Dad diagnosed with Intrahepatic CC & very depressed
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WElcome to the site and I am so sorry your dad has lost his spirit. This disease takes its toll mentally, so be prepared. You might want to talk to his doctor about anti depressents or about hooking him up with a psychologist. As to his eating, it may be cancer related. There are drugs that increase your appetite so ask his doctor about those as well.
Hang in there and let us know how we can help.
KRis
So sorry to hear about your Dad–but he has you and that is a blessing!
I am aged 60 and was diagnosed with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in January-February 2010. During a 4-month period on chemotherapy, I received chemo one week followed by one week of recovery, then repeated the process. (My tumor has shrunk.) I’ve been pretty worthless during the chemo weeks, but I’ve fought to take walks, exercise and rebuild during the recovery weeks. The people at the YMCA where I work out have been so very supportive, and the exercise itself produces the endorphins which are actually an antidepressant. Fighting the depression through exercise and social support at the Y are part of my treatment plan! May be you see a comparable path for your Dad.
God Bless!
Hi IRCMom,
Welcome to the site, but I am sorry that you had to find us all. When my dad was diagnosed, he was told his CC was inoperable and he had PDT as his treatment and he couldn’t have radiation either. Once my dad came home after his treatment, he was pretty downbeat about everything in general and one thing that helped him so much was when he went to his daycare centre twice a week. All the patients there had cancer and to be honest, he loved it there and it did wonders for his morale. I guess it helped him being around others who were in the same situation as he was and he got an awful lot out of it. Perhaps that is something that may work for your dad?
Marion is so right in that knowledge is power so I would recommend that you find out as much as you can about CC and everything surrounding it. You are doing the right thing in reaching out to us all here so please feel free to ask as many questions as you have and I know that we will all help you if we can. I do hope that you will keep coming back here as you will get a load of support from us all.
My best wishes to you and your dad,
Gavin
Hello IRCMom and welcome to the site no one wants to belong to, but are happy to have found. You may have already noticed that this board is practicing optimism coupled with a dose of realism. Many of our members have been given dire prognoses and yet they have outlived it by far. Your Dad may very well be one of those fortunate people. The same goes for resections or, as in your Dad’s case a resection interrupted. Unfortunately, the true extent of this cancer can only be determined during surgery, but often times other treatments may be successful in holding this cancer at bay. I am hoping for others to come forward and share some of their stories with you. These stories may help you help your Dad understand that he is not alone with this disease as there are many others in a similar situation. Until others can respond to you it might help you to inform yourself and gain some knowledge about this cancer. Knowledge is power and it allows us to make informed decisions. Again, I am happy that you have found us and please, continue to stay with us.
Good luck and best wishes,
MarionHello, My dad was diagnosed very unexpectedly with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in May 2010. They planned to do a resection of the liver, but when they opened him up they found that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and decided against the resection. His tumor is apparently about 4cm, at the last measuring, and the 2nd degree of lymph nodes around the liver are involved. His present treatment is radiation for 4-5 weeks followed by a week of (I believe its called) radiation surgery. At the same time he is taking Xeloda 2 times per day M-F. After that they plan some kind of intravenous chemotherapy.
His biggest struggle right now is his own mind dealing with the time line and prognosis that he was given by doctors. He’s a rather negative person naturally and this is taking its toll on him.
He’s not eating much or drinking, both of which we know he has to do. Nor is he doing anything that he loves (riding motorcycles, woodworking, etc.). He pretty much sits in front of the TV all the time. We are very frustrated with him and concerned.
I would love some suggestions from patients & families about what we can do to help him. Also, if anyone knows of any alternative treatments we would appreciate it very much. –Thanks
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