What next?
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Hi,
why you schedule your interventional radiologist’s appointment after the CT scan instead of 2 weeks from now,That way will provide a more up to date picture for him to make his assessment .
I think they can do something(ie: RFA on the 2 liver spots ;but the one that fused with the stomach is a bit difficult ,may be he/she will use chemoembo or radioembo for it first;the whole thing also depending on whether how the Gemzar works out so far.Miracle does happen,if the tumor responding to treatment,it may separate from the stomach ,(although I think it is too early to tell )and that will be the best news so far;then your treatment options will be more and better. If he/she say no, ask why? Is it the location of the tumor too close to major organs or major blood vessels? Can he/she go around them and what will be the side effects of such interventional treatment ?Can he /she tell you if your dad is able , will he/she uses RFA ,chemoembo or radioembo or the combinations and why ?
Ask questions to help you learn and retain the knowledge to help your dad;you will be surprised if you asking questions like that;the radiologist will treat you a bit differently knowing that you have done your preparation .
God bless.Bkat….Indeed you are, Bkat, a great advocate for your Dad. You are doing exactly what counts by becoming informed and reaching out to experts in order to make well informed decisions. Knowledge is power.
Good luck for continues success for your Dad and please, stay in touch.
All my best wishes,
MarionNot much news to report. CBC is improved, due no doubt to last week’s transfusion. The oncologist felt he was doing well enough to have a third session of Gemzar, which I think came as a bit of a surprise since she was originally talking about one week on/one week off or, at best, two weeks on/one week off. So this counts as progress. Still no discernible side-effects from the chemo itself, although fatigue seems to be omnipresent which I assume to be “normal” from the tumor.
Also, I reached out to the interventional radiologist who performed his liver biopsy just to get a sense of whether setting up an appointment for him to take a look at my dad to see if liver directed therapy might be on the table. He was amenable to that so the appointment is in two weeks. We shall see.
He’s also scheduled for a CT scan in five weeks. That will give a good picture into how this fight is going.
Mainly, I’m trying to make sure we’ve covered all the bases and not overlooked any options, even if they are not viable.
Bkat,
My daughter’s food of choice is chicken fingers. I would think they would upset her stomach, but they never do! The only thing that seems to bother her is spaghetti sauce. Best of luck to your dad and I hope he enjoyed every last bite of his fried chicken.-Pam
Bkat, so glad to hear your Dad is doing better. A request for fried chicken says it all! Wishing for him to keep up the good work and I am sure after the transfusion he will be raring to go.
Bkat…..Your Dad is such a fighter. I am glad that most things have corrected and am expecting the hemoglobin issue to be resolved with the upcoming transfusion. Funny, the steroids must be working …..fried chicken? Sounds great. When my husband had a craving I made sure to give in because, his body would give the signal of like or dislike. Fat intake can upset digestion however; it is not necessarily the case with everyone.
Good luck and fingers crossed for a better week coming your Dad’s way.
All my best wishes,
MarionDear All,
Well, he is feeling better today. (Yesterday was pretty bad.) Covered a range of issues with the oncologist. He is on steroids, but she increased the dosage to help address the lack of energy. His CBC results are mixed. White blood cell count is back into the normal range, iron levels back to normal, although his hemoglobin is down from last week to 9.1. (It was 9.8 a week ago and 13.8 in August.)The doctor gave him the option of skipping this week’s chemo but he decided he’s willing to go with the two on/one off schedule. Figures it’s best to charge ahead as long as he can. He is scheduled for a transfusion on Friday. His first. Hopefully this will address the hemoglobin issue. It’s for one unit since his legs are still swollen and she didn’t want to add to the problem by introducing too much fluid.
The funny part is, he said he had a taste for fried chicken. As someone who hasn’t had an appetite since summer, that was good news. I snuck out of the room while he was getting chemo to ask the doctor to give my dad “permission” to eat something deep fried and not feel guilty. She obliged.
Hi Bkat,
Sorry to hear that your dad is not feeling so good right now, how is he feeling today? Not really much I can add to what the others have said you and I hope that you will get some answers tomorrow from your dads oncologist. Please remember that we are all here for you and please let us know what your dads onc says.
My best wishes to you and your dad,
Gavin
Hi Bkat,
Sorry to hear your dad is not feeling well. My husband always seems to feel bad about the 3rd day after his treatment. Also, if his counts drop too low, that also contributes to his weakness and fatigue. Hopefully, you will get some answers tomorrow. Tell your dad that well wishes are coming his way and to keep on fighting and try to stay positive. Will keep him in my prayers, PeggyP
Hi,
Besides telling the oncologist tomorrow about your dad’s symptoms;The lab work they will perform on your dad (CBC,BMP) will also tell the doctors about the current condition of your dad.
Most likely ,the lack of appetite may be related to the tumor fused with stomachas you mentioned before.
The tiredness is more related to the pain pill (NORCO) than the Gemzar . In general, patient in good health will feel better in the later part of the chemo treatment time frame(ie: feeling worse for the first couple days and much better toward the 6th or 7th day in the one week cycle.I am talking about Gemzar only; not with the molecularly targeted agents like Avastin or Tacevar the like.)
I do think your dad’s reserve,as mentioned by his personal physician who knew your dad for a long time is gone and tomorrow’s lab will tell you a better picture whether the chemo is affecting his current state of health.
God bless.Bkat…well…it’s hard to say why he is feeling that way. Guessing, I would say the Chemo, BUT, you should contact the doctor right away and tell him what is going on, he will know best. I believe a Scan is the only way to really know anything. Vitamin B 12 is the one for tiredness. His signs may all be from the chemo. He also could be tired from the pain meds. There are other pain meds he can try. With CC or any cancer in fact you NEVER want to withdraw the pain meds if the patient is in pain as the pain will be harder to get under control. This is a tough call because of age and I would have the ONC make the decision about continuing and perhaps trying a different pain med. Please let us know.
It’s six days later and a question has come up. How does one know if symptoms are side-effects of the chemo or if they are a result of the CC?
Basically, he didn’t feel any different in the day or two following the chemo. Now, in the last 36 hours, he feels measurably worse. He can barely walk due to weakness, says he hurts, general malaise, doesn’t feel like eating, sleeps most of the time, etc. I know mentally this has to take a toll, but seeing him today he looked unhealthy.
Round two of chemo is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. I think he is wondering whether it’s worth the effort. (He told my sister he feels he’s declining no matter how hard he tries not to.) Thanks to your suggestions, I plan on asking the doctor about vitamin D or other options to see if that might help. He’s not on steroids, so that is another question I will pose.
Sidebar question. The doctors have him on Norco for the pain. Could this be contributing to his lack of energy? I would never want to deny him anything that makes him more comfortable. But I’m cautious about doctors making assumptions and possibly keeping him drugged simply because he’s older and his cancer is non-resectible.
Thanks again. You are a wonderful group.
Hi Bkat,
Thanks for letting us know how your dad got on with his first round of chemo and it sounds like it went well and that he is doing well with it also. That is great that he is feeling no side effects right now and that he is eating, a good start as you say. My dad never had chemo or surgery, but he did take some of the supplements that Marion and Lainy talk of. He used to take an Ensure drink as well as eating to help keep his weight up, and his cancer nurse also recommended that he take some excercise when he could. Nothing too strenuous, but just going for a walk. Plus going for a walk got him out of the house for some fresh air which did him a lot of good.
My best wishes to you and your dad,
Gavin
BKAT, Glad to hear your Dad is doing so well with the chemo. I would say something to the ONC about the low iron. Teddy had radiation bot not chemo and hebecame very tired so the ONC put him on Vitamin B12 shots once a month. When he didn’t feel like eating much I gave him a Carnation Breakfast Shake. It was recommended by Hospice. The Shake has enough of everything in it to replace a meal. Teddy loved the Vanilla and I would blend in a banana. Teddy was a very vital man and I think he used to get a little frustrated as well by the lack of strength. One Doc did suggest a minor walking regime. Like first just walk down the driveway and increase by the yard as he is able. GO DAD GO! One of the hardest things is to mentally feel like you CAN but physically you can’t.
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