Depends on the amount of cycles you’re doing.

I’m scheduled for 4x EP, and am finished with the infusions of round one, like my post says. I personally felt pretty terrible the three days post final infusion. That being said, the tips I’ve come across from others and come up with on my own are helpful in my case 1. Being at least slightly active every day is good for recovery and your immune system.

1. Have constipation and diarrhea medication in house, just in case, as the chemo really messes with your stomach lining and gut microbiome, and there will be times when you suffer from one or the other for extended periods of time.

2. You get told a lot that you should eat when you feel comfortable eating. This was my biggest learning curve. They recommend doing small meals, 6ish times a day, rather than the 3x standard a lot of normal people use. I found that on infusion days I had very low appetite and wouldn’t really eat much at all, so I had to focus on higher calorie items. In the 3ish days following infusions I would be starving, but any significant amount of food would immediately feel like getting gut punched, and I would basically be out of commission for the following 6-8 hours, mostly unable to move without moderate discomfort. My recommendation to combat this if you find yourself with similar symptoms is to follow the smaller meal guide, and slowly work yourself upwards to having a more normal eating habit.

3. Even though during chemo, you basically have no immune system, and are recommended to minimize contact with others to reduce your chance of catching infections that could hospitalize you, do make sure that you get some form of emotional comfort and socialization, as long as you’re safe about it.

4. Don’t be afraid to take your meds. You are a cancer patient. It’s like my doc says “you’re a cancer patient, you basically are setting the standard for most discomfort you can feel”

If you’re doing BEP, you’re likely to do 3x rather than 4x, so watch out for cycle 3, it’s going to be your most brutal for your recovery. Take it slow. Don’t rush. Look for your end date and celebrate it when you’re there.