Needing help and insight about chemotherapy (Male 27)

[u/RainS__]

Hi, I'm Male (27 years old) reasonably fit and healthy until I got diagnosed with synovial sarcoma about a month ago. I underwent surgery to remove the tumor located at my left armpit. Luckily highly local and no found metastasis from the scans.

My chemo treatment is starting in a few weeks time and will be given daily for 4 days and repeated every 21 days for 5 times. I'm receiving Doxorubicin + Ifosfamide + Mesna. I've searched it's also called the "AIM" protocol.

This is not something I know a lot about and would like to know more before my treatment. Has anyone done a similar protocol? How have you managed the side effects? A quick search online shouts that it's a hell of treatment and I'm bound to have the worst time; making me worried. Any chemo tips, heads up/what to expect, or personal experience with recovery is greatly appreciated.

Update: Thank you all for the generous response. I now get that it would be tough but not impossible especially with your valuable insights. I’ll keep this post updated as i move towards a cancer free life. Stay healthy, take care.

[u/jay-aay-ess-ohh-enn]

Here is the summary of the protocol that I shared with my friends/family to explain my experience.

https://www.chemoexperts.com/aim-doxorubicin-ifosfamide-mesna.html

Of the side effects, constipation was the one that hit me the hardest. I stopped treatments over three months ago, but I am still bleeding out of my butt every time I poop.

Some of the effects of the nausea medicines they gave me were almost as bad as the treatments themselves. I always took the Dexamethasone they gave me because I crashed hard when it wore off each cycle. I would pick and choose when I would want to take the Zyprexa because it would make me so drowsy that I couldn't even sit up.

[u/boundvirtuoso → u/jay-aay-ess-ohh-enn]

You might have given yourself a fissure. I say this because I did, lol. Miralax for a while helped to let the tissues heal enough to stop bleeding

[u/jay-aay-ess-ohh-enn → u/boundvirtuoso]

Yes, for sure I did. I am doing good with fiber now, but it just takes a very long time to heal. There was nothing I could do during the treatment. I was taking colace and it did nothing. I didn't poop for a week every cycle and when it did come out it was hard as a rock.

[u/boundvirtuoso → u/jay-aay-ess-ohh-enn]

No for sure, I also could only fix it after treatment not during. Colace did nothing for me as well. Fiber can counterintuitively make your stools too big, which causes the rectum to need to stretch more. I took Miralax for a long time because it would soften the stool enough where eventually it could slip out without causing bleeding, might be worth a shot! 

I couldn't figure out another solution and it drove me crazy, so figured if you were in the same boat the advice might help. Best wishes!

[u/jay-aay-ess-ohh-enn → u/boundvirtuoso]

Thanks for the suggestion. I think things are finally starting to improve, but if I backslide I will give the Miralax a shot.

[u/boundvirtuoso → u/jay-aay-ess-ohh-enn]

Awesome!