Bilirubin in good range and tumor markers down
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I love to read about the dropping numbers and yes, I had a love/hate relationship with chemo. When I was on the portable pump at home I would look at it and tell it I loved it and hated it, I’m sure my family thought I was crazy. Praying for good scan results.
Peace and hugs
LisaJanBee –
I feel your pain with the eating. My husband has lost pretty close to 80# since this all started. Thankfully he had some to lose so he doesn’t look too bad. It is really hard to keep calories going in when they aren’t hungry, nothing sounds good and they get full so fast.
I pretty much suggest throwing most diet restrictions (ie low fat, low cholesterol) out the window for the time being…..those can be fixed later. Everyone has had good suggestions and two that I might add would be….dry powdered milk. Yes, most of us will say yuck but it can be added to most anything to add calories and protein. We put it in oatmeal, malt o’meal, cream soups (made those with milk too rather than water) and I have even put it in yogurt and potatoes. The other thing I did was in making jello…..my husband liked it and it does count as a fluid but not a lot of protein (some but not a lot). I made it and substituted Ensure clear (wild berry or mango orange I think are the two flavors) for the cold water. It sets up just a little cloudy but not bad and taste-wise it’s about the same. It also doubles the protein in it.
Also GNC has whey protein powders in many flavors which can be added to shakes or just mixed up and drank.
We also resorted to using Megace to stimulate his appetite and he has been told that once he starts gaining weight, he can stop it. No weight gain yet but he stopped losing finally.Hope this helps.
KrisVThank you all for the suggestions for food. It’s a little bit of a challenge because one day he likes something and the next day he can’t stand it. Although my goal is to provide him with good nutritious (say “healthy”) foods, at this point I am giving him whatever he will eat for the sake of calories to help prevent further weight loss. I have a good blender, and when he will take it I make him a smoothie with frozen berries and bananas in it. Last two days he doesn’t want those so we’re on to something else. Surprisingly he has been asking for oatmeal. I have no complaints there, but that’s something he never cared for before. Go figure. I haven’t been able to interest him in Ensure, but I am going to try the Instant Breakfast idea.
JanBee, when my appetite was down, I drank ensure. It’s loaded with nutrients and much needed calories. I found it easier to eat “simple” foods like smoothies, soups, jello…. Good luck and I hope he starts feeling better soon.
I don’t want to get into another discussion with the nutritionists, but, at this point, whatever you can get your husbanc to eat and drink is a good thing. Carnation IB is good. Kellogs To Go is good. I like the high protein Fiber One bars; the high fiber bars are also “useful” at times. I grazed almost all day and even got up during the night. I also tried (with some success) never to pass a faucet without drinking water. Even a small glass helps.
Duke
Dear JanBee, have you tried any of the nutritional drinks? Teddy loved Carnation Instant Breakfast best and I would blend in a banana to the vanilla flavor. It has all the nutrients he needs and can take the place of any or all meals. Hospice gave me that idea. Also no big meals but rather let him ‘graze’ all day. Scramble eggs were good and I would melt in some cheese. Homemade soups were great, really any kind of comfort food but in small portions. Best of luck and I hope he starts feeling better soon.
Thank you for all your best wishes. I am so hoping for an improvement on the tumor. Today he has a low fever (100) is just terribly weak and seems almost anesthetized to the point I can hardly keep him awake enough to have a conversation. Also no appetite so it’s been extremely difficult to get any fluids or food into him. I hate these days when he is obviously experiencing the effects of the chemo.
This is brilliant news JanBee, thanks for sharing it with us all! Hopin that the good news continues for your husband and please keep us updated on everything. Hoping too that he can cope with the side effects of the chemo, grrrr to side effects!
My best wishes to you and your husband,
Gavin
JanBee – That is such good news. Love to hear about dropping numbers. I will keep my fingers crossed for your scans. My husband’s is the 10th of this month but for once I am not all freaked out. Good luck and keep plugging away at the chemo.
KrisV
Oh, JanBee this is great news! That is quite a drop in numbers. I know, Chemo is a love/hate relationship. Good luck on the upcoming scans and please do keep us updated. Good work, you two.
Hubby is on third treatment of second round of chemo (cis/gem). At end of first round his tumor markers were the same and the tumor had increased in size. Four weeks later, his CA 19-9 has dropped from 8+ thousands to 4+ thousands and his CEA has dropped substantially as well. I’m anxious to see if his next scan (Jul 7) will show a decrease in tumor size. His bilirubin has dropped from 5.6 to 1. He looks much better, but is suffering effects of the chemo. Time will tell, but I’m cautiously optimistic. I have decided that I love/hate chemo.
An aside is that I think the oncology infusion nurses at Seattle Group Health Central are likely angels in human form.
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