devoncat
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Carol,
I too am sorry that cc has again entered your life but also excited about your upcoming wedding.There is no harm in getting more opinions. Not to be too nosy, but where are you in the UK? My surgeon was Prof. Garden at the Royal Edinburgh Infirmary. He has that Regis title which I forget which basically means that if someone in the Royal Family gets hepto billary issues, they go to him. He was away at Harvard for awhile, but last time I googled him it appeared he is back in Edinburgh. Perhaps you could send your records to him.
Plus, I had surgery denied by 3 surgeons and finally the fourth guy said basically, what the heck? we might as well try. So I am off for a very experimental, high risk surgery in 2 weeks. But chemo isnt working for me, so here is my shot. Not everyone would choose my path.
Anyway, good luck with life and enjoy what lays infront of you.
Kris
Hi Swissgirl. I know nothing about endocrine cancer. But I am confused is this in addition to cc or instead of cc?
Kris
Hi there Dads Daugher. I had the exact same symptoms a little over a year ago. In my case, the doctors first believed scar tissue was causing a blockage but it turned out a tumor had returned and was pressing the lower end of my stomach closed so the food could not go down the intestines to digest. I had a wonderful surgery that opened my stomach and havent looked back since. Lets hope it is not that, but if it is, there are ways to fix it.
Kris
Fantastic. I forgot to also mention steroids. They help on so many levels and make you as hungry as a starving dog. I wake up in the middle of the night and HAVE to eat.
Kris
Jeff,
Try not to worry too much. Working most likely makes Mark feel “normal” and gets his mind off of cc. That is as healing as anything else out there. His body will tell him when he needs to take a step back. He needs to find out where those boundries are now. He will surely fall once or twice from pushing too hard. I know I did. But it is the only way to find out what you are capable of now. We all need to learn to live within our limitations, but we need to time find out what those limitations are now. I hope I am making sense. Marc will find the way with your help, but it will take time.Kris
Margaret,
YIKES! Scary stuff. Hope things calm down. Get rid of that infection and get him home!Kris
Margaret,
Hang in there. Hopefully this will all calm down with the iv antibiotics. Sending warm hugs and thoughts.Kris
My platelets drop with gemzar/cispl regime. They can continue to fall even after the treatment has stopped for a bit. Last week, my numbers were low so they tested again 3 days later for a total of 10 days since the last chemo treatment and the number of platelets continued to fall. The dr. said that just happens sometimes. I had to avoid all physical activity since a bruise could be dangerous and was instructed to go to the hospital if I got a bloody nose or cut myself. Then I was told to just wait it out that there was nothing they could do. Numbers have improved now. My doctor said it was normal.
Kris
It is not long enough to tell if it is very different. It is just long enough to cover the bald patches and give enough “padding” so that the hair that was left lays better.
I am so glad Hans stopped me from shaving my hair when the bald patches appeared.
Gemzar does lower my blood count sometimes. In fact I had to delay chemo this week because of it. Try not to worry to much on that one. It is common. Make sure he stays away from sick people and use antibacterial gel. If he also has low platelets, he will need to make sure he isnt doing anything that can cause bruising or the possibility of getting cut since his blood will not clot as well.
Fever can be common also. It can be from an infection or just from “tumor fever”. I have had both. Many people get a fever after each chemo round. It is good they are going to check for an infection since his blood counts are off.
As to lack of appetite, talk to his doctor. There are drugs based on marijuana that can help with that.
As to fatigue…that is just something you have to deal with. Chemo is hard on the body. Plus your dad had a big surgery. His body needs to heal. I didnt have chemo after my surgery and I had fatigue for about 5 or 6 months after.
Hope that helps/.
KrisAfter i had my surgery, the doctor and nutritionist were very specific that there were no “bad” calories. That your body needed everything to help heal and what one might limit during normal times, was not to be worried about now. In fact the dietician recommended I add oil and butter to everything just to get extra fats and calories i needed to heal. She also recommended adding protein powders to soups. If your husband can handle tea and coffee why not let him have it? If he is like me and adds milk and sugar to it, he is getting extra calories needed to help heal.
I am not familiar with the names of shakes and powders in the US, but you could stop in at the vitamin store and ask. There has to be some lactose free drinks.
Take care.
KrisI have a port and love it. I had a reaction to oxilaplatin when it went through my arm, but not with the port. Plus, my veins have always been small and difficult for the nurses and the port really just lets them plug things into me without a problem. I get everything through my port…chemo, bloodwork, contrast for scans….everything and it has made life so much simpler.
Kris
