New Member-My Mom

Chris, Love It!! A seven year survivor! I am certain many on this board are thrilled to hear your news. I, too, and very interested in details….Did you do any chemo after whipple? Any Lymph node envolvement? What kind of follow-up do you do now?
kctasty, I agree with Kris, your mom must concentrate on getting her strength back, before any talk of treatment. It is always good news when the tumor can be removed. My dad had the J tube after his Whipple for a short time and eventually got back to his pre-surgury weight, and was able to eat almost everything he ate before the whipple.
Definitely keep us posted
Barbara

YEA! Chris, just the news we like to hear. That is just great. Teddy’s returned a year ago where his duodenum used to be but he had radiation and then cyber knife and is Cancer Free once again. Do you follow any type of regiment? Teddy goes to the Oncologist every other month and has LABs every month. When the cancer returned it also pushed his right ureter closed so he goes in every 3 months for a stent exchange in the ureter. Its always the weird stuff not the actual cancer for him. We are so glad to hear your good story. Please don’t be a stranger to our wonderful site.

Hello and Welcome to the best little club in the World that no one wishes to join! You know, a Whipple is the largest surgery to the human body. Not life threatening but huge. My husband Teddy, had 2 Whipples, 1st was aborted, within a month! His 2nd month in to healing he developed a tiny hole at the resection. He went in to REHAB for 1 month on nothing but an IV. Fortunately the hole healed by starving it. No one can ever believe what our loved ones go through with this monster. Sounds like your mother is healing, it just takes a long, long time. One day you will turn around and really see that she is getting better. I used to give him Boosts and it took many month for him to really eat good. When you have part of the pancreas cut that also changes the way you eat. He couldn’t tolerate anything sweet. Now he is back to loving chocolate. I used to make him comfort food like stewed chicken and chicken soup. He couldn’t eat meat for a long time. Its hunt and peck. Glad you found us, not glad you had to. Feel free to come and vent, advise or ask. Please keep us posted.

Welcome to our wonderful family and you are in the right place for support and answers.

Try not to worry to much about fighting the cancer now. Your mother’s body needs to heal from the surgery, and even with no complications, they would have to wait a bit before they could do chemo or radiation. The more serious problem is getting your mom healthy now and eating and off dialysis. I have no experience with kidney problems, so no advice there.

Food wise, just let her eat what she wants whether it is considered a “good” or “bad” food. Her bowels need to start functioning for her to feel better. When I had problems eating, cold food was a lot better than hot food and was the only thing that temped me.

Many people need rehabilitation after surgery. It is VERY important that she gets up…only if it is sitting in a chair for a bit. Walking down the hallways or only to the bathroom needs to be down as soon as she can. The longer you are down the harder it is to get going again. I was given a walker in the hospital to get me going…dont be shy to ask for one.

The other problem that can occur is that if you are in bed too long there is a chance of developing lung problems. I was given a bottle filled with water and a tube. I was supposed to blow in the tube and make bubbles about 10 times a day to keep my lungs clear and strong. Again talk to the nurse about it. After over a month in the hospital I was completely weak, but able to slowly climb the stairs to my apartment. I think it was all the work I put in walking and blowing that prevented me from having to do physical therapy after I was discharged. The nurses always commented on how well I was doing with the walking…it was difficult, hard, painful but I think it made the difference.

Kris