I attend every oncologist appointment with my sister who has stage IV cancer. My advice is to take lots of notes and use a calendar. When the doctor talks about the chemo drug name, ask them to spell it for you. My sister’s regimen (and they are all different) is 3 courses of chemo with 3 weeks in between. There is a lot of information for you and the patient to digest. The chemo nurses, as well as the oncologist’s nurse practitioner, are a great resource for when you need clarification. Good luck.

Thank you all for your help. I will be going to the appointments with my dad, so I can ask more questions.

He also needs to sign consent for treatment. Nobody gives potentially dangerous meds like this without documenting informed consent.

I can almost guarantee the meds he will be getting were named, even if he doesn't remember.

They will call in the prescriptions when he starts. He will also get meds via IV when he is getting the chemo. They will NOT leave him hanging. Then chemo nurses will make sure he leaves knowing what to take at home.

I also had the med combo of Compazine, Zofran and Olanzapine (plus Ativan, but I never really took it). Just one or two meds did not do enough for me but these three, along with Pepcid, made it possible for me to work and do family things throughout my own treatment. Yes, your doctors will have a plan, but with all due respect to those doctors, it's the chemo nurses with real intel. They spend more time with patients than the doctors and they know tricks.

One side effect of chemo is reflux and that often presents as nausea long before you feel the heartburn/reflux feeling in your chest. Taking Pepcid for that helped me tremendously. Make friends with those nurses!

I was given compazine, Zofran and olanzapine for nausea and good instructions from the oncologist on which to use when. They have gotten so much better at alleviating the nausea effects of chemo - this should be a top priority. I had a chemo training appointment to go over what to expect right before I started. Maybe there is not always time for this. The chemo nurses are a huge resource for questions like this - will he have someone with him on the first day?

Anonymous wrote:My oncologist gave me long-acting nausea meds in my infusion on chemo days, and prescribed me zofran and…maybe it was Ativan (or something similar) to have on hand at home for nausea (never needed it because the prophylactic dose I got with chemo was extremely effective). I also used Pepcid as needed, for reflux.

Your dad’s oncology team will be very on top of this. They really know what they are doing. They’ll have backup options if zofran doesn’t work.

PP here, and a doctor. This is exactly right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, the most effective medications (like Zofran, or Ondansetron) are going to be prescription medications, and oncologists are very familiar with prescribing them. What does his oncology team have as a plan?

Or were you asking about over the counter herbal things to use as adjuvants, such as ginger chews? I can't tell.

Thank you.
Unfortunately we don’t even know the names of his chemo drugs. He’s starting this week and the doctors didn’t tell him what they will give him.

Ah. There should be a contact point for him with the team, usually an oncology nurse. This is who (or at least the phone number where) he will call if he is having bleeding, fever, or other concerns that don't require the ED.

Has there been anyone present with him at all the visits, and/or is there paperwork you can look through? Failing that, the chemotherapy will likely be given as an infusion. Can a reliable family member go with him to the place where they give the infusion and ask for more details?

There is almost certainly some information he either doesn't understand or is not telling you.

Anonymous wrote:OP, the most effective medications (like Zofran, or Ondansetron) are going to be prescription medications, and oncologists are very familiar with prescribing them. What does his oncology team have as a plan?

Or were you asking about over the counter herbal things to use as adjuvants, such as ginger chews? I can't tell.

Thank you.
Unfortunately we don’t even know the names of his chemo drugs. He’s starting this week and the doctors didn’t tell him what they will give him.

My oncologist gave me long-acting nausea meds in my infusion on chemo days, and prescribed me zofran and…maybe it was Ativan (or something similar) to have on hand at home for nausea (never needed it because the prophylactic dose I got with chemo was extremely effective). I also used Pepcid as needed, for reflux.

Your dad’s oncology team will be very on top of this. They really know what they are doing. They’ll have backup options if zofran doesn’t work.

OP, the most effective medications (like Zofran, or Ondansetron) are going to be prescription medications, and oncologists are very familiar with prescribing them. What does his oncology team have as a plan?

Or were you asking about over the counter herbal things to use as adjuvants, such as ginger chews? I can't tell.

Zofran

weed

Emend if you can find it.

Then, there is always Zofran.

My dad is starting chemotherapy, and I am looking the best medications for nausea/vomiting. Please share if you have any suggestions. Thank you