Hi Pam,

Nancy,

Just a thought....while I was having chemo I had terrible dizzy spells. One time I had to pull over on the freeway cause I thought I'd faint and crash!! Turns out I was dehydrated...It was kind of shocking to me because I thought I was drinking TONS of water...? Anyway, the doc told me to drink, drink, drink and they eventually went away.

Take care,

Vicki

Hi Pam,

Sometimes it's just something that simple. The funny thing was that I was terrified to tell my doctor about it. I was thinking the worst, of course. But it wasn't until I was in his office, and the nurse was taking my blood, I told her I thought I was going to faint....She panicked (not a good sign from a nurse..) and ran and got the doc. After he gave me a big hunk of chocolate (THAT should cure everything), he told me about being dehydrated. It worked and I never had that problem again while on chemo.

I still sometimes get a little dizzy but run for the water bottle now instead of freaking out!!!

Take care,

Vicki

Hi Nancy,

I'm not a doctor either (I just play one on the message boards )

My dizziness usually came, like clockwork, a week after my treatments. My chemo's were every other Friday. So the alternate Friday appts were just for blood work.( I had my treatments on Friday's so I would be able to work by Monday...I am a single mother of two and have NO help from the Ex...But that's for another post ) I think, for me, maybe I started slacking on drinking water after day 3? I figured I had flushed most of it out so I wasn't as good about it as I could have been, hence the dehydration.

I was VERY sea sick for 3-4 days after chemo and the thought of even water made me feel kinda sick. But the doctor said to drink, drink, drink then pee, pee, pee it out of me, so I forced it down. GULP!!

Yes my potassium levels went way down and the doctor had to put me on medication for it. After a while, I switched to eating a lot of bananas instead. I did NOT like those horse pills as they did a number on my stomach.

I hope the Emmend works for her. I've heard great things about it. I was given Zofran with Reglan and had okay luck with it. I only threw up after my 3rd AC. Never with Taxol though.

I'd say whatever sounds good to her, let her eat it. Even if it is chocolate



Take care all,

Vicki

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/26/a_landscape_of_hope_for_cancer_patients/

This is a website for an organization that will create free indoor/outdoor gardens for folks going thru cancer treatment. It might be something to consider.

The article reads:

A landscape of hope for cancer patients

Colorful gardens create bright spots during dark times

August 26, 2007

When Roberta Hershon's childhood friend Beverly Eisenberg was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2004, Hershon and other friends kept the woman's beloved garden healthy and filled her Sharon home with flowers. The women all loved to garden, and Eisenberg, who was in a wheelchair, could at least look out the window at what she had created. And nurturing the indoor plants gave her something to do.

"It lifted her spirits; it gave her hope," says Hershon, who lives in Dedham. "She and I had talked about, once she got better, doing the same thing for someone else." But Eisenberg died the following August at age 55. Hershon decided to implement the idea in honor of her friend and others stricken with breast cancer.

So began Hope in Bloom, a nonprofit that provides indoor and outdoor gardens to those undergoing treatment for breast cancer. "We wanted to improve the journey through the breast cancer maze," says Hershon. "The hospital treats your illness, but it doesn't do anything for your soul. Chemotherapy is so sterile and stark. Gardens are a way to have something pretty at your residence."

The group, which installed its first garden -- after Eisenberg's -- in July, also in Sharon, tries to get wholesale prices from nurseries and landscape design pro bono. They hope to complete 40 gardens, mostly on the South Shore, by the end of September. "It's first-come, first-served," says Hershon.

In Cohasset, Abigail Alves heard about Hope in Bloom. Her twin, Beth Anderson, had been undergoing treatment for breast cancer for more than a year. Alves knew her sister wasn't much of a gardener, but thought color and greenery would boost her spirits. She called Hershon, and this month Anderson's ordinary Hingham yard was transformed into a lovely garden.

"I just wanted to give her something pretty to look at," says Alves on a recent day, standing next to her identical sister, whose auburn hair has begun to grow back. Anderson has undergone four surgeries, four rounds of chemotherapy, and six weeks of daily radiation treatments. She is now on an experimental anti-cancer drug.

"After 18 months of treatment, this is a very, very bright spot," says Anderson, 44, who has two young children. "Every time I pull into my driveway and look at this, I'll smile."

She spoke amidst a flurry of activity unfolding around her: workers uprooting bushes, replanting them, digging holes, and putting all sorts of new things in the ground. Chris Kennedy of Kennedy's Country Gardens in Scituate designed and supervised the project, and donated the flowers and plants. Herzog Landscaping of Hingham provided free labor. This project was the first one provided to Hope in Bloom completely free of charge. The group relies on donations and fund-raisers for its budget and volunteers for its planning and gardening.

Kennedy, whose mother died of breast cancer three years ago, says the cause is important to him. "If we can do something nice for someone who has breast cancer, we'll bring out the troops," he says. "This is our gift to Beth. She doesn't have to get her hands dirty today."

Anderson stood by watching as workmen removed azaleas, hollies, and rhododendron from the front of her house and transplanted them to the side of her yard. They were replaced with boxwoods, provided by Monrovia, the large California grower. Kennedy was also installing tinkerbell lilacs in front: "What's really cool is that Beth is going to walk out the front door and smell all the lilacs. We want to make it a real colorful garden with lots of pink. Most everything here was green before."

Workers were pulling up a border plant that "just didn't fit," according to Kennedy. A weeping cherry and some coral bells stood by, waiting for their place in the plan. In fact, Kennedy's pickup truck was filled with all sorts of plants: sedum, angelonia, phlox, dahlias, mini-petunias.

Before the day was out, the yard was transformed into a lovely oasis of colors, and Beth Anderson, it seemed, was destined to become a born-again gardener. A new stone bench allows her to sit out and enjoy the garden while keeping an eye on the kids. "I also love to sit and read at the front window and look at the garden."

Her twin is also pleased. "When I called, I said my sister would just like a container plant," says Alves. "But they redid the entire front yard."

As for Anderson, her new garden has been a boon for the entire family. "It's put a smile on all of our faces; it's like Santa Claus. People think cancer is really bad. But it makes you see the incredible goodness in people." She pauses and smiles. "I have always wanted a weeping cherry tree."

For details on the program, visit hopeinbloom.org.

Bella English of Milton can be reached at english@globe.com  

Vicki and Nancy, love your sense of humor and appreciate the information on water and potassium.  I get confused on the potassium and yes Vicki, you are right, the pills are huge! lol

Good afternoon everyone!

Hi Pam,

Evening Pam,

Hi everyone, The last 2 days have been horrible. Lori has been crying and I believe just angry. She was teaching today but said that she was "not a good teacher today". She went to bed when she got home and slept.