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ilias, sorry to hear Mum had to go in today for Scans but it is the best and only way to see what is going on. I have not heard of the thick saliva but if you go to our search button at the top of the page and type in “thick saliva” IF there are any posts on that they will appear. Hoping they find what is causing Mum’s pain and please keep us posted.
Hey all,
Mum is going in for scans today. She is in a lot of pain around the stomach region and the oncologist seems to think there may be a blockage or obstruction. I am not too sure what all this means, but I guess we will find out later today.
In addition to that, I think the side affects of 5FU are kicking in. Her lips are dry and occasionally bleed.
I also wanted to ask whether anybody suffers from thick saliva. Mum continously says she has thick saliva.
Anyway, will keep you posted.
Cheers
IliasOh, thank you, Ilias, you are too kind but the truth of the matter is that this Foundation/Board started right after Teddy’s Whipple and this Board got me through his 5 years after. Honestly I get more back than I give here, I am just addicted to it!
I look forward to your updates, especially to tell us that Mom is doing good. You never know how strong you are until “strong” is the only choice you have!Oh Lainy…I have nearly read every single post you have placed on this forum..You are truly a wonderful person and care for each individual that cries for help.
We are lucky that my bros in law is a GP and his best buddy is Pat Bowden. So getting the right meds is a little easier. Mum is now taking Zofron (i think that is how it may be pronounced). She was also diagnosed with an irregular heart beat after the whipples and is on medication for that too.
Nurses also call mum daily to see how she is.
Take care and I will continue to update
Dear Ilias, welcome to our extraordinary family but sorry you had to find us. As you probably know by now the Whipple is the biggest surgery to a human body. NOT life threatening but huge. It take months to heal and get your energy back then add to that the chemo your Mom has started and its no wonder she is “zapped”. My husband, Teddy, had his Whipple at the age of 73. He also had a bad ecoli infection but his was before the surgery. After surgery 5 Doctors said chemo would not help him so he had no chemo. The surgery did buy him another 5 1/2 years. The CC returned after 3 years and was where his Duodenum used to be. He had radiation to bring it down from 7CM to 5CM then had Cyber Knife which to us was a miracle. I assume the chemo is because of the mets she has to other places.
I know this is hard to take, no doubt about it, it is a real monster, however at least the ONCS have game plans for your mom and that is good news. There is one important thing you can do….you must be VERY strong because the stronger you are the better you can handle what ever comes up. If Mom is having side effects from the chemo the Onc should be called because there are so many things they can give her to get through the side effects. You have come to the right place and we are all here for you. Please keep us updated on Mom as we truly care.Hey all,
My name is Ilias, I live in Melbourne, Australia and my mother who just recently turned 70 was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer July 13 2012 (Friday 13th). Mum had a whipples on 21 July 2012 and recovered quite well. She was in hospital for about 4 weeks and then readmitted for a further 2 weeks due to an ecoli infection.
Before she was diagnosed, I thought cancer was cancer. However, reading and researching this cancer shocked me and the rest of my family. The doctor said it was a cancer you didn’t want to get, but looking at the scans she was most likely a candidate for surgery. The doctor outlined most patients when diagnosed are too advanced and surgery was not an option.
Long story short, she had her appointment with Dr Zimet (oncologist) of Epworth in Richmond. He was happy with her recovery and told us that he had a plan and hope for recovery. He told us that her case was investigated for some weeks before they came up with a conclusion that the cancer was bile duct cancer. He said it was still bad, but not as bad as pancreatic cancer. We were told her staging was stage iib. The cancer had spread to the pancreas and some nearby lymph nodes.
His plan was to put her on 5FU daily through a picc??? and offer radiation through Dr Pat Bowden at Epworth for 6 weeks. He then said she would go on a course of gemzar after the 5FU.
Before coming to work this morning, I stopped by my mums to see how she was. She has started her treatment and is heading into her 3rd week. The treatment seems to be hitting her really hard. The doctors and nurses told us that the 5FU is gentle and the radiation would be the main factor contributing to the fatigue and nausea.
As I am writing this, my hands are shaking and I am finding it hard to breathe. I cannot clear my mind of this day and night. I do find comfort through my wife, children, father and this forum. I don’t want to exclude anybody from this post, but I would love to hear from those patients and caregivers who are in a similar situation.
Cheers and love to all.
Ilias
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