You Have Cancer, Now What Junior? #3
The JUNIOR #3
The following narrative is designed for cancer patients, their friends, family, caretakers, and medical professionals. This section covers in-depth information about monitoring changes in cancer patients’ bodies, including familiarity with blood work, scans, nutrition, side effects, and medication. This guide is first intended for patients who will be hospitalized for long stays, but also applies to out-patients. This is the third of four linked segments.
iLeukout does not conduct or use scientific peer-reviewed data to make any medical claims or reporting. Please confirm with your medical professionals and advisors before attempting or continuing any considerations presented by iLeukout. iLeukout does not make any pharmacological recommendations on our posts. Drug related references are detailed by what methods the author of the post or their medical team might have used. Every patient and medical team is different, and what may have worked for one patient may vary greatly for another, including benefits and side-effects.
Hello Junior, by now, you should start noticing more changes to your body, as you become more aware of your treatment process. Understand that the moment one drop of chemo is infused into your blood, your immune system becomes compromised. Even after you beat the ugly disease, you are at a much higher risk, than the general population, for developing it or other forms of it in the future. For short term or long term, care for your immune system has to be outstanding. You might now have to be sort of a germaphobe, to help stay infection free. Though you might be given antibiotic, antifungal and antiviral medications on a regular basis, you still need to decrease your chances of getting sick. Remember, there are unimaginable amounts of germs around, but that shouldn’t stop you from decreasing contact with them. Your counts will drop significantly, and your diet and hygiene become more important than ever.
You should be very observant of your body, especially your mouth, eyes, skin, lymph nodes, or any other areas relative to your cancer, treatment, and its side effects. You should have a small personal mirror and a flashlight, or your smartphone flashlight to view the changes in your mouth. Have images taken, so you can compare the current to future changes. Your medical team will look into your mouth every day. In most cases, you have to show signs of no mouth sores before you are cleared to go home.
Know your body parts and systems. Based on your cancer, you will need to become quite familiar with your body’s systems, common side-effects, and the key terms associated. For example, someone with prostate cancer could be more familiar with the bladder system and the Gleason score, than someone who may have lymphoma or a blood cancer, and might be more knowledgeable about the lymphatic and blood elements. Breast cancer patients could be more familiar with carcinomas, sarcomas, and surgeries, and also lymphomas later on.
Top 7 Things to remember about hand washing
Though artificial sugar was first discovered due to the lack of hand-washing, there is nothing sweet about not properly washing your hands.
1.You are neutropenic, your counts are low, your immune system is compromised, and you simply cannot afford to mess around with dirty hands. Even healthy people get sick by not properly washing their hands, so you have to take even more care than normal.
2. Soaps vs. Antibacterial hand sanitizers. Hand sanitizers are a great alternative for hand washing, but washing your hands should be the most trusted, when done properly. Here is a quick hand-washing guide from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Another article shows another agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), demanding evidence that antibacterial soaps do work better than traditional soaps, and if they couldn’t be more harmful.
3. For it is written... on most hand sanitizers, that it may take a few minutes before the sanitizers properly purifies your hands. So rapidly rubbing your sanitizer gelled hands seconds after touching dirty substances, and instantly diving into foods might need to be reconsidered. Wait till the alcohol dries before you are clear.
4. Use disposable sponges and soaps when hand washing. If disposable sponges and scrubs aren’t available, use a wash with biodegradable microbeads, which could help remove dirt and germs. St. Ives makes a wash with biodegradable microbeads, oatmeal, and Shea Butter.
5. Enough is enough. Some standards indicate patients should only use hand sanitizers a certain amount of times before the effects could wear off, and some suggest two minutes is ideal.
6. Time is of the essence. Make sure you are spending no less than 20 seconds per hand-wash. You SHOULD have trimmed fingernails that you are able to easily clean and wash.
7. Water temperature. No, you are not expected to use a thermometer for every hand wash, but generally, use water that is comfortable enough, as the CDC hasn’t suggested that higher temperatures might be a necessity for cleaner hands.
Bonus: As often as your hands will be washed, be sure to dry with fresh disposable products, and NOT a reusable towel, especially when you are neutropenic.
As clearly stated in our terms of use, patients are different individuals, and should please confirm with your medical professionals and advisors before attempting or continuing with any medical advice suggested from outside sources, and also research medical advice suggested.
Top 7 Things to consider about keeping your devices clean
1. Keep your devices close, and your sanitizers closer. Using antibacterial wipes often, you should sanitize your tech gadgets: Smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, computers, remotes, hearing aids, gaming controllers, earbuds and earphones, glasses, etc. You should wipe keyboards, screens, and entire surfaces. Be aware that device cases have additional hiding places for bacteria. Properly clean cases and devices separately.
2. We love and cherish our devices, as they bring us entertainment, communication, and information. They are also coated with layers of germs that could keep us in the hospital longer.
3. Try not to make contact with your devices immediately before or after you eat food/snacks or take medicine. Also, avoid contact with your devices when you are using the bathroom.
4. Chargers and cables shouldn’t be forgotten when cleaning, as these are sometimes in contact with the ground.
5. Try setting your devices away from your sleeping areas, bed, couch, pillows, towels, and sheets. Instead, you could have a blanketed layer that separates your devices when around delicate areas like the bed or couch. For example, you could place your laptop on a table, or on top of a blanket that is not touching your inner sheets. Try to avoid clutter, cords, and unused items. 6. If possible, use speakerphone, Facetime, or similar features to keep the phone away from your face and mouth.
7. Try not to sleep too close to your devices. Set your devices away on your table, you wouldn’t want them falling off your hospital bed.
Top 7 Painful procedures encountered when dealing with cancer
1. Tissue, organ, bone, and marrow biopsies and aspirations. Below is a bone marrow aspiration sample. These can be painful, and are usually done after local anesthesia and some sedatives are given if requested.
2. Neuropathy. This side-effect involves trembling, pain, numbness, and a general feeling of weakness on certain limbs and joints. This can happen immediately or during chemo treatments, and can range from severe pain to minimal twitching.
3. Catheter/central line. After the surgery to implant the central line, along with the removal process at the end can be painful. The spasms immediately after the surgery to insert the central line can be devastating.
4. Mucositis. This is the one side-effect that is the most annoying, painful, and just dramatic for most patients. The lining of your throat, mouth, and digestive tract are made up of fast growing cells that a normal person may not notice being shed and replaced. While undergoing certain chemo, fast growing cells are being killed, including good and bad ones. Mucositis can leave you with mouth sores, lesions, puss filled wounds, and major gum irritation. In some cases, the tonsils can also be affected by swelling and irritation. Before treatments start, try to get schedule a dental professional visit. Floss and waterpik before treatments begin, before mucositis starts its terrible reign. In addition, be sure to use the floss picks to gently remove plague or debris if you have to. Magic mouthwash is a prescribed solution used to fight mucositis. Put a bit of magic mouthwash in a cup and in the freezer, yes, for about 15 minutes, and then put it in your mouth. Don’t swish yet, let that medicinal cold ease that pain, irritation, and soreness. You can even meditate while you wait. Don’t swish yet. Let the cold solution sit, coat, and numb for a few minutes, and then finally swish right before spitting out. A viscous Lidocaine solution can also be prescribed to help numb painful sores. Palifermin is a drug given when extreme mucositis is expected, especially during radiation and stem-cell transplants. This drug might have a high success rate, and could have unique side-effects. If you cannot swallow pills due to mouth and throat soreness, you can request the liquid form of most medicines, which come in syringes or caps.
5. Eye pain from Methotrexate. Methotrexate is a popular drug used to fight several types of cancer cells. High doses could cause severe eye pain, which may require steroid eye drops.
6. Heaving from nausea and vomiting/Constipation.
7. Blood clots. Blood clots during cancer treatment may form from pre-existing medical issues, irritation from using certain superficial veins, surgery immobility, and foreign devices such as catheters in the vein.
Top 7 Ways cancer patients beat nausea without drugs
1. Seat upright, or a 30-45-degree angle.
2. Munch on crackers.
3. Take deep breaths while thinking of pleasant things other than the obvious nauseated elephant vomiting in the room.
4. Sip a lemon-lime drink (sprite, sierra mist, or homemade). Ginger ale could work with nausea as well.
5. Calcium carbonate chews that help acid reflux and heartburn.
6. Ice chips or low/limited sugar hard candy.
7. Just go ahead and vomit. Sometimes, nothing you do can stop physics and gravity having its way, or chemistry in the toxicity causing your nausea and vomit. Let the vomit monster have this one, you will be better prepared for the next battle.
Top 7 Drugs and ideas that may or may not help with nausea
iLeukout does not conduct or use scientific peer-reviewed data to make any medical claims or reporting. Please confirm with your medical professionals and advisors before attempting or continuing any considerations presented by iLeukout. iLeukout does not make any pharmacological recommendations on our posts. Drug related references are detailed by what methods the author of the post or their medical team might have used. Every patient and medical team is different, and what may have worked for one patient may vary greatly for another, including benefits and side-effects.
As a cancer patient, you and your caretakers will be given and trusted with some of the most powerful, controlling, helpful, and addicting drugs that are not always for cancer, but rather to help with side effects from treatments. Some of these drugs that may or may not tackle nausea are:
1. Zofran. This drug is beneficial over a long period of time, but may not be as effective for QUICK anti-nausea results, when dealing with severe nausea and vomiting from aggressive chemo. There are alternatives, though this is usually a first and popular choice for oncologists to prescribe. Remember, if Zofran or any other drug is not working, switch to a better choice. DON’T go vomiting for several days expecting different results with a certain drug that isn’t working. This could relate to any drug, as individuals react differently.
2. Ativan is one of the most advanced and fastest working nausea drugs. This could be best for emergency situations where you simply can’t stop vomiting or heaving. This drug could work almost instantly, with its quickly dissolving tablets and intravenous option. It is also known for its calming abilities.
3. Phenergan works with Marinol as a daily preventative and treatable solution for short-term and long-term nausea and vomiting.
4. Marinol in combination with Phenergan could be used as preventative measures during the most severe nausea periods. Marinol is a an anti-nausea medication, and also aids in keeping your APPETITE stable!!! Cancer patients often lose plenty of weight either because mucositis makes eating difficult, or simply due to the lack of appetite, nausea, and vomiting, which deplete the patient of nutrients and medications. Why vomit your nutritious foods and medicine? Don’t! Marinol and Phenergan may work well alone, but together, they may be more efficient. For example, a small dose of Marinol and Phenergan at morning and night could help control very severe nausea, but should be discontinued once intense chemo is no longer administered, or if nausea side-effects have completely subsided and stay controlled. Most of the drugs on this list, except Ativan and intravenous Phenergan, are more like pre-meds that need to be taken several hours before anticipated nausea side-effects. This is why pre-meds of some of these drugs at morning and night, might help subdue nausea.These drugs could also trigger dependencies even after they have done their job, so extreme caution and responsibility must be taken and observed.5. Sucralfate helps as an antacid, and could solve gastrointestinal issues associated with advanced nausea and mucositis.
6. Taking these anti-nausea drugs intravenously might reduce the wait time of the drug effects. Pill forms could take several minutes or hours to work. Ask your nurse if this is a possibility.
7. Phenergan, Ativan, Marinol, and some pain killers: Hydrocodone, Dilaudid, Oxycodone, etc., even with their helpful benefits, these drugs can cause heavy dizziness and drowsiness, and may build dependencies for the user overtime. Please seek medical professional advice, and use responsibly. Even after drugs are prescribed, you and your caretakers should work hard to ensure you are well aware of the various drug dosages, combinations, and side-effects that you might encounter. We shouldn’t aim to defeat cancer, yet give birth to addiction or other issues.
So now you are almost ready to move on to the senior level, when you get to go home. Your grades are listed quite frequently, sometimes every day. For some cancers, your Complete Blood Count (CBC) is like your report card, which will show how your body is reacting to chemo, and how it recovers afterwards. It tells you and your medical team what in the world your body is up to.
At first, you need to be concerned about the 3 top figures on here, the White Blood Cell count, hemoglobin, and platelets. Later, you will uncover the other mysteries as you progress. Most labs have your blood work online, and you can access them through your medical account, save them, and refer to them as you progress and downgrade. If not, ask for printouts of your blood work, to keep and compare for your records. Remember, chemo breaks you down, and you could rebuild back later. Here is a screenshot of sample blood work from online account:
In some cases, you would see stars*** for significance, or the letters H (high) and L (low) next to a number. Every treatment center has their own standards and ranges for their CBCs, so what may be (H) at one cancer treatment center, may be slightly different at another center. You would receive additional results based on your cancer. For example, cancers that have metastasized to a specific organ or region would get more scans and tests related to that area.
As clearly stated in our terms of use, patients are different individuals, and should please confirm with medical professionals and advisors before attempting or continuing with any advice found from outside sources.
