.a. Old-people’s Sunglasses): Whether you call them solar shields or old people’s sunglasses, a pair of these will not only help you in treatment, but also getting there. Some chemotherapy patients (such as me) develop extreme sensitivity to light and these glasses do an awesome job of protecting you from the sun or strong light sources. They also do an awesome job of making you look ridiculous, but… hey… you’re allowed stuff like that when you have serious illnesses. You can get these in various designs at places like Wal-Mart or Walgreens for dirt cheap. You can also order them online in various colors and styles from online retailers such as Amazon.com. You can see Amazon’s lowest cost ones (at press time) by going to their website HERE (Please note that Helpoon.com is an Amazon affiliate).
3) Comfortable, warm, and Button-down: Your shirt is probably one of the most important items to consider when getting dressed for chemo. Do you have a chemo-port, medport, portacath, or otherwise similar device implanted? If you don’t have any implants, shirt selection just goes down to being comfortable and warm, but if you do have implants (and I’m talking about implanted medical devices here lady, not those other ones you got to keep the husband happy) you may want to consider your implant when picking a shirt. If you are carrying a temporary port in your arm, consider using a short-sleeved shirt so that it does not interfere with the port. For those of you whose ports are in your chest, a button-down shirt will ensure easy access for treatment (you can do long-sleeves in this case). Wear something that you’re comfortable with and that will keep you warm. Some chemo patients report being bothered by anything that reminds them of chemo years after they finish treatment, so don’t use a favorite shirt as it may be not-so-favorite afterwards (you may find your favorite shirt comforting however). Consider going to Kmart, Target, or Wal-Mart, getting a bunch of cheap shirts, and getting rid of them down the road when your cancer ordeal is over.
4) Loose fitting or easy to put on and off: For pants, the primary consideration is comfort. Wear something loose and comfortable. Again, consider warmth. A considerable amount of chemo patients opt for sweat pants, but a slightly loose-fit pair of jeans worked for me. For those of you that are going to be making frequent peeing trips, you may want to consider not wearing a belt or removing it during your chemo session. This makes going to the bathroom an easy process… you’d be surprised how chemo brain can make something as easy as taking a belt off a bit more difficult. Some patients also get increased sensitivity in their finger-tips, which can make doing anything harder. A nurse may also need to access your behind for an injection, so make sure you aren’t wearing pants that are next to impossible to remove and put back-on.
5) Sock it to warmth: Again, consider warmth when wearing socks. Wear something warm and comfortable.
6) Shoes… easy on and easy off: Wearing slip on shoes with no shoelaces or buckles is something that will definitely improve your chemo experience. In most chemotherapy rooms you will have either a bed or a lazy-boy style chair to sit on. Either way, you’re going to want your shoes coming off. Maybe you need to go to the restroom, so the shoes need to go on and then back off. For those of you spending six or seven hours in chemo, that means quite a few times of taking shoes on and off. You may be nauseous or dizzy from chemo, so shoes that can come on and off easy are important, especially if you don’t have to bend over to put them on.
So there you have it, the latest in chemotherapy fashions. Tell a little kid to pick their own clothing and you’ll get some interesting and VERY colorful results. Chemotherapy gives you a chance to dress like a little kid picked your clothing. It is OK if you look a bit ridiculous; nobody is going to say anything (at least to your face). I saw every possible combination of things at my cancer treatment center, including people showing up in their pajamas. If you do need to look fashionable or if you’re in some Beverly Hills clinic, I’m sure you’ll find something that works and is comfortable.
The previous post in the Chemotherapy Survival Guide Series:
Nicotine patches can increase cancer recurrence and spreading.
(Photo by Hamron via Flickr)
It seems smokers can’t catch a break. While many have used nicotine patches to wean themselves off of cigarettes and their carcinogen-laden smoke, it seems those patches are, after all, not so much safer. It has been known for some time now that nicotine can make tumor cells spread and grow faster, but recently a study published in PLoS ONE discovered just how cancer friendly nicotine patches can be. It turns out the patches increase the chances that a tumor that was removed comes back and that it spreads to other parts of your body. The study, done in mice, showed that tumor recurrence increased 59% in the patched mice vs. 19% in the non-nicotine mice. In addition, tumors spread nine times as fast in mice with nicotine patches as in those that were not administered any patches.
Deal with side effects swiflty (Chemo Survival Guide Part 5)
There are many things you can do to prepare yourself for chemotherapy (as I’ve shown in the various posts in this series). While some of these things involve action from your part (i.e. setting up a chemotherapy survival kit or getting the appropriate clothing to make yourself comfortable), many require that you adopt a frame of mind and do a little research. By far one of the most important things to consider when getting ready for chemotherapy treatments is the side effects that have given the treatments such a bad reputation. Commonly known are nausea, vomiting, loss of hair, and loss of weight, but there may also be a lot more side effects to reckon with and these vary from medicine to medicine, as well as person to person. Keeping yourself informed about the possible side effects and exploring ways to treat them go a long way towards improving the quality of your chemotherapy experience. There is nothing wrong with being too prepared, even if you happen to be one of the lucky patients who don’t get any side effects at all.
The side effects from chemotherapy are usually more discomforting than the cancer itself. A lot of people don’t even feel anything when they have cancer. The side effects from chemo, on the other hand, can be very distressing and the extreme discomfort some patients feel, coupled with the state of mind that the treatment can get you in, are a serious threat to the treatment process. Patients may stop undertaking treatment if they feel too affected by the mental and physical toll that chemotherapy can take.
While stopping all the side effects is nearly impossible, reducing their effects on you can definitely be done. A frank conversation with your doctor is probably the first step towards understanding what to expect and how you will be treated for those side effects. However, given the almost assembly line way that patients get treated at some hospitals or clinics, your best bet is probably to discuss what to expect with patients that have undergone the treatments you will undertake. You can find patient info in the web, but the patients you meet while visiting oncologist offices or clinics are a good source of help as well. Before and after your treatment, share your experiences with fellow patients and you may find out that they have novel solutions to problems you may be faced with. Regardless of how you go about it, you need to learn what side effects to expect, understand them as best as you can, and learn what the treatments for them are. Only by doing this will you be able to reduce their toll on you. The earlier in the process you learn this, the better. It is probably much better to be the patient that never got acid indigestion from chemo because you always took Prilosec, Protonix, or Zantac straight off the bat, than the guy throwing up his dinner due to extreme acid indigestion while the nurses fetch Pepcid.
A word of caution, though… as I have said many times before, every patient is different and what happens to each one of us in the chemotherapy process will be completely different than what happens to someone else. Even if the condition and treatments are the same, our bodies will always react differently. This will not be different with whatever action you take to solve whichever side effects may plague you. You may get nausea and the first medicine they give you may be Zofran. It may work wonders on you and you never throw up again or, as happened to me, you may actually throw up more and then try a few more medicines until you find one that works (Anzemet in my case). You may start taking Prilosec for your acid stomach problems only to have it stop working on your second round of treatments. A quick switch to Protonix may solve the problem or you may need to experiment more. The point is this: always understand that the process of fighting the chemo side effects is an active and on-going one. You need to continue to battle these side effects because if you beat them, the quality of your life as a chemotherapy patient will improve greatly.
After surviving cancer and coming off of chemotherapy, I have come to understand that the battle with cancer may be more of a mental one than a physical one. Chemo can make such a strong impact on some patients that it may even challenge the will to live of those patients. I was recently discussing this with a fellow cancer patient. He told me that if the doctors had not solved how bad his side effects were, he would have been happier dying. Psychological help is just as important in chemo as your treatments are. That is why I always tell those that will undergo chemo to find the strongest reasons to live before undergoing treatments and then make sure they are somehow reminded of them during treatment. I had recently married when I was diagnosed with cancer and, even if it may sound corny, it was my love for my wife that kept me going even on the darkest of treatment days. A picture of her that I carried in my chemo bag helped me through those times. It may also help to remember that the chemo process, especially for those with survivable cancers, is just a small fraction of your life and, while it may feel really bad sometimes, it will be a piece of your past someday… a memory that helps make you a stronger person.
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Making a Chemotherapy Survival Kit (Chemo Survival Guide Part 4)
A sample chemotherapy survival kit. Photo by Fernando Montalvo for Helpoon.com.
While chemotherapy can be a very uncomfortable experience for some, there are steps you can take to improve the experience. Even if you are one of the lucky patients to get no side effects from the chemo drugs, you may still be uncomfortable from your time spent sitting or lying down while receiving chemo. One step you can take to make things better at your chemotherapy treatment center is to take with you a sort of Chemotherapy Survival Kit; a bag filled with things aimed simply at making you more comfortable. Possible things to carry inside this chemo bag are:
1) Small Pillow: While some treatment centers stock pillows that patients can use, it may be better to carry your own pillow as you can make sure it is one that you are comfortable with. While many patients carry full sized pillows that they simply take from their beds in the morning, you could opt for a small, travel-sized pillow which is easier to carry to the treatment center. Today, you can buy these pillows in the luggage areas of Target and Wal-Mart, as well as other stores. The one in the picture above cost only $9.99 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and the pillow cover cost just a bit less and was available in the same area of the store. You can also find these in online retailers, such as Amazon.com, which has a small pillow with a pillow case combination for $15.00 (Disclaimer: Helpoon.com is an Amazon Affiliate).
2) Blanket: Hospitals and cancer treatment centers can be very cold. Even if the temperature wasn’t that cold, your body temperature may begin to drop after large quantities of chemotherapy drugs and you may wish you had an extra blanket or throw around even if your treatment center stocks these. I actually had to carry two as I got very cold during chemotherapy. I don’t really have any recommendations for you as to which blankets or throws to purchase. Just make sure you get one you’re comfortable with and that you fit under.
3) Bags for nausea: As just about everyone who knows even just a bit about chemotherapy knows, vomiting is a very common effect of chemotherapy for some patients. As a result, chemotherapy centers usually stock different bags for patients that need to throw up. Some look similar to small trash bags, while others are “high-tech” bags that make throwing up a bit easier. Regardless of the bag, it is important that you have it near you when the time comes to use it and that you’re not looking or asking for one when you’re about to throw up. I recommend that on your very first day of chemo you grab some of these or bring very good small trash bags and keep some in your chemo bag. You may need it on the ride home or coming back the next day as well. If you’re going to be using trash bags, make sure to double bag as there may be leaks on one bag.
4) Medicines: You need to consult your doctor on this one as only your medical professional knows which medicines you can or should use while on chemo, but whatever medicines he or she does recommend, it would be a good idea to have them readily available on your chemo bag. I used to carry Tylenol around for frequent headaches that I used to get on some days.
5) Entertainment: Whether you take a Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, crossword puzzle or something else, keeping yourself entertained and distracted from chemo is important. On my first few months of chemo I used to take a Nintendo DS portable video game system, but as the chemo progressed I really couldn’t concentrate on the screen too much so I switched to other forms of entertainment. Granted, some chemo centers have individual TV’s for each patient, as well as board games and crossword puzzles, but you may need some variety so consider bringing options. You may also think about having a portable MP3 player to use if you want to hear some music.
6) Snacks: While many centers have snack machines available, those patients whose chemotherapy is very long and takes up most of the day may want to consider bringing snacks and making meal arrangements. Just remember that if your chemo gives you nausea you may start associating the food you eat with the nausea and you may end up hating those foods for a while. With that in mind, stay away from your very favorite foods as this may make you hate some of them. I still cringe when I smell certain foods more than a year after my last chemotherapy session and many patients tell me they have the same problem. If your chemo drugs give you a foul taste in your mouth, you may want to consider a hard candy with a strong taste, such as a Jolly Rancher. It will remove the foul taste from your mouth and make your chemo much more pleasant. I found this especially true for my shorter, less than an hour long chemo sessions. Having a small packet of salt may help you deal with nausea. A small amount of salt on your tongue may help you cope with nausea, but consult with your doctor on this one.
7) Reading Materials: This one kind of forms part of the whole entertainment thing I wrote about on 5. Chemo sessions are great for reading, although some of the effects of chemo-brain are strong enough to make reading a little bit difficult. If you have any books you need to catch up on or like reading magazines, they may help pass your time during chemotherapy.
8 ) Pictures or Religious Items: Not exactly part of my own personal experience, but soon after entering chemotherapy I realized that a lot of patients carry around either religious items, such as large crosses, or large pictures of their loved ones. Regardless of what inspires you to keep going or helps you with soul searching, if you feel like having any of these things will help you with chemo, go ahead and carry it in your bag.
9) Bottles of Water: While you don’t necessarily need to be drinking water (other things like Gatorade may be OK), it’s a good idea to ensure that you have a supply of liquids. Chemo drugs are dangerous and taking in adequate fluids is important. Just about all chemotherapy centers have a vending machine somewhere with bottled water, but you may prefer something they don’t have or may want to save some money from the high cost per bottle that vending machines usually charge (although you’ll get a cold drink). Carrying a couple of bottles of water may help you after vomiting or if you need to take a pill.
Those are just a few of the suggestions as to which things to carry in your chemo bags. Some centers have restrictions as to what can be carried to your chemo sessions so be sure to ask your provider if there are any such limitations. Of course, some of you may have more ideas as to what to include or may have some personal experiences on this matter. If you have any additional items you think should be included or want to share experiences, please post so in the comments below.
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Getting yourself an implant (Chemo Survival Guide Part 3)
Picture of a chemo-port implant. A specialized needle is inserted in the yellowish circle you see in the middle of the port, which would lie under your skin. The device then transfers the drug through the tube directly into your circulatory system.
Something you may hear about soon after being diagnosed with cancer and facing the prospect of chemotherapy is a little device called a chemo-port or portacath (port-a-cath). These medical ports, which also go by other names, are basically little implants that are placed inside you to facilitate the administering of chemotherapy. While the idea of getting an implant surgery may frighten you, believe me when I say that the chemo-port is a very useful little device. If your doctor advises this option, you may want to consider it seriously.
Chemotherapy usually involves the placing of very toxic compounds inside of you intravenously. A chemo-port aids in this process in the following ways:
1) Having a chemo-port means that your oncology nurse will not have to go searching for a vein every day you’re being treated. Not only does this mean that he or she won’t be prodding your arm with needles in search of a vein, but it also reduces the damage caused to the vein by repeatedly injecting the vein.
2) Since chemotherapy drugs can be very toxic to skin and other tissue, it is vital that it is kept away from these tissues. A chemo-port ensures that the drug is delivered directly into the bloodstream. Patients who opt to stay away from portacaths may suffer damage to the skin and muscle in the areas in which the chemotherapy drugs are being injected. This damage can get very severe sometimes and can lead to amputation in extreme cases.
3) Having a chemo-port means that some of your blood work can be done with samples extracted through the chemo-port (although this is not always the case) and, if you get sick during chemo, drugs such as antibiotics can be injected through the chemo port.
Getting a chemo-port implant is a relatively easy procedure, it’s a same-day outpatient procedure and recovery from it is very fast. You are in and out of surgery in less than half-an-hour (not counting prep time of course). Getting it removed is just as simple.
I personally loved how the chemo-port made chemotherapy a lot easier for me than for some patients that did not have it. Other patients told me they were especially annoyed by the nurses having increased difficulty finding useful veins after a few chemo sessions. The chemo-port isn’t all happiness: there is the feeling of something inside your body (usually just under the skin on your chest), you may have to go on regular visits to the oncology department to have it cleaned, and it does generate a mild discomfort sometimes, but the benefits far outweigh these inconveniences. While I still feel some discomfort from where the chemo port used to be to this day, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The previous post in the Chemotherapy Survival Guide Series:
NEXT POST IN THE SERIES—–> HERE.