G'day Barny. I'm a cancer survivor who has been through a lot, and survived a few situations the docs never expected me too, and have hopefully come out the other side of it now for good. I just wanted to let you know if ever you need to talk to someone, please feel free to contact me at silver_and_sand@hotmail.com

My treatment was lots and lots and lots of chemo over a looonnnggg time, and if you or a loved one is going through that too, then here's a few tips that I learnt along the way that may or may not be relevant:
- avoid the smell of fat/oil or you'll want to projectile vomit, especially melted cheese - it's a bit like pregnancy, where you can have a super strong sense of smell through treatment and it makes you a bit queazy at times.
- if you get a strange metallic taste from the chemo, then chew gum.
- avoid flowers, dirt, movie theatres and also any food that is uncooked (a low immune system can't cope with germs). Movie theatres is an odd one, but apparently they're usually very poorly cleaned, and because they're always in the dark (no sunlight) there's lots of germs in them. Start getting fanatical about washing your hands.
- if you have a low platelet count, start using a very soft toothbrush, and also use an electric shaver instead of a razor.
- drink lots of water during treatment, to help your kidneys flush out the toxins from your treatment.
- if you haven't already lost your hair, and your treatment is such that you will, you might want to start looking for a couple of hats right now, because when your hair does fall out, it will happen fast, and your head is gonna feel very cold if you're not used to being bald. Also, some chemo can make you very sensitive to sunburn, so you might want to ask the doc if that's the case with you, and if so you'll need to wear a hat and lots of sunscreen if you go out in the sun.
- avoid sugar. This was something I did throughout my treatment, without anyone suggesting it to me, but I think might have really helped me. My thinking was you have chemo to knock out the cancer cells, so why give them a shot of instant energy to help them bounce back and continue to multiply. I say starve the ******* of sugar so that the rounds of treatment can have a better effect. This also means no alcohol.
- if you know you will be spending some time in hospital, pack a bag with some books, magazines, crossword puzzles, mp3 player, cards, board games, etc. because an hour in reality seems like 10 hours when you're stuck in hospital, and there's only so many times you can count the number of floor tiles in your room. I assure you that when the doc is trying to decide whether or not to send you home after being in hospital for several weeks, and decides to keep you just to monitor your progress for another week, you will want to strangle him, and will start plotting your escape.
- if ever you start to question whether or not your doctor(s) knows what they are doing, then get a second, third or fourth opinion until you find someone you're confident they know what they are doing. My first doc misdiagnosed me and gave me the wrong type and quantity of chemo, a second doc recommended treatment that would have killed me, a third doc gave me no hope of survival and didn't want to tarnish his survival record by trying to treat me, and finally the 4th doc delved in, discovered the real diagnosis, still gave me a bad prognosis, but was very honest and open about it, and was willing to give me a fighting chance by giving me the correct type and amount of chemo. When you've got cancer, you need to feel like your doc is really going in to bat for you, leaving nothing to chance, and that he/she will do absolutely anything and everything they possibly can for you.
- be kind to the nurses. While it's the docs that come up with the gameplan for treating the cancer, it's the nurses who are often the ones who implement it. I've seen some patients treat their nurses like rubbish, and their treatment seemed to suffer because of it. Become your nurse's favourite patient and you will get the best treatment in return.

Getting cancer can have a way of refocusing your real needs and ideals. One day, when I find myself on my deathbed, whether that day comes tomorrow or 50 years from now, I hope to be able to look back on my life with very few regrets, if any. I will live this life on earth just the once, but it will be to the fullest and I'll endeavour to leave it better off for having had a positive influence on others. It's all too easy to give-in and allow cancer to bring out the worst in you. You can spite it best by making the experience turn you into a better person than before.

Anyway, I wish you and yours the best Barny. You will have to fight to beat cancer, so make it a good one, and show the ******* it picked the wrong person to mess with.

Kind Regards,
Joel

__________________
...time held me green and dying, though I sang in my chains like the sea. - Dylan Thomas