[lucyhParticipant]

Thanks for your reply and you make some really interesting points for us to think about when considering rural vs urban. We were thinking more of East Norfolk, around the Holt/Cromer area, so are looking into Norwich hospital. I’ve contacted the Norwich and Norfolk Myeloma support group (from this website) and we’ve already had a really informative chat with one of the specialist nurses there, so feeling positive so far. I also checked out the CQC website, so thank you for that suggestion too.

[lucyhParticipant]

Hi Graham and Rachel. Thanks for starting a post on this. I’m interested to see what others say too as my husband is at first relapse and has been told he’ll have DVD before a second stem cell transplant, though his consultant said it would be injections of the DARA rather than infusions. He’s done the VD part before (Velcade and Dexamethazone) but the DARA is something new and a bit unknown. Thanks for sharing your feedback and I’ll keep an eye out in case others comment too.

[lucyhParticipant]

My husband’s tips (having been through his transplant almost 3 years ago): chewing ice cubes while getting the chemo really helped prevent the mouth ulcers (that he was most worried about). Travel sickness wrist-bands and ginger biscuits helped counter the nausea. He said the test match on TV was a good distraction (!). And overall it wasn’t as bad as he had feared – and nothing like the worst case as portrayed by the consultant in advance, which I guess they have to do! Hope that helps.

[lucyhParticipant]

My husband had a stem cell transplant about 3 years ago (so not in lockdown) and I was able to visit him most days. One thing he found helpful was those anti travel-sickness wrist bands (you can buy them from any chemist) and a supply of ginger biscuits. Nausea was his main issue and these two simple remedies, plus some distraction by watching TV etc seemed to really help. The one time he didn’t want any visitors was the day he felt the most nauseous. I still feel bad I wasn’t there for that time, but he insists he really didn’t want to see anyone – similar to what rebeccaR you were saying earlier.

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