Cancer, Chemotherapy and travel

[Hillbeans]

Not sure if anyone here can share their experience but I wanted to ask anyone who has or is going through treatment if you have taken a vacation or flown anywhere during that time?

I know that everyone has a different reaction and tolerance to treatment but I was wondering if it can be done and if it turned out to be a good idea (you felt good) or a bad idea (you felt worse afterwards).

We are traveling this summer and depending on how MIL is feeling during her treatment we were debating taking her on a vacation for a few days. I know that may sound crazy, but if she is up for it I think it may do her a world of good, as long as she can rest and relax.

 

[mickeyboat]

Boy - sending positive thoughts for your MIL.

I think it will really depend on how she is feeling at the time, which is really impossbile to predict this far out.

My MIL battled cancer for many years, and had many rounds of chemo and radiation. She felt pretty badly at one point, but promised to watch our two girls (1 & 2) so DH and I could go to Las Vegas for my Dad's wedding. The girls went to day care during the day as usual, and MIL had them in the evening and morning. It was hard for her, and FIL had to help out a lot, but she said over and over during the three months afterward before she died, that she was so happy to have had that time with them. FIL talks about it a lot, even now.

Denae

 

[Hillbeans]

Denae, I'm so sorry about your MIL.
I can imagine how spending that time with your girls was a real highlight for her.

My MIL has Inflammatory Breast Cancer and has some really awful days and some better ones, so maybe i'm being crazy even thinking about vacation at a time like this but that's how I think I guess.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Several years ago Judy was undergoing chemo and wanted to go up to New York for my mother's 90th birthday party. We discussed travel plans with the doctor, and he made timing adjustments to her normal three week apart treatments so that a treatment would be due two days after the return from our trip and she could be at maximum strength for the trip.

Since the party was at the LaGuardia Airport Marriott Hotel (there were about 130 guests) we stayed at that hotel.

It took planning, but Judy said there was no way she would miss that party especially since my mother had come down to Florida twice in the previous six months (for about five weeks) to be with us when Judy was in the hospital.

 

[mrs_hower726]

to your MIL

My mom is currently going through treatment for breast cancer and she was going to come visit me 2 weeks after her last chemo treatment but got the no-go from her doctor a couple of weeks before the trip.

Her doctor told her that you shouldn't fly at all until after 3 months of your last chemo treatment. He said since the air is recycled, you don't know of all the germs and sicknesses of the other passengers and with a weakened immune system from the chemo, the chances of her getting sick (even with a mask) would run very high and could be life-threatening.

He did say that driving would be safer but depends on how the person is feeling. If you do drive with you MIL, make sure to stop every hour for her to walk around to prevent blood clots (which is a side-effect to chemo).

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

 

[Mickey527]

I am almost to my 5 years clear mark!Yeah for me and remember still how I felt during my chemo treatments.
I had 8 treatments, every other week. During the off week I had my blood drawn and because my white blood counts were so low I had to be hospitalized for a week. I was in isolation and couldn't have visitors, that is how low the counts were. they stopped treatments for a month just to see if my counts would improve if I had time off. They didn't.
I had a total mastectomy and because of the chemo my wound didn't heal. I had a 7 cm (approx 4") hole in my chest from Sept. 30 until April 17 when I finally finished chemo and could tolerate surgery to close the wound. I had nurses come to the house 3 times a day, 7 days a week for 6 months.
Radiation was a breeze after the chemo, but I had 38 treatments, 5 days a week M-F. I couldn't go away even for the weekend, just in case I had a problem and couldn't get back home.
I had to take disability during this time since I couldn't work as a nurse and be around sick people. The chemo caused neuropathy and now I can't work at all due to numbness in my fingers and feet.
I did go to WDW in May after finishing my treatments and had the best trip of my life, I did all the things I had never done since this was the start of my new life.
If for any reason you can cancel the vacation and wait till after her treatment I would suggest that. It woudl be so much more fun for her to sit and relax after she has been finished with the HE** she will go through during chemo. I hope that she has an easier time than I did, but I would be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. I had no idea that I would have such a hard time since others I knew breezed through their treatments and kept working.

 

[browneyes106]

My aunt is currently undergoing chemo. She hasn't flown anywhere but last week she went with my uncle on a ten hour road trip. She said she was tired but overall ok. I think maybe it depends on how you are traveling.

 

[Misslandsquirrel]

My mother had stage III ovarian cancer that had spread throughout her body. She still traveled at times when she was able to. She said that when she was able to do "normal" things with her grandkids, she felt well "normal" again. We were supposed to go to Disney last summer with the kids. She had never been with my 5 year old DD but had already been with the other kids before. We didn't go and in November she took a turn for the worst and passed away in December. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't wait to make "memories" because you might not ever get that chance again.
Wishing your MIL all the best and I will keep her in my prayers.

 

[TJ's Mom]

I am a breast cancer survivor as well. I had a mastectomy and 7 round of chemo once every three weeks. It was supposed to be 8 rounds, but that is a different story....

I flew while I was on chemo but only with my doctor's permission. It worked with the time of my treatment but I did blood work before I flew to check on my white cells. I talked to the flight attendant at the gate to see if my friend and I could get aisle seats together. I told her I wanted to be able have little extra room from other people and easy access to the restroom if needed. I guess I looked pretty bad (it was after a few rounds) that she put both of us in first class!

I went because I needed to feel normal and it was a big meeting I wanted to attend. I did not have any issues with it however, I handled chemo well. I never got infections and taught middle school while doing my treatments.

My suggestion is let her talk to her doctor and let her make the decision. Be willing to take no for an answer. She might feel unintentionally pressured to go with not wanting to let you down. If you can do a road trip now, that might be good too. Flying can be too last minute depending on her blood work. It might be best as a "You finished treatment" vacation. Then there will not be any worries.

 

[Pigeon]

Another breast cancer survivor here. Have her talk to her oncologist. Everyone responds differently to chemo. I agree that she needs to be prepared to drop the trip if she's not up to it when the time arrives.

My counts dropped so low after certain types of chemo that the nurses were amazed that I was moving under my own power. Flying would NOT have been a good idea. During the second phase of my chemo (different type than the first four rounds), my counts didn't drop much at all. However, I couldn't stand to eat because food tasted disgusting, so I was very light headed.

I managed to work full time and I have two small children, but I did have to drop a few weekend trips because I just didn't have the energy.

I know for me, it would have been much more enjoyable to have the trip a month or two after my chemo was over, because I was feeling better and able to eat again. I had radiation for a couple of months after chemo, and we did a WDW trip after that, which was great. It gave me something positive to focus on during all the treatment, and on the plus side, I had enough hair back by then that I didn't have to worry about wearing a wig in the Orlando heat, or losing a head scarf on Space Mountain!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I would not have wanted to go on vacation while I was going through chemo. I didn't feel well at all (imagine the worst flu of your life at times), looked awful (to me; others "said" I looked good), my bald head hurt and I just wanted to be home. I, too, at some points had very low white and red cell counts (the former of which puts you at risk for infection and latter of which really takes a toll on how tired you are) and had to be really careful about who I was around (I'm a nurse and wasn't even allowed to take care of patients for my own safety during chemo; fortunately did education work on my unit instead). My doctors' advice to me was to save any energy I had for taking care of my kids which was good advice. It took all I had but I tried to keep their lives as normal as possible during what turned out to be close to a year of treatment. Once it was over, we had the vacation of a lifetime, and then I could enjoy it.

Be willing to take no for an answer. She might feel unintentionally pressured to go with not wanting to let you down.

I agree. There's a lot of well meaning people who want you to do things you may not feel up to doing. Sometimes it's a good thing, and sometimes it's not. Take your cues from her. It is thoughtful that you're even thinking about it. Thank you for being there for her.

 

[Pakey]

Our son and DIL had already planned their destination wedding for Hawaii when I found out I had advanced breast cancer. I ended up flying to Hawaii after my 2nd or 3rd chemo treatment (I remember that I was definitely bald already). I also had very low white counts and was getting daily injections. I did get permission to go but had to still do the injections in Hawaii that was arranged by my oncologist so that I would not miss my son's wedding.

If it had been just a regular vacation, I would have skipped. I felt like total carp through chemo, had no energy due to very low white counts, and really tried to avoid people so as not to pick up any more germs than I had to. So the wedding trip was grueling for me.

My oncologist wanted me to wear a mask while in the airport and on the flight. But an hour into the 5 hour flight, I couldn't take the mask any more. It was so hot. I never told my oncologist that I ditched the mask and luckily, I survived it.

I had 38 radiation treatments which were a breeze compared to chemo but, of course, you can't go on vacation during these treatments.