My friend is having chemotherapy tomorrow...

[zanne]

I'm going with her. She has 2nd stage breast cancer, but it's very aggressive. I have a question to ask those of you with experience in this area. What is the best thing I can do for her? She hates to ask for help and she seldom admits when she doesn't feel well, so I have to kind of guess what to do for her. I've never helped anyone who got sick because of chemo before. Any suggestions?

[flamingyouth]

1. You might want to post this in the Cancer Support Group here too

It's nice of you to go with her - that is a huge help that you're supporting your friend. I think a lot will depend on what kind of chemo she has and how her body reacts to it. I wish her the best of luck in her recovery. :)

[Warpy]

2. Just be there

The first day may not be as bad as she expected it to be, but successive days will kick her ass. Some days she'll be so wiped out she can barely get from her front door to the couch, and you can bet she'll be sleeping in her clothes a lot. There is a lot of deep pain with chemo. Every bone and tendon will hurt. She will get depressed and seem a little irrational at times. She may try to push you away when it becomes tiring just having another person around. She'll be off her feed.

Make sure she stocks up on health shakes because some days, that's about all she'll be able to take as nourishment. (my mother pronounced chocolate Slim Fast as the best, so experiment with different brands and different flavors)

Encourage her to take all the drugs she can get. They're tools dedicated to helping her function until chemo is over.

Oh, and find out what her favorite color is and get her some head scarves. Wigs are hot and uncomfortable.

[zanne]

3. Thank you for your good advice.

She's already tired. Yesterday was her second chemo session. (She'll have four in all). Thanks for the heads up about the emotional issues. I hadn't thought of those things.