r/Chemotherapy

Hello. I was initially treated for stage 4BHGSOV withl carboplatin & taxol. I ended up with neuropathy in my feet. Mostly numbness a little tingling but no pain. Now after a reoccurrence, I’m started on six cycles of carboplatinum/liposomal doxorubican. After one infusion I’m already noticing some more neuropathy my feet mostly numbness. My oncologist has referred me for an appointment to get some acupuncture in my feet. Has anyone tried that and had success. She said the gabapentin wouldn’t help because I’m not experiencing any pain just numbness and some tingling.

Does anyone have experience with Venlafaxine to help with neuropathy and hot flashes (and also anxiety)? My chemo is 6 rounds of:

• CARBOplatin Commonly known as: Paraplatin
• PACLitaxeL Commonly known as: Taxol

And I have had two out of 6 rounds and am experiencing some neuropathy and major hot flashes.

Thank you!

I just had my first oncology visit today after being confirmed with breast cancer on June 25. I still need my breast MRI and PET so I have a bit of time to think about how to handle this.

I’ll be doing 4 rounds of Adrianycin and Cytocan together, the cycle will be every 2 weeks. After it will be Taxol, 4 rounds every 2 weeks. 8 rounds total for 16 weeks (if my math is correct)

My oncologist was clear this is likely to cause total hair loss. She said cold capping doesn’t really work; but if I wanted to I could do it and always stop if I wanted to. I know it is at my expense bc of my insurance. I have money saved I could use, esp since i likely won’t be traveling anytime soon.

My hair is long and thick, I love it and it is part of my identity. Even at 38 family would make comments about cutting it shorter as I age but, I just love it long. So this is so hard for me. I think I’m ok with trying to save eggs and choosing a double mastectomy, but I don’t know what to do about my hair. And honestly my eyelashes, bc they are long too which I love and make my eyes stand out. Sorry for that more of a heart dump I guess. At worst I know I’d like to donate it before starting chemo and keep it short incase i don’t need to shave it.

But, can anyone offer insight if you’ve had a similar treatment and how the hair part went?

I'm supposed to be starting Carbo + Taxol on Thursday 7/9.

I currently have a ticket to a concert 2 hours away on Sunday 7/12.

Is it asinine to think that I might actually feel up for going? I would really hate to sell or give away the ticket and then want to go but also would hate for it to go to waste if I won't feel up for it.

Apologies for the low importance of this question compared to other very serious questions here, I hope this isn't offensive to anyone but it does relate to chemo side effects

Hi,

My 82 yr old father just started chemotherapy. This guy has worn an LL bean bathrobe for as long as I can remember. His body temperature has been fluctuating a lot so he ends up wanting to put on or take off his robe multiple times throughout the day.

Standing up and getting his arms through the holes has become a burden for him. Does anyone have experience with ponchos or other warm clothing that is easy to put on/remove? He is currently receiving treatment through an IV if that helps.

Thank you!

My family member(FM) is on combo chemo/immunotherapy. FM is having severe swelling in the feet. After elevating feet, they are extremely painful when put down.

Has anyone had similar issues? Do you have anything that helped? TIA.

Has any of you dealt with this during treatment. If so how did you remedy it. I am doing the rinse the doc recommended starts with a B. But it doesnt seem to be helping anymore. I have a treatment today and I plan on leaving a message for the team for what to do next.

Thanks for any help yall can give. 🫶

Last fall I was diagnosed with High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer.

For months I didn't tell many people. Not because I was ashamed. But because I wasn't ready for the reactions. The pity. The silence. The not knowing what to say.

So I started writing instead.

Small moments. Hard truths. Things I wish someone had told me before all of this.

Treatment is behind me now and I feel well. But the experience , it stays with you. And somewhere along the way I realised that putting it out there, even anonymously, makes it feel less lonely.

I called it Between Scans. Because that's where most of this life happens now. The waiting. The hoping. The trying to live like yourself in between appointments.

If you're in it right now, or you've been through it, I think you might recognise some of what I share.

Posting the link in comments in case it helps anyone the way writing it has helped me.

Not all, but MOST of my hair fell out during chemo. It looked so bad that I ended up just shaving my whole head. The strands that didn’t originally fall out have already grown back about an inch, but where it did fall out, nothing. It’s still, if anything, stubble. My question is, should I reshave it again after my last chemo so it will be even? Or will it grow back in either way?

Food taste nasty and I can't eat. I am not hungry so I figured it is all good and well. Everyone wants me to eat more ( i eat maybe the equivalent of one meal per day) dr gave me some tips but I wanted tips from people who have had actual experience with this taste not wanting to eat crap. Also once I put food in my mouth sometimes I have to quickly spit it out cos I start to dry heave.

Has anyone gone through this and if so how did you deal with it. Thanks in advance for the tips.

I have been on maintenance with Pem every 3 weeks and Ketruda every 6 weeks for some months. I am dropping the Pemexetred.

Last infusion I got both, 2 weeks later had diarrhea, going on 7 days now.

Last time I saw my doctor, six days ago, I mentioned the one day of diarrhea, and she was very concerned and asked me more about it, if it was like the dry heaves. It wasn’t at that time, but it’s getting closer.

I have a call into my doctors office, but I don’t have much hope of hearing back in a timely fashion. I’m taking OTC meds and they have no effect.

Does anybody have any experience like this? Will it be better now that I’m quitting the pemexetred?

It’s been 1 year since I finished paclitaxel chemotherapy, but I still have peripheral neuropathy. Both of my feet tingle, and stepping on even a tiny pebble is very painful. I don’t have numbness, just extreme sensitivity on the soles of my feet. Has anyone else experienced this? Did it eventually get better?

I just got home yesterday after my first round for synovial sarcoma - doxorubicin and ifosfamide. My goodness I’m on a sleeping marathon. Being awake feels too difficult, too nauseous and too much effort moving around, so back to bed it is. I seriously hope that it stays like this and dosent get too much worse. The only other symptoms to speak of are dry hands and sore mouth. Plus I’m still peeing like nobody’s business, perhaps a hangover from the diuretics they gave me in hospital.

Hi everyone, I’ve just completed my first round of chemo. I’ve started noticing quite a bit of hair loss whenever I touch or wash my hair, and it’s been quite emotional.

I’m wondering how everyone managed washing their hair during this stage. Do you still wash it as usual, or do you wash it less often? Did you use a particular shampoo, brush, or technique to reduce shedding? Any tips or advice on what helped you would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much in advance for sharing your experiences. ❤️

Hi everyone,

My husband was diagnosed with stage 4 appendix cancer about a month ago. He’s 37 and was completely healthy otherwise, so this has been a huge shock for us. Honestly, finding out felt like getting hit by a bus.

He just finished his second round of FOLFOX (5-FU and oxaliplatin). The first round wasn’t too bad aside from some insomnia from the steroids, but this round is definitely hitting him harder. They also just introduced irinotecan.

For anyone who’s been through this chemo or cared for someone who has, what helped the most?
He’s been having a lot of night sweats, and I feel terrible because I know I can’t point a fan or cold air directly at him with the oxaliplatin cold sensitivity. Is there anything that made you or your loved one more comfortable?

I’m also trying to think ahead for the rough days after treatment. From what I’ve seen so far, days 2 and 3 seem to be the hardest. Are there any things you found really helpful that I should have on hand?
I’ve also been trying to keep our home as clean as possible. We bought several air purifiers, and I disinfect regularly, but I don’t want to use anything with strong chemicals or scents that could bother him. Are there any cleaning products or routines you’d recommend?

This is all so new to us, and I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to take good care of him. Any advice, tips, or things you wish you had known would mean so much.
Thank you. ❤️

I've just done round two of four on paclitaxel - carboplatin and even though I've had scalp cooling I would say I've lost about 30% of my hair after the first round already.

I'm assuming that I'll lose more again as I finish the course of infusions.

For those who've had the same chemo, how soon after you finished this treatment did you notice that the hair falling stopped, and that the regrowth started? Is there a pause between the loss and then regrowth coming later, or does the regrowth start fairly soon after the hair fall stops?

I'm trying to cheer myself up by reminding myself it's only temporary and it'd be nice to have an estimation of when I would notice the upturn.

I will have 5 weeks of daily radiation after this, but as it's only around my abdomen I'm assuming it won't affect the hair on my scalp. I'm not in the least bit worried about loss of body hair, in fact that can stay gone as long as it wants!!

Hi everyone. I'm 19M, i was diagnosed with medulloblastoma on 26th 2025. I completed the surgery, chemotherapy for 15 days, radiation and also adjuvent chemotherapy successfully according to my doctors. It's been over 2 months since I've finished my last adjuvent chemo cycle and I'm still struggling to eat. 4 spoons and I'm done. Infact i don't even want to eat anything. How do i get back my appetite?? I'm suffering to eat for almost a year i can't do this anymore. My doctors can't help. The medicines that were given to create appetite did not work. What do i do?

*I know this is a sensitive topic for some!! im thankful for all advice 😊*

I know someone who is going through chemotherapy, and she is having a hard time finding things to eat. im wondering if anyone who has been through chemotherapy or knows anyone who did has any suggestions with food. What did you eat when going through chemo??

Requirements: no raw meat, basically a pregnancy diet, high in calcium and/or protein

My mom’s oncologist said she’d be doing 4 cycles of chemo, but then the scheduler called and said it would be 17 cycles. This seems unusually high and I fear the treatment may be harder on her than the long cancer itself. Is this normal? We have our chemo education call tomorrow and I’m just trying to make sense of this, and put together a list of questions. Thank you all for any insight/question suggestions, anything really. We’re both so confused and scared.