Father Just Diagnosed-Just need some support
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Melil,
Just saw Kris’s post to you and wanted to echo what she said about the diarrhea. I think the meds work like the motion sickness meds do. By taking it before you get an “attack” (either motion sickness or diarrhea) you catch it at the pass. Meaning you ward it off. I was given the Atripine during my infusion because they knew it would cause diarrhea and were trying to prevent it. The nurses told me that if I waited to “see” if I would get it, it would be much harder to stop it with the meds, than prevent it.
Ask the doctors about a preventative regime.
Kris, I used the BRAT diet for my son when he was younger. The tea and yogurt are new to me, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work too. Never heard of blueberry soup, but it sounds interesting!
Take care
Linda
Welcome to the most caring and wonderful site…not to mention the most knowledgable about cc.
OK…diarhea (or however it is spelled!) I had a big problem with that on my first chemo regime. Lots of drugs were needed. It helps to take the drugs BEFORE it starts, not after it comes. Now that you know chemo causes your dad this problem, pop a couple of pills the day before and day of treatment. We all know that vomiting causes dehydration, but dehydration can also cause vomiting. So perhaps your dads diarhea is contributing to the vomiting. With diarhea, I was told to try adding BRATTY to my diet…B(annanas), R(ice),A(pplesauce),T(oast), T(ea) and Y(ogurt). Apparently it is something all new mothers with upset babies know. My doctor also suggested blueberry soup. This is something you can get in the grocery store in Sweden, perhaps plain blueberries would be just as good.
As to the best chemo, no one really knows. Gemzar + cisplatin is standard. However, many people get xeloda + oxaliplatin or some mixture between the two. To my knowledge there have been no studies which of the two regimes work better. You may also want to ask your dads doctor about avastin or other antibodies to work in conjunction with chemo. What antibody is given is often dependent on KRAS status of your dads tumor so they will need a tissue sample.
No growth is great news.
Hang in there.
Kris
Just wanted to say welcome, and hope your father is able to get the nausea under control.
When I had chemo. I was given Aloxi and Emend just before infusion. Then given a 2 day prescription of Emend, using Decadron and Zofran for 4 days too with Compazine as a back-up just in case the others didn’t work. I didn’t need to take it as the other 3 worked very well. I had no nausea at all.
Recently, under a clinical trial that I am on using Irinotecan/Camptosar, it causes diarrhea in 2 rounds. One immediately during infusion and they gave me Atripine to counteract it. Then a week later it hits again and I was instructed to use Immodium for 12 hours following the last diarrhea. This worked. What have the doctors been giving your Dad for the nausea and diarrhea? I know sometimes things don’t work, just wondered what they might be trying to help him.
My thoughts and prayers are with you all. Best of luck, and please keep coming back to share and gain more knowledge.
Linda
Hi Melil,
Welcome to the site, but I’m sorry that you had to find us all but glad that you have joined us all. I came here back in 2008 when my dad was diagnosed and everyone here helped me so much, and I know that everyone will also help you so please keep coming back as you will get a load of support from us all.
My dads CC was also diagnosed as inoperable for pretty much the same reason as your dads, too close to the veins and arteries. His treatment was PDT with the hope of doing chemo at a later date, but as it turned out he couldn’t get it. The first we knew something was wrong was when the jaundice showed up, then he had all the tests in the hospital and then we got the diagnosis. I can’t share my dads experiences of chemo as he never had it, but I know that others will be along soon to share their experiences of chemo with you.
What kind of foods has your dad been eating and does he have any pains in his stomach? My dad had issues with nausea and eating and his specialist told him to eat fods that are easily broken down, such as mince, soup etc. As to the nausea, is your dad taking any medication for this as there are a variety of meds out there that may help your dad with this.
I don’t know a lot about chemo, but it seems that the gem/cis combination is now being used as the standard chemo treatment for CC now. Others may be able to chime in with their thoughts on this issue. I know that trying to take all of this in is not easy, especially during what is a stressful time. I went through the same with my dad, but please do not give up hope. Keep coming back here and we will all be here for you.
My best wishes to you and your dad,
Gavin
I am on on the Gemzar/Cisplatin chemo. Have only completed two cycles ( 1 cycle = 3 weeks, two on and one off) and had to delay the second cycle because of low white blood count.
EMEMD is the main nausea drug they give me (one on chemo day and one for two days afterwards) that totally controls nausea. It’s suppose to work for a couple of days after you stop taking it, which it does.
I also have an inoperable tumor. Diagnosed in July 09. I was told I could have as little as 3 months. Boy were they wrong
I am SO thankful to have found this web site…I know that the answers to all of my questions can be found on here, but I just wanted to throw my story out there and see what I got back.
My father was diagnosed with CC in April 2010. I don’t know what else to say about that except that we are being optimistic and are thankful to have this time with him. As his only daughter my last wish is to dance with him on my wedding day which is in 8 months.
My mother and I are just hoping to get some answers to our basic questions. And maybe if he sees this post and sees people respond to his specific story, it will help motivate him.
Here is what I know. In April when he was diagnosed, we found it because he was in pain and went to the ER. He had a blood clot in his lungs and had the jaundice. The tumor is wrapped around the hepatic artery and therefore inoperable. He is now starting what I believe is his fourth round of chemo. He started in June going once a week for two weeks and then one week off. His MRI after the first rounds showed that the cancer had not spread beyond the liver and had not gotten bigger but did not shrink..Good news????? I am not sure of the technical terms but the doctor mentioned something about his blood markers in his liver going down a lot, which was supposed to be good news… His chemo is the gemzar/cisplatin. He is always nauseous and losing a lot of weight, though he’s still got a nice full head of hair! He has diarhea as well. Also, he has developed another blood clot in his groin.
So my questions are just, does any of this sound remotely optimistic or familiar to anyone? Is this the best chemo? And last, what kind of foods can we get in him…We just want to hear from people who have been through this before…
Thank you for reading this…I am slowly coming to terms with all of this, but I would give anything just to dance with him on my wedding day..
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