Prevention Is Better Than Cure

The problem with any allopathic and some natural medications — they have side effects.

This was brought home to me again when I went in for chemo. The nurse explained that they were running short of one of the drugs I normally take so they were going to use a different one that should be as effective. The former drug had tinnitus as one of the side effects, as well as possible heart problems, which is why they sent me to a heart doctor after I completed treatment.

This time around, it’s kidney failure that could occur.

All of this is under the category severe side effects. The fatigue, nausea, etc., are just a given. So is the hair loss.

However, kidney failure is a new one to me.

The problem with chemo — in order to kill fast replicating cancer cells, they damage other fast replicating cells in your body. The drugs can’t differentiate.

One thing I do before chemo is fast for at least one day beforehand. This apparently signals the healthy cells to slow down but the cancer cells don’t get the message. This theoretically helps protect the healthy cells.

I know that this works, at least in my case, because when I do it, I have less side effects.

For the kidneys — to protect them, while undergoing treatment, they hooked me up to two liters of saline, one after the other. The first was hooked up when they gave me my first chemo drug, the second with the second one.

I ended up going to the bathroom four times during the 5 hours I was there, and was asked to measure my output in a conveniently provided cup that after being used was thrown into the bin set aside for “medical waste”. Note, the urine was flushed down the toilet after being measured, it was not thrown into the bin!

While this wasn’t fun, it was nothing compared to having to take the pole holding the bags with me while I went to and from the bathroom.

Being there for 5 hours didn’t make my day, either.

However, on a positive note, apparently my urine output was so good they had no worries about my kidneys.

To continue to help keep them healthy, I made sure to drink plenty of water when I got home. Of course, that meant plenty of trips to the bathroom. I kinda missed the cup. It was interesting to measure the urine and I am sick enough I would have recorded in the spreadsheet I use to record my daily O2 counts and heart rate.

The other thing I am doing — for the next few days I am having a little bit of unsweetened organic cranberry juice in a cup of sparkling water. The water makes it easier to take, since it’s intensely tart.

However, cranberry juice is not just an old wives’ tale — there is actually evidence that shows it works to help keep your urinary tract healthy, but there are caveats. It doesn’t work for everyone, and it can cause kidney stones in those who are prone to them.

For women like myself, however, who once frequently dealt with UTIs, I have found this to be a great treatment. I am very aware of my body, so, for me, I simply start taking it at the first sign of an issue, and 9 times out of 10 it saves me from taking antibiotics.

After the warning about my kidneys yesterday, I decided to take it. After all, the kidneys ARE part of the urinary tract!

Hopefully this will work, along with continuing to take plenty of water for a few days, to keep my kidneys working.

Given that I have cancer, it’s critical I nip problems in the bud because my body can’t afford yet another serious disease. That has led me to making more trips to the doctor than I would like, but it will hopefully prevent me from having one of the complications, such as pneumonia, that often kills cancer patients.

In many cases, people die WITH cancer, not BECAUSE of cancer.

If you or a loved one has cancer — remember that. Do everything you can to help the rest of their bodies to function properly. Don’t feel guilty about wasting your doctor’s time. It’s critical that you have things checked out sooner rather than later. It could help keep you alive.

Hopefully you’ve found this information useful.

I am fighting stage IV cancer. If you can help with medical bills, I would really appreciate it. Or if you enjoy my writing and would like to buy me a cup of coffee, that’s great too. Maybe someday I can return the favor.

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This post was previously published on Shefali O’Hara’s blog.

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