My father was diagnosed on October 29th with Cholangiocarcinoma

Discussion Board Forums Introductions! My father was diagnosed on October 29th with Cholangiocarcinoma

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  • #33466
    lalupes
    Spectator

    My sister is often cold & clammy; she was talking to another cc patient in the Onc’s waiting room yesterday & the other patient has exactly the same experience with the chills. When I asked, the Onc just said “cancer itself can cause chills & cold sweats” & didn’t seem at all concerned about it as a symptom of anything.

    My sis likes lots of hot drinks/hot soups to warm her up from the inside.

    #33465
    gavin
    Moderator

    Michael,

    Yes the chills and shakes, my dad would get them both. Especially when he came home from the hospital last year after his PDT. Don’t know why they happened really. Heard some reasons for them, related to the liver or something to do with nerve endings after dad had been zapped with the laser, but that doesn’t tie in with the others experience of them. Who knows really.

    I know that dad would just cover up, put the fire on and wait for them to stop, which they always did. Soemtimes they lasted about 20 minutes for him, sometimes more, sometimes less. Bit of a mystery I guess.

    Best wishes

    Gavin

    #33464
    darla
    Spectator

    Lainy,

    Yup, we got several inches, but are expecting a ton Tuesday & Wednesday and then cold! :( Really makes Arizona sound like the place to be! Atleast this time of year! :)

    Darla

    #33463
    cherbourg
    Spectator

    Oh Kris,

    Maybe you’re not having hot flashes from early menopause but POWER SURGES!……lol

    P.S. Have you bought that red coat yet??????

    Hugs!
    Pam

    #33462
    devoncat
    Spectator

    Chills? I am one hot tamale! I sweat like a pig over everything. What makes it worse is how cranky I can get when I am hot. As I was typing this I just had a thought…is it possible I am having early menopause from chemo and I am getting hot flashes? I am have to ask my doctor.

    Kris

    #33461
    lainy
    Spectator

    Darla, talk about chills! On our news this morning Milwaukee really got some but Wed. is supposed to be really ugly, did you get any?

    #33460
    darla
    Spectator

    Hi Michael,

    My husband also had chills all the time. Don’t know the answer to why. Hopefully someone here can come up with an explaination if there is one!

    Darla

    #33459
    lainy
    Spectator

    Hi Michael. Oh, do we know chills but not why! Teddy has been cold for 4 years now since his Whipple and I who was always extremely warm, am now cold all the time since my surgery October 1st. If they get real bad how about a heating pad. Don’t laugh but Teddy sits around in sweat shirts and a knit cap on his head to keep the heat in, and we are in Phoenix!

    #33458
    mvb70
    Spectator

    Hi Everyone,

    I would appreciate your input. My dad gets the chills quite frequently and I was wondering if that is common and why it might happen. He doesn’t have a fever but is cold more than he was prior to being diagnosed with CC and his surgery.

    Has anyone experienced the chills? What do the doctors say when you ask about the chills? I read that the chills are quite common but I am hoping to get more of an understanding of why and is there anything to help aside from the obvious covering up and adding layers of clothes?

    Thank you for your help.

    Michael

    #33457
    marylloyd
    Spectator

    Michael,
    I’m basically thinking back to three years ago when my husband’s treatments ended. I’m not as strict about what I cook and what he eats as I used to be. I guess we tend to forget at times because he looks and feels so well.
    This is regiment of supplements:
    Grifon Maitake D-Fraction mushroom capsules- 4 per day
    Milk Thistle- Solaray Once Daily capsule
    Fish Oil- 3 capsules daily of a good variety.
    Beet Root extract- Nature’s Way- 8 capsules daily
    Good multivitamin
    Turmeric- a good variety with bioperine- one 900 mg daily
    Resveratrol- 2 capsules daily
    Melatonim-6 mg daily
    The last three I have added this past year after research. I am thinking of stopping the turmeric which I take myself for arthritis and giving him burdock instead. He has obstuction issues from radiation scarring and I have read turmeric may not be good. Burdock is supposed to be an old fashioned liver tonic and good for fighting cancer.
    As far as foods, we cut way back on meat consumption, he has a problem with dairy so only skim milk and low fat or skim cheese.A lot of spinach, broccoli, fresh pineapple, dark fruits, blueberries etc, carrot juice-I used to do it daily for him but have been negligent lately. No high fructose corn syrup, basically just good healthy foods that are easily digested. As my son said when Tom was first diagnosed, get foods that contain one or two ingredients. Good, healthy, non-processed foods.
    I hope this helps. I started giving him the first 4 supplements as soon as he was done with chemo and I really believe it helped his recovery process. I get my supplements from vitacost. com. They seem to have the best prices. I really like their NSI products. Take care and best wishes to your Dad. Mary

    #33456
    mshopeful
    Spectator

    Hi Michael,
    Thank you very much for your Dad’s biliruben details. I appreciate you taking the time to look up the information. I hope your Dad’s chemo goes well and best wishes to you and the rest of your family.

    Thank you!

    #33455
    lainy
    Spectator

    Hi and love your attitude. My GP just told me to get a book for me and Teddy called Anti Cancer. Then I came home and looked it up on our search site and apparently a lot of people have already read it and it is an excellent book. Talks about everything. Your dad’s getting chemo for Xmas and Teddy is getting a PET Scan and maybe a needle biopsy. Mmmm wonder how we wrap these things up! Let us know how your dad does.

    #33454
    mvb70
    Spectator

    Mary,

    Sorry to hear you are feeling under the weather. I hope you feel better soon. Thank you for your response…it made my day to hear that someone had the same treatment my dad will start on Monday and is still going strong 3 plus years after diagnosis.

    My dad just had his surgery to put the port in today and starts chemo and radiation on Monday. Not sure if chemo and radiation was on my dad’s list of things to get for Xmas but I know he wants to live. We will help him get through the treatments.

    Do you have any advice for nutrition? What should my dad eat and what shouldn’t he eat? I’ve read that you can starve cancer but I am not so sure about that bit of information. I read that someone with cancer should stay away from meats, sugars, and anthing that is acidic. I would imagine things like chicken and fish are good.

    What are the supplements you recommend to help my dad keep his immune system strong?

    Thank you Mary! I wish you and your husband the best.

    #33453
    marylloyd
    Spectator

    Michael,
    I haven’t been on lately due to being under the weather myself but I’m glad I got on and read your posting today. I think your Dad is getting the very best treatment available. My husband had radiation and chemo like your Dad is receiving after a failed liver resection attempt and is doing great 3 1/2 years after diagnosis. His tumor has shown no sign of returning even though his tumor markers have been rising recently. The one thing I can say with much assurance is that your Dad needs to keep his immune system strong. I honestly believe that is one of the main reasons my husband has done so well. After all he went through he never gets sick. I catch everything I come into contact with and he just goes on like he’s never been sick in his life!!You can read about a lot of supplements under my postings and others here. Everyone has their own regiments and the Docs will be probably say no to a lot of things during chemo but I would get him started as quickly as possible. The radiation will cause some damage to the liver and foods and supplements that help the liver regenerate and stay healthy are very important! Please ask if you have any questions and I hope your Dad continues to do well. Best wishes, Mary

    #33452
    mvb70
    Spectator
    MsHopeful wrote:
    Hi Michael,
    If you don’t mind, what was your Dad’s biliruben level at the time of surgery? The reason I ask is because the my Dad’s doctors keep putting off surgery waiting for his biliruben levels to come down and frankly my Dad’s getting frustrated.

    Best wishes for your Dad and your family.

    Thank you!

    Hi MsHopeful,

    Sorry for the delay in my response. I had to locate the documents with the Biliruben numbers.

    Here is the detail I have available on my dad’s biliruben levels. Prior to the ERCP and stinting, my dad had a Bili T level of 21.7 on Sep 22. They put the stint in and his levels dropped as follows: 17.9 on Sep 23, 20.2 on Sep 24, 16.5 on Sep 26, 9.1 on Sep 28. So the lowest record I have for Bili T is 9.1 on Sep 28.

    For Bili D, it started at 17.5 on Sep 22 and dropped as follows: 14.0 on Sep 23, 15.7 on Sep 24, 13.2 on Sep 26, and 7.4 on Sep 28. So the lowest record I have for Bili D is 7.4 on Sep 28.

    I believe these numbers continued to drop before my dad had his surgery on October 14. His skin almost returned to the normal non jaundiced color.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 33 total)
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