Chemotherapy Side Effects

I had a really great question about why the cotton gloves were in the Christmas gift totes and decided to share with you the reasons behind why some of these specific items are included. This list comes from experience. Over the last 2 years (exactly tomorrow actually) Ben (and I with him) have been in and out of hospitals many many times during surgeries, chemotherapy and emergencies. I got to the point where I just kept an emergency hospital bag pretty much packed. I packed most of the following items every time and would highly recommend them (and the rest of the items in the totes) to anyone going for chemotherapy whether it is just for a day infusion, for an inpatient stay or even for someone going to visit a chemotherapy patient.

Hand Sanitizer

When Ben was receiving chemotherapy his immune function was decreased (just like everyone else on chemotherapy) so he wasn't able to fight off the sickness and bugs that most of us can. This can be life threatening in these patients. It was a very common occurrence for Ben to get sick after visiting with people even if they were not sick. Everyone can carry bugs on them or even be infected themselves without even knowing because they have a functional immune system that is preventing them from feeling the effects of an illness. This is why hand sanitizer is so important. Not only for the chemo patient but for every single person that comes to visit and might be touching the patient or even just things in the patient's room. Bacteria and viruses can live on the surface of objects for hours so they have the potential to infect the next person who picks up that item or another person that touches them. Hand washing is the standard but hand sanitizer is a close second in preventing the spread of bugs by killing them on the spot plus it is very fast and convenient. Alcohol-based sanitizers kill most bugs you encounter on a daily basis. That's pretty good odds! You need to make sure you use enough and rub it in until it's dry. If you do that, you greatly decrease the odds of spreading germs around to others.
Did You Know...Not All Hand Sanitizer Is Equal?
 There are cheaper versions out there (often sold at discount stores) that do not reduce the bacteria on your skin and even help spread the germs around evenly! They do not contain the minimum concentration of alcohol needed to kill bacteria (and may not even have alcohol at all!) So when you are buying hand sanitizer, make sure the ingredient list says it has at least 60% alcohol.
{Check out the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website for lots of information about decreasing the spread of infection and other infectious disease related information. If you didn't already know, I am a pharmacist at a hospital and will sometimes interject shameless plugs to educate the gen pop because I'm a dork. ;) }

 Cotton Gloves and Lip Balm

Washing your hands, as said before, is the standard. This removes the most bacteria and viruses from your skin. Ben washed his hands a lot and this made his hands very dry. Dry hands that are being washed a lot for a normal person may not be a big deal. We can just put some lotion on and then we are better. For someone on chemotherapy it is a different story. Chemotherapy itself can cause dry flaky skin so the combination can cause the skin, especially on their hands, to actually start breaking down or flaking off and it can create large splotchy red patches on the back of the hands (this happened to Ben). It is important to keep the skin as hydrated as possible so a good healing lotion will definitely help. The hands usually suffer the most so putting on cotton gloves after lotion helps keep the moisture in for some added benefit. This is most convenient to do right before bed. Also, you can imagine your lips will also be dry. This increases dramatically if you are on oxygen like Ben was often. A good non-petrolatum based healing lip balm is essential and let me give you a tip... don't have the hospital supply it if it is not absolutely necessary. It is expensive coming from the hospital due to processing fees and stuff.
{Why non-petrolatum/petroleum based? It has a very low melting point so it melts around body temperature and gives off fumes that can easily ignite (highly flammable). It essentially puts your face at high risk of combustion... oxygen + petroleum + small spark = fire face}

SPRY Mints and Biotene Mouthwash

So, Why SPRY? They work! These mints help produce saliva and are made of Xylitol, a tooth-friendly sugar alcohol. Chemotherapy does a real number on mucous membranes (anything that produces body fluids or has rapid turnover/growth of cells) so it can create really bad mouth sores and dry out your mouth. Dry mouth can lead to more dental problems like cavities. Up until recently Ben was still fixing the dental complications from his first round of chemotherapy 10 years ago! This is why producing saliva and preventing dental problems is so important. (Also, Biotene mouthwash)

Blankets, Hats (NEW!) and Socks

While in the hospital, Ben's internal thermostat went on strike. It was impossible for him to stay warm at times. He said that including a warm blanket would be a great benefit to anyone receiving chemotherapy. And let's just say we won't be ordering any hospital socks for Christmas. They aren't the best. The best thing they have going for them are those grippy little rubber pieces on the bottom. So, the best socks for chemo patients would be warm, non-slip socks. This also helps you to hold in your heat... in addition to hats!

And since this completely slipped my mind until just right now, BEANIE HATS are now on the list!! Please help!! Wow. Haha! o_O
Yeah, sometimes your hair falls out.  Aaaaand your head gets cold.
ADDENDUM: We have already had such a great response and all the hats have been donated!
 

Starbursts and Lifesavers

You may not have thought about this before but have you ever had an IV infusion? Have you been able to taste it? It may seem weird but when you are being infused with saline (a salt water solution), some people can actually taste the salt! Ben is one of those blessed people. He also was fortunate enough to taste the chemotherapy, which is nasty might I add. It is not a taste you care to remember but probably will the rest of your life as Ben has since his first round 10 years ago. Lifesavers and Starbursts (in addition to making you salivate) help get rid of the horrible chemo taste in your mouth.

Puzzle Books and other Books

Chemotherapy infusions can last ALL DAY. I am NOT exaggerating. We had days where we were at Huntsman from 8 in the morning to 7 at night. And not just that.... We had to wait at doctor's offices for hours sometimes. Throw in the wait for the lab to draw your blood, for you to check in at the hospital, waiting for the MRI machine (oh.my.goodness.) You learn VERY fast to bring something to do. Most days that we had appointments we were there for at least 3 hours... and you aren't talking to someone the whole time. That's a lot of waiting. Puzzle books (or any types of books or activities) are wonderful and make the time go by faster.

Notebook and Pen

I felt it was a very important thing to record my thoughts and what was going on with Ben. Writing is a very good outlet. Underestimated in my opinion. I wrote in my journal a lot but most of what I wrote down was what exactly was going on. They give you a lot of information. There is no way you can remember everything you need to know without writing it down including your own questions. If you can remember to ask your 2 questions for the doctor after you have been poked and prodded by 1 medical student, 2 residents, a nurse and an attending before they go over every body system and the results of your latest MRI, well you're amazing. Write stuff down. This proved very very useful and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Nail Files
During chemotherapy, the nail growth slows way down and they become extremely brittle so it is important to ensure they stay neat and trimmed. When the nails start growing out after chemotherapy, there is a very weak section between the old growth before chemo and the new growth after chemo. This weak section can cause your nails to actually break off as they grow out a little longer or get snags. Clipping the nails can produce large breaks in the nails so filing is best.

Well, hopefully this helps explain the necessity for some of the items in the gift totes as well as give you an idea of what some of the chemo patient's have to endure.
Thanks for helping them get through this!