I'm going through 4 months of chemo now. Biggest issue for me is hand foot syndrome from the toxic drug leaching into the tissues of my hands and feet from the capillaries. Feels like a bad sunburn from the inside out and it's painful to walk any distance and for handling things with my hands. Light switches on lamps are awful... I am a performing guitarist and I can't really play now. But this is temporary and these symptoms will go away after a month following the end of my chemo at the end of October. Different drugs have different side effects, so your experience may be very different. Saw the doctor today and they are going to cut the dosage by 25% to ease things up a bit. I wanted to make sure that this wouldn't compromise the treatment, but she assured me that having gone this far at a maximum dose, it would be better to have better quality of life for the next couple of months.
I had a WOC nurse who had a good metaphor for why chemo is a good idea. I had done chemo-radiation earlier in the year and then had LAR surgery to remove most of my rectum and sigmoid colon. Chemo is the last step before a possible reversal. She said that when you make cookies, no matter how well you scraped the dough from the bowl, you still wash the bowl. Though my tumor and surrounding tissue were removed, the possibility of microscopic cancer still being present in my body makes this step of "washing the bowl" much better than having a reoccurance a couple of years from now. That helps me embrace this part of the treatment despite the fatigue, digestive upset and the stinging in my hands, feet and mouth. This will end and it's all for a good purpose.
Just can't wait to get back to long walks in the woods with my dog and playing guitar, the great loves of my life beyond family...
If you're asking about alcohol and smoking while on chemo, then sorry for missing the point! This may be a good opportunity to consider breaking the cord with smoking. I quit a long time ago and it took many attempts to finally do so. The thing that finally did it was a mantra of telling my self that I am now a non-smoker, that I used to smoke and now I don't anymore. That statement of fundamental identity was surprisingly powerful. Remember how whole and complete you were as a child before you ever smoked. And remember that cravings, no matter how strong, do pass pretty quickly if you can wait them out. They come and go... (Sorry if you already know this or have no desire to quit...). As for alcohol, I find it's ok to drink a little while on chemo, and a little is all it takes compared to my previous habits. If I listen to my body and brain when I drink on chemo, I find that one drink is really all I want and only every now and then. If you can, listen to your body and follow that rather than simply the habits that may have previously shaped your behavior.
Didn't mean to share so much. Take what's helpful, if any is, and forget the rest. 😊