02/21 BEPx3 Starting Date

[dust]

I remember a few of us were starting today so I figured I would start a thread so that we could share the next 9 weeks together and seek advise from those that have already completed.

I just got home about an hour ago, I was there from 10:30am-5:00pm for Day 1. Not feeling anything at the moment. I was allowed my own private room for this first day but I think tomorrow I join the general population of recliners. I am curious to know if anyone got a port or not. i chose not to because I don't trust my 5 year old when I'm at home from not hugging me and accidentally knocking it. I received some emend, dexamethasone, and paionosetron before getting my 230mg of Etoposide and 45mg of Cisplatin. The nurse suggested taking a Lorazepam tonight to help me rest and with any possible nausea. I don't like taking medications until I feel I really need them, but i know these aren't normal circumstances so I probably will.

I've done a pretty good job mentally until this point but for the first time they actually worried me a little when they said my red and white blood cells are low. apparently not low enough to cause them to delay the chemo today though. Other than that, a pretty carefree and boring day. Well, boring with 1' of snow.

[Frenhie]

You are very brave my friend. First day down!

[James' Mum]

Hi Dust, glad all is going ok so far. I was thinking of you and ga mom starting down the same path as my son.

I had a super stressful weekend worrying about the fact that James' oncologist was putting him up for 4xBEP when everything I've read indicated that 3xBEP would be sufficient and in the end I emailed Dr Einhorn who, even though it was early Sunday morning Australia time, replied within 4 hours (!!!!!) and said that 4x was definitely too much. So yesterday I spoke to James' oncologist (a very uncomfortable conversation on my part) and his concern was that since the affected lymph nodes were in both the abdomen and the chest, rather than just the abdomen, he felt that 4x was warranted. Anyway, he was very good about it and said that he would liase with Dr Einhorn. That was a huge relief to me.

So then the chemo started - James began with a saline flush and then had all 3 of the BEP components over the next few hours (in a cannula nr his wrist, not a port). He also had the Dexamethasone and Emend and something else by injection but I can't remember what it was. He lost a bit of colour from his face but for the most part he felt fine but felt heavy and constipated by later in the afternoon (but I don't think it was helped by his girlfriend's mother who kept buying him more stuff to eat!!!!)

My husband stayed overnight with him (James is staying in hospital for the 5 days of chemo) and he's feeling ok this morning but hasn't been to the loo yet. I'll be going up to see him soon but all in all, so far so good.

[Wesmom]

wesmom

My son had the port and it worked great for him. I guess I don't know much about the chemo even though my son went through it too. He went in daily for his always starting around 9:30 in the morning and finishing by 1:30. He was given the same meds as you. If you get time you may want to read some of the threads, because there is a lot of helpful info. For example foods or drinks to avoid to minimize acid reflux problems.

[hbr777]

I remember a few of us were starting today so I figured I would start a thread so that we could share the next 9 weeks together and seek advise from those that have already completed.

I just got home about an hour ago, I was there from 10:30am-5:00pm for Day 1. Not feeling anything at the moment. I was allowed my own private room for this first day but I think tomorrow I join the general population of recliners. I am curious to know if anyone got a port or not. i chose not to because I don't trust my 5 year old when I'm at home from not hugging me and accidentally knocking it. I received some emend, dexamethasone, and paionosetron before getting my 230mg of Etoposide and 45mg of Cisplatin. The nurse suggested taking a Lorazepam tonight to help me rest and with any possible nausea. I don't like taking medications until I feel I really need them, but i know these aren't normal circumstances so I probably will.

I've done a pretty good job mentally until this point but for the first time they actually worried me a little when they said my red and white blood cells are low. apparently not low enough to cause them to delay the chemo today though. Other than that, a pretty carefree and boring day. Well, boring with 1' of snow.

Hi -

You might have a private room each day, as your treatment is so long. And you can always ask for a bed/private room.

As for the port, your 5 year old could not dislodge it - it is surgically implanted under your skin in your chest. My husband did 3X BEP, and after round one, got a port implanted. Chemo is totally doable without a port, but my husband ended up very happy that he got one.

My only advise is to not hesitate to take the anti-nausea meds. For the first three days the nausea is usually really well controlled because of the Emend. This weekend and the the following week, you might want to use those meds and not let the possible nausea get ahead of you. Zofran is one anti-nausea med that seems to work well.


You will become well-versed in your blood counts. Just remember to not let them delay the Bleo next week if your counts are low. Bleo doesn't lower white blood counts.

Good luck to you tomorrow and the rest of the week. Godspeed on your treatment.

[hbr777]

My son had the port and it worked great for him. I guess I don't know much about the chemo even though my son went through it too. He went in daily for his always starting around 9:30 in the morning and finishing by 1:30. He was given the same meds as you. If you get time you may want to read some of the threads, because there is a lot of helpful info. For example foods or drinks to avoid to minimize acid reflux problems.

The acid reflux is an issue we wish we had been prepared for and we were really surprised by it. Prilosec did the trick for round one, but by round 2, my husband had a prescription.

[ga-mom]

Well Derek started his Chemo today!....It's sounds like he took the same as dust and James. So far so good.....no sickness yet course I know that is probably yet to come. Today we was there from 8:15 til 2:00 but they told us tomorrow wouldn't be that long. The only thing that really concerned me was they didn't have the Bleomycin.....said they didn't have any and had called all local hospital and infusion center in the area and no one had any??? They ordered from the maker and had no ideal when they would get it that there was a national shortage...has anyone ever heard of this before??? They assured me he would get it as soon as they get it. So they gave him the EP. Hope everyone else is doing good and sounds like y'all are. So here's to round 2 tomorrow!!

ga-mom

[S P]

Good luck to all of you! Will be keeping an eye on this thread. I'll probably be starting 3xBEP in early to mid-March. I hate getting stuck all the time, so I'm thinking maybe a port would be a good idea for me, too.

[ga-mom]

My son didn't have the port.....but they left his IV thing in his arm....they just wrapped it up with a bandage so he wouldn't have to get stuck again tomorrow

Good luck SP when you start yours also!

[dust]

I am supposed to have my Bleo tomorrow so I will ask my nurse if she has heard anything about it. i took a small nap from 7pm-8pm and woke up and had a couple of dry heaves so I took one of the pills. Drinking water and having some toast plus I took a nice shower and feel a little better.

Best of luck to you when you start SP. Hopefully by then we can join the ranks of the others on here and offer some great advise about the treatment.

[James' Mum]

Today is Day 2 and James is still feeling constipated so he's been given something else to help with that. He's in good spirits though and has hung his "It's All Fun And Games Until Somebody Loses A Nut" t.shirt from the shelf on his wall.

[dust]

Its good to know that he definitely keeping a good attitude. I hope the medication helps him get to the loo (I just wanted to say loo!) I was able to go last night which is really odd to say in the first place and even more odd to say to someones mom. My dry heaves and headache came back shortly after I had showered and then tried to lay back down. I popped in an Lorazepam and two hours after that I was knocked out and slept for about 3 hours, drank some water and went back to sleep for another 3 hours. Feeling a lot better this morning.

Ga-mom, I'm not taking my laptop with me so hopefully I can check in on this site with my phone. I'll let you know what I hear about the bleo.

Thanks HBR about the blood-count advise. I probably wouldn't have questioned them if they decided to delay the bleo next week because of my blood. I'll keep the literature with me and if it comes up I will debate.

Good luck to everyones day 2

[hbr777]

Dust, you might want to ask for Zofran for nausea. Just to have it in your arsenal in case you need it.

[S P]

Good luck SP when you start yours also!

Best of luck to you when you start SP. Hopefully by then we can join the ranks of the others on here and offer some great advise about the treatment.

thanks, both. My post I/O oncology visit is tomorrow where I'll find out path and marker levels and what exactly I'll need, but based on what we know I think chemo is pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point. My wife has some familiarity with this and said it didn't look like a purely seminoma tumor, so we're assuming non-seminoma and chemo. Trying to maintain a positive attitude. I think the news has been just as tough if not tougher on my wife and especially my folks than it has been on me.

btw, speaking of laptops, my iPad is my new best friend. I have a laptop also, but have had no desire to use it due to it sitting on the incision point and not being the least bit comfortable. I think the iPad will work great for the next few months. I'm loading everything I can think of on it including tons of music, TV show episodes that I've never had time to watch, movies, and offline PDF copies of the various TC related websites out there in case I want to look stuff up. Too bad it isn't the 3G version, but my phone has net access covered if I need it.

[Evtrai]

Ginger Ale/tea infusion does wonders with nausea, upset stomach, stomach ache and also removes bad taste off your mouth, I got the nausea several times and after a few sips of ginger tea with honey I felt way better, I drank a few sips also with meals and it helps a lot too.