Younger sister diagnosed with Advanced CC – Still Shocked
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Thanks for all the encouraging words. The fluid is filling up in her abdomen area which pushed the liver into her diaphragm and she said it rubs against her rib cage. As her blog states she is shuffling around liek a 90 year-old but she is bound and determined not to give into it.
Also, if anyone is aware of a low-sodium drink that will help her keep her weight on she would greatly appreciate it. I know she has an appointment to see a nutritionist but I am not sure when it is.
I am not very good with computers so if someone could put her blog in the external links for me I would greatly appreciate it.
I want to thank everyone for all your support.
Hi Judy,
Sorry ot hear that your sisters gem/cis combo didn’t work too well, but I will keep my fingers crossed for some better success with oxipaltin. My dad never had chemo but he also had issues with ascites. He had swelling of the feet, ankles, lower legs and also around the abdomen and as Marion says, this is not uncommon with this cancer. My dad never had his fluid drained, but it was something that they were considering.
I am glad to hear you say that your sister is fighting this tooth and nail and that her attitude is positive as that will definitely help her here.
My best wishes to you and your sister,
Gavin
BigSister…..thanks for sharing the correct blog address. I love reading your sister’s stories and am sending all my best wishes her way. BigSister, you might want to place Jessica’s blog in the more accessible place on this site under external links, blog. Updated messages on the discussion board may become lost due to the volume of threads however, when placed in the designated space, we will be assured for it to be accessible for everyone, anytime. Also, I wanted to mention that fluid build-up is not uncommon with liver disease. In fact, when entering ascities in the google function, top, right hand side of page you will be able to read up on the numerous other talks regarding this subject. I am crossing my fingers for good results with the current chemotherapy regiment.
Best wishes,
MarionBig Sister:
Where is the fluid build up? My brother has swollen ankles and feet since he started same chemo as your sister.
VictoriaAn update on my sister. Her blog site has been moved to: http://thisisforjessie.blogspot.com/.
My sister has been receiving the chemo cocktail of gemzar & cisplatin for the last 2 months but it didn’t seem to be helping much. Her tumor grew and in the past 4 weeks has had amlmost 10 liters of fluid drawn. Is anyone else experiencing this?
Last week they removed her from cisplatin and are giving her oxipaltin. Besides some naseau, a little vertigo and the liver pushing against her ribs she is handling chemo fairly well. She is still able to eat and gets around as best as she can but the fluid build-up is tremendous.
Through thick and thin she is fighting this cancer with tooth and nail. Keep up the positive attitude sis!
Welcome Judy,
I am so glad you found this site. You will find it to be most helpful in your sister’s fight against this cancer. Don’t lose hope and attitude means a lot. Sounds like your sister has a lot of fight in her yet! I had a very large tumor in my left lobe and the left lobe was completely removed with the bile duct, and gallbladder. I also have tumors in the right lobe and lymph node involvement. I was diagnosed in Mar 09 and had surgery Apr 09. I am currently being treated with a clinical trial of chemo.
Hang in there and keep on fighting for your family. I haven’t read the blog yet, but look forward to it. Give your sister my well-wishes and come back often.
Linda Z.
Hello Bigsister,
I would like to join the others and welcome you to this site. My Dad has CC and was diagnosed April afer having Jaundice since Feb. It is definatley a rollercoaster of emotions. Like you at the moment I am feeling angry, and keep asking why? My Dad was supposed to start chemo last month but his stent got blocked and his bilirubin was too high, so we are back to square one now. Everytime we get at step forward we seem to take 2 back.
I’m hoping to get the positive, fighting attitude back soon, but as you say it’s hard when you’re not in control and can’t fix or protect them.
Apart from an bacteria infection that Dad picked up laste week he has felt well throughout the last few months apart from the jaudice.
It is so good your sister has a positive fighting attitude as I beleive this helps, my Dad is very positive and the 2-3 months they gave him to live has come and gone. No one has an expiry date and hopefully your sister and my dad will prove the doctors wrong like so many on this wonderful site.
Best wishes to you and your sister.
I want to thank all of you who have responded and for all the kind words. I guess I am going through my anger stage and the last thing I want to do is upset her while she is on her positive high.
I am the third out of ten children and the first girl so being the “2nd mom” came naturally to me. Now I find myself in a situation where I can’t fix the hurt or protect her from the cancer and it is driving me crazy. I know it is not rational and maybe just a little selfish on my part.
I will get past this and I will join her on that “positive high” wagon and ride along with her.
Hello Judy!! Welcome to the best support network you could hope to find. Thanks for posting your sister’s blog – it looks really helpful & I’ll bookmark it. I started a blog, too. I’m not good at updating at the moment, but I’m writing from the perspective of a sister, not a patient. If it helps at all, you’ll find a link to it in the Blog Section. There are other blogs there, too, which will hopefully help you through this massive shock stage. I was bouncing off the walls when my sister was diagnosed last August, so I can really relate to your comments (though, in my case, I’m the “little” sister & she’s the “big” one).
This site has such wonderful people & loads of information to help you & your sister.
Please keep coming back. We’re all here for you.
Julia x
Hello Judy and welcome to the board,
The diagnosis of cc comes like a bolt of out of the blue to a lot of us doesn’t it? My Dad was diagnosed last May, which came as a tremendous shock, he had had no symptoms just blood work that was off kilter….
I can understand your anguish and shock but you have taken the first steps to empowerment by finding out as much as you can.
Sending my very best wishes to you, your sister and all your family. Please come back and update us.
Katie
Hi Judy,
Let me join in with Lainy and Marion in welcoming you here, but I am sorry that you had to find us all. Thank you for the link to your sisters blog, I will go and read that. I am glad to hear that your sister is a positive person and she seems to be up for fighting this. Please keep coming back here as you will get loads of support from us all. And please do not be afraid to ask any and all questions that you will have.
My best wishes to you and your sister,
Gavin
Hello Judy….I also would like to welcome you to our site. Lainy has already poined out that this board tries very hard to stay optimistic coupled, with a good dose of realism.
Judy, I also love the blog and I am wondering whether you would also like to repeat it “Blog section” of this site. This will assure us for the thread not to be lost in the high volume of postings.
Just a thought,
Best wishes are coming your way,
MarionHello Judy and welcome to our wonderful family. I just read your sister’s Blog and was so drawn to both of you girls. The shock, scare and fright will lessen as treatments begin as then a plan is in place and working. Try to read up as much as you can on CC as that also helps and knowledge is powerful. Don’t listen to statistics as we have had people on our site who were given 2 months and now it’s 2 years later. Remember that we were not born with expiration dates and above all keep up your wonderful attitudes as that is the best RX. Please keep us posted on your sister’s progress.
Hi, my name is Judy and my younger sister, who turned 40 this past February, was diagnosed with advanced cc on June 14, 2010. Growing up in a family of 10 kids is great but we are on the verge of losing a 2nd sibling within 5 years, both under the age of 46. My older brother was a testicular cancer survivor only to lose the battle with complications with a kidney transplant 4 years ago. We lost our mother 20 years ago.
I am writing because I am concerned because of the length of time they gave my sister to live, 6 months, and because the cancer has completely covered the left lobe of her liver, she has tumors on the right lobe but the right lobe has expanded to compensate for the loss of the left lobe, and the cancer has spread to her lymph nodes. She began her chemo treatment of gemzar and another cisplatin last week.
She is definitely a fighter and she will not take any of this lying down. The day she found out she called a family meeting and told all of face-to-face. The next day she invited her friends over and told them face-to face. We are all helping her get her affairs in order so all she has to worry about is fighting and living. She is the most positive person I know. She is not afraid to talk about it and welcomes any advice she can get her hands on. It is all about surviving. I was the one crying and she was consoling me?
I am still in shock and at times it doesn’t seem real. I am so glad I came to this sight because it has given me more hope that my sister can and will live past the 6 months she was given.
A friend of hers started a blog for her to express her feelings. It is not only therapuetic for her, but it helps me as well. (They say humor is a good medicine and she has a lot of that.) It makes you appreciate how precious life is and how we take our health for granted.
I look forward to reading more success stories and welcome any advice on what more I can do to help her through this.
Thank you for your time.
P.S. Her blog can be found at : http://bubbasez.blogspot.com
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