When it comes to one’s health, cancer can be one of the scariest words you can hear. There are a few ways to treat it, namely surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a treatment where chemicals are introduced to the body with the hopes that it will minimize the cancerous cells in the body. While chemotherapy can be a life-saving treatment, it has a lot of effects on the body and livelihood of the patient. There are a few ways to prepare oneself for chemotherapy, and here are a few tips to get ready for the challenge.
Plan Ahead for Side Effects
There are a lot of side effects associated with chemotherapy, and it’s important that you prepare for them. While mood swings, nausea, and appetite changes are on the list, most people immediately think of hair loss when they think of effects associated with chemotherapy. Penguin Cold Caps are one product to help you plan ahead for hair loss. They work to cool your scalp which in turn helps to minimize hair loss. While it won’t completely stop the hair loss, Penguin Cold Caps will help slow the process down.
Make Arrangements for Additional Help
Chemotherapy can be very taxing on the body physically and emotionally. While it is helpful for cancer patients to go to therapy, it is important that they have someone to help them through the physical changes. Chemotherapy can leave patients feeling weak and tired which makes it hard to do formerly basic things such as preparing meals or taking the trash out. Another big way to prepare for chemotherapy is by making arrangements for additional help. Whether it’s in the form of a family member who will be there every day or an in-home aide who stops by for a few hours daily, they can help make the process easier.
Prepare a Treatment Bag
Once you go through chemotherapy, preparing a treatment bag might be the least of your worries. Having a treatment bag can help the process by stocking yourself with items to keep you comfortable and keep your mind off what’s going on. Items like snacks and drinks can help if you’re feeling hungry or thirsty. Other items like games, movies, or magazines can help keep you and your mind occupied through the treatment as well. Chemotherapy sometimes dry out your skin and lips, so lotions and lip balms are great products to round out the items in your treatment bag.
Visit a Dentist
You might be wondering why you should visit a dentist as you prepare for chemotherapy, but it’s very crucial. The treatment could play a very big role in your oral health for a number of reasons. Chemotherapy has a number of effects on dental health which includes dry mouth, painful gums and mouth, and more importantly, it can make you more susceptible to infections. Because of this, it is absolutely necessary to visit a dentist prior to beginning any chemotherapy treatment.
Arrange Transportation
As we’ve mentioned numerous times, chemotherapy has a lot of side effects. After your treatment, you might be dealing with nausea, vomiting, and fatigue, all reasons not to get behind the wheel. Prior to starting treatment, you should arrange transportation to and from your treatment center or hospital. Another thing to consider is getting a wheelchair to take maximum stress off yourself after the chemotherapy treatment.
Chemotherapy can be one of the most difficult things someone can go through and we can only hope to make it easier on some. While there are numerous ways you can prepare for chemotherapy, these five tips are great stepping stones to begin the process.
