Our father just diagnosed with bile duct cancer.
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Hi Tommy,
Great to hear from you again. Glad to hear that your dad is starting treatment number 2 today and I hope that it goes well for him. Also glad to hear that the laxatives are helping with his stomach and that he is able to eat without so much pain. If these symptoms persist then I would take Marions advice and talk with your dads onc about this to see what he/she recommends. And you are doing the right thing for your dad here in reaching out and seeking further information about all of this, and yes, this is a rotten disease. Please let us know how this treatment goes for your dad and remember that we are all here for you.
My best wishes to you and your dad,
Gavin
Tommy….Peggy said it: it is a learning experience for all. We just plug along until something works for us. I like your expression of “of rocket fuel laxative,” but would also like to caution you from overdoing it as it can cause havoc with the electrolytes. (Gatorade is helpful)
All of us are lay people with tons of experience under the belt, but the treating physician is the expert and should be notified of anything unusual.
Others may have more thoughts also.
All my best wishes,
MarionHi Tommy,
I’m so glad your dad is feeling better and I hope he is able to get his treatment tomorrow. Don’t be alarmed if his counts are low; John’s counts usually drop too low and he has to get a shot and wait 14 days after that before he can get his next treatment. Surprisingly, last Monday, he was able to get treatment after having it the week before. They said he was borderline but couldn’t reach his oncologist, so they went ahead and gave it to him. Tomorrow morning we have to talk with his oncologist to see if he has come up with any other options for John. He had scans on Monday so I’m anxious to see if anything has changed since the ones he had in August. They were not good. This is a learning experience for all of us; so just hang in there, take it one day at a time and keep fighting. Good luck tomorrow, PeggyP
My dad has treatment number two tomorrow. Thankfully after some rocket fuel strength laxatives his stomach feels much better and eating isn’t causing as much pain. We are so new to this rotten disease that we just don’t know what to do in order to make my dad feel his best.
Tommy,
John always says he feels bloated after eating and doesn’t feel like doing anything. Sometimes, he says food just doesn’t appeal to him. He tries to think of things that he might would eat so we usually choose our menu around what he prefers. He really hasn’t had a problem with his appetite except on days right after he has treatment. I know when he tries to sleep, he usually always puts a pillow against his stomach because he says his stomach aches. I’m glad to hear your dad didn’t have any problems with the chemo. Does he have another treatment this Friday? If so, I hope that goes well for him, also. PeggyP
My dad just had his first chemo treatment on Friday and did pretty well. He has a good appetite but feels lousy for hours on end after eating. Any thoughts?
Hello Tommy D,
I have stage 3 unresectable intrahepatic CC. It has been 11 months since my diagnosis. I have had gem/cisplatin. The only problem I had was I could not tolerate zofran (got a real bad headache). Zofran is given to prevent nausea, I took compazine instead.
I had no nausea, I was tired and rested whenever I needed it. I had blood work every week.
I wish your dad success with these drugs. Sincerely, JohannaPeggy,
Thank you very much for your response. We really don’t know what to expect starting tomorrow, but hearing that your story started 3 years ago is very inspiring. Thank you.
Dear Tommy,
My husband is on gemzar/cisplatin/avastin right now. He has never gotten sick from it but he does get very tired and weak. His blood counts and platelets drop very low so he usually has to get a shot called neulasta before he can receive his next treatment. He still gets up very early in the morning and does as much as he can but will rest when he needs to. Sometimes, he goes to bed around 6:30 but most nights around 8:00. He doesn’t like to take medicine but he has been taking the nausea medicine lately because he says the nurse told him it would be better to have it in his system just in case. Also, he usually has his worse days two or three days after chemo. He doesn’t sleep very well during this time so I might find him napping in another room if I go looking for him during the day. My husband is Stage IV intrahepatic CC and was diagnosed a little over 3 years ago. The first chemo treatments he was on, he had to wear a pump for 48 hours and he was very sensitive to cold. After an adverse reaction, they switched him to the gemzar/cisplatin/avastin. They told us that this was more toxic and he would have more side effects, but to be honest, he hasn’t had near the problems that he did with the other chemo. Hope this has helped you some and I hope that your dad will do well with his treatment. Let us know how he does. PeggyP
Thank God (Big Ed) didn’t get the nickname because he’s a delicate flower. My pop is a big boy and can eat and we now know we’re going to have to make sure he does while he goes through his treatment.
When my mom did that treatment she felt great during the treatment process. My mom went in for a few hours and then left the hospital with a pump for two days. The pump was then taken out. She would start the process on a Tuesday. On Saturday and Sunday was her worst days. She perhaps only got sick once, but just didn’t feel well the whole time. She looked forward to the days she got the chemo, because that was when she was feeling her best.
With more sessions, my mom got more tired. Also, the chemo took a toll on my moms taste buds. Food still tastes horrible to her. Beef him up now. However, the doctors suggested my mom drink ice water to numb the taste buds. But my stubborn mother won’t drink ice water, as she is worried about arteries hardening;) Then they suggested she gargle with it, but she won’t. The nurse just suggested that we try artificial saliva, to help with the taste of her food. We haven’t tried it yet. That will be on my agenda tomorrow.
Best of luck with treatments.
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