My husband has testicular cancer, what will Chemo be like?

What the person above me said is partly true. Chemo affects everyone differently. Not everyone feels sick. Tired is more the general feeling. Some of us never even have a problem with nausea or vomiting. It all depends on the age of the patient, dosage, frequency, and type of drug used. Also some, me for one, speak to our doctors and tell them exactly what we want and not want out of chemo. This helps them plan the chemo treatments. Ask your doctors what medications they plan to use and do your own research. Speak up about any concerns you have.

It sounds as if your hubby is in good physical shape. This is a plus for him. More likely he will feel tired on chemotherapy days and possibly the day after. From the American Cancer Society.

What are common side effects?

You are not alone if you have questions about side effects. Before chemo starts, most people worry about whether they will have side effects and, if so, what they will be like. The most common side effects of chemo are listed here. They are discussed in more detail toward the end of this section.

* Anemia (low red blood cell count)
* Fatigue (extreme tiredness)
* Hair loss
* Increased chance of bruising, bleeding, and infection
* Nausea and vomiting

Chemo may affect parts of your body in the following ways:

* Intestinal and stomach problems
* Appetite and weight changes
* Sore mouth, gums, and throat
* Nerve and muscle problems
* Dry and/or discolored skin
* Kidney and bladder irritation
* Sexual and fertility issues because of effects on reproductive organs

What should I remember about side effects?

* Every person doesn’t get every side effect, and some people get few, if any.

* The severity of side effects varies greatly from person to person. Be sure to talk to your doctor and nurse about which side effects are most likely with your chemo, how long they might last, how bad they might be, and when you should call the doctor’s office about them. For more information see the section called "When to call your doctor."

* Your doctor may give you medicines to prevent some side effects before they happen.

* Many people have no long-term problems from chemo. And although side effects can be unpleasant, they must be measured against the need to kill the cancer cells.

Here are three good sources of drug information;
http://www.cancer.gov/drugdictionary/.
http://www.rxlist.com.
http://www.webmd.com/drugs/index-drugs.aspx.

All treatments are different by person, cancer, how aggressive it needs to be treated, his reaction, frequency, etc. The thing to consider is that he will be sick, weak, possibly lose hair, etc. He will also be susceptible to catching colds, flu, etc. so be careful to exposing him to these. I wish him all the best and hope all goes well. Good luck

Chemo may cause a person to be so weak that they might need help moving around for days. The person may also feel sick after a chemo session & lose appetite for food and may be depressed.

If your husband’s cancer is at the 1st-3rd stage, I suggest you give him trusted supplements that boost the immune system. 4Life Transfer Factor Plus is powerful enough to boost the immune system up to 437%, increases Natural Killer cells (which kills cancer cells) better than IL-2 & has NO side effects.
I have 2 loved ones who are living free of cancer today after battling 1st & 3rd stage cancers with this supplement & managed to avoid chemotherapy. A family friend who is an oncologist strongly discouraged chemo when my uncle had NPC cancer. He showed us a journal entry where Australian oncologists put together a statistic of cancer patients who underwent chemo & a huge percentage of patients do not make the 5 yr lifespan after their cancer cured. Most went into remission.

I wish you good luck & I hope you too will overcome cancer in your family.

http://research.priormy4life.com/TransferFactor.aspx

Oh right, you need to take the right dosage for your condition. If you will email me with information regarding your husband’s condition, I may get you the information on how to take the supplement so your husband can benefit for his condition.

I have recently had 3 cycles of BEP chemo, the third of which was about 5 weeks ago. My experience was relatively positive in that I felt tired, but not often sick. Eating small, frequent meals really helped, as did keeping fairly active. For me, the less I moved around the more tired I felt, but this differs from person to person, most important is to do whatever you most feel like doing. Whilst everyone feels different and I think its highly personal as to how people deal with it both emotionally and physically, it definitely doesnt have to be the nightmare experience that some people describe. Also, as one of the other comments says, it helps to remember that whilst the treatment has certain side effects its all for great reasons that its being given. I certainly felt somewhat comforted at the fact that treatment for testicular cancer is highly effective and has an excellent cure rate, even in many advanced cases.