National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.

If you would like something to avoid at all cost, I suggest becoming infection of C-Diff, a form of Colustridium Difficiale (sp), which causes a truley nastyform of colitis.

Unfortunately, it's one of those naturally occurring critters that live in many of our digestive tracts, expecially on the Northeast and Canada, and when the benififal bacterium get killed, and our immune systems are weakened , as from chemo, here it comes, takiin over, running rampant through our intestants. All sorts of jolly symptoms show their faces: the runs like you've never experienced before, a sence you can track the entire route of your bowels by the firey pain throughout your entire tract, such a sore hind end you feel it's going to start bleeding, and becoming best friends with your bathroom.

A lovely situation. And oh, so glamorous. Like so much from Cancer, another humilitating loss of privacy.

Apparently, the original bout I had was caused because I was put on antibiotics after my first dose of chemo whem I got a sinus infection, which killed off the :good" guys in my gut, allowing the c-diff to rule the land. And rule i did. I spent 9 days in isolation in the hospital while being visited by everyone wearing yelluw gowins and purple gloves. Was sent home with two weeks of Flagil, the drug of choice.

Two days after finishing the anti-b's, the c-diff reared its ugly hrad and was almost immediallly back to its original form. Back to square one, and I can't say I'm at all happy a all about it! So I'm taking another course of the sme drugs, and if that doesn't work, wil swich to another, and be sent to a bigr hospital. Excuse the pun, but what a crappy situation.

So, ladies, geep good track of what i going on, and please, if you get the rund, take it seriously. Tell them what's going in-- make sure to stay hydrated, and ask to have it cultured. The first e-room I went to wouldn't listen when I sai I wwa undergoing chemo and had what seemes unluke any oof the "runs" I'd ever had before-- gave me 2 litres if water interveniously, Immidium, and sent me home. Three days later the cancer cener traed it ighe. Even tho I told the e-room it wasn't normal, that I was getting chemo, they didnlt do a culture. The immodium is, apparentl, the worst thing to do.

So if the same thing seems to happen to you, be a fighter and make them do a culture right a way, and perhaps it won't get this kind of hold. Please.

Thinking of yopu all in your different battles,
Betsy