Nobody expects to hear the words “Your child has cancer.” Nobody is prepared. And in our family’s case, our son Emmett was diagnosed with leukemia in an emergency room, and treatment began that day in the ICU. We had no time at all to prepare, or even to comprehend it all at the time.
Chemotherapy
While oral chemotherapy can be just as effective as infusion chemotherapy, and likely more convenient, it can present challenges.
I remember it like it was yesterday. I left work to go to my doctor’s appointment and planned on being back to the office in time for a meeting. Little did I know my entire life would flip upside down that afternoon.
In the United States, hair and beauty are multibillion-dollar industries, with the average woman spending about $50,000 on her hair over a lifetime. Clearly, good hair days are important and for most women, play a strong role in personal identity, self-confidence and the image presented to the world. So when patients begin treatment for cancer, the concern over hair loss sits front and center on the list of side effects that are likely to become an important part of their experience.
If you’re a woman under 40, you’re probably not thinking about menopause. But for young women who have had cancer, treatment-induced ovarian failure – often referred to as “chemopause” – is a very realistic concern.
While your stomach can handle these harsh substances, they cause irritation in your esophagus, and over time, they can damage it.
Chemo brain or chemo fog is well known by cancer patients, but for years researchers struggled to find evidence of its existence. Today, it is widely recognized as a legitimate, diagnosable condition.
Delivering chemotherapy directly to the abdomen can significantly improve survival among women with ovarian cancer—so significantly that nearly ten years ago, the National Cancer Institute issued a special clinical announcement urging oncologists to use the approach, called intraperitonea
I won't deny it, chemotherapy is tough. But during my time in the Chemo Infusion Center, I learned some tricks that helped me cope with treatment.