New to the site – concern about quality of life for mom

Megastar….I am sorry for you having to make a decision based on what is offered to you by Medicare. Nutritionists have a place in healthcare however; I would inquire as to what it is that will be offered to your Mom. Is it possible for your Mom’s GP to be involved and would he/she able to order the same services for your Mom? The way I read it, your Mom was quite clear about her objective in that she does not want to do chemotherapy. This is such a difficult position to be in, my heart goes out to you.
Hugs,
Marion

Dear Holly, sure glad no dates printed on your feet! I think the Y90 is similar to Cyber Knife but when Teddy had CK there was no pain. They did shoot some beads in but he said it didn’t hurt and the CK was painless. Only thing that happened is he did get tired after the last treatment. CK is done in 3 -5 treatments and only takes a week. I think his biggest concern was if he had to go to the bathroom while he was laying on the CK table. OK so it did happen once. They slipped him a pan! Your 55? A mere tenage! Keep up the good work, I love your posts.

Dear Megastar, welcome to our remarkable family but sorry you had to find us. Oh gosh, this is the 3rd one today on an older person. If I was your mother I also would choose to just live with more quality. BUT it is her decision and a very tough one to make. My husband at 78 chose quality as well and we never regretted it. This is one if the biggest decisions anyone will ever make. You are right, that we have many who have lived longer than the what the ONC said in the initial Diagnosis. There is one, gosh I can’t thnk of the name, but took NO treatment and is still with us after like 4 years. We were not born with expiration dates on the bottom of our feet! Your Mother sounds like a very wise lady! I am not one to believe in special diets and I believe just doing a well rounded diet is ok at this point. None of these diets have proven a thing. Its more important to eat or graze all day to keep ones energy up. When the ONC said 3 -6 months was that with or without chemo. My Teddy asked the ONC how long the chemo would buy him and when the ONC said a month he opted out. Please know that there are no right or wrongs. I followed my gut for almost 6 years and it never steered me wrong! Best of luck to your family and Mother and what ever decision you make is the right one! Please keep us posted as we truly care.

I would like to add my opinion that Y90 is not easy on my sister or my friend who both u set went it in Jan and are only 50 and 54 years old respectively. Additionally, my almost 90 year old father has Alzheimer’s and is under my care. I’m sitting in the OR recovery room w him right now after a painful but minor surgery. This surgery is necessary because his short term memory is no good and he has dAmaged his body repeatedly pulling out his Foley catheters (and the Occasional IV). Cath is for enlarged peostste and likely prostste cancer (they dont treat for this at his age) I’m starting to pray that God will take him sooner than later so he doesn’t have to suffer the progression of any of these conditions. Also, two years ago when his drmentia was only early stage, he created a “directive To Physicians” stating that if there is no chance for a cure that he just wants palliative/comfort measures. this makes my redponsibikity as medical power of attorney much easier. so we have a DAnR and recently created a POLST (Physicians Order for Life Sustaining Treatment) which very specifically spells out which measures we do and do not want in the event of a life threatening condition. That said, each family must make this very personal decision. Bless you and your Mom
Willow

Hi,
Where is your mother currently receive the diagnosis and treatment suggestion? and who are the doctors?,It will be useful for other patients if they are in the same situation and areas looking for help.
Since your are in the Chicago area and I am too. I will recommend Northwestern Univ. interventional radiology consult if you are ready to go for radioembolization. they are the leader in this field internationally.
However, the patients over the age of 65 on this board who had received radioembolization with Y90 did not have the best outcome that we hope for,especially with other health issues involved. This will my only concern for your mother. Quality of life over quantity;providing the best supportive care are also viable ideas, But most of the medical literature will tell you age is not a risk factor in deciding treatment plans but comorbidity does. If your mother’s tumor s do not metastasized to other parts of the body, without treatment, there is a good chance that she can see her 79th or even 80th birthday apart from counting in the other health issues. CCA is a relatively slow growing cancer, In my case, my most recent resection in 2010 indicated it ,the tumor grew from nothing to a size of 2.5x3x3.5cm in roughly one year.
I am a patient of this disease for 46 months now but make sure you understand I am not a doctor but just a patient having the same disease as your mother. so my observation is purely on my own without medical research to back me up. therefore medical oncology and radiology consult are needed if you want to make a sound medical decision.
God bless.