gavin
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Hi Darius,
Welcome to the site and thanks for introducing yourself over on this thread, I know you will get a lot more responses and stuff over here. Sorry that you had to find us all and sorry to hear about your mum, but glad that you joined in with us as loads of support and help will be coming your way from everyone.
If we can help in any way we will and I know that you will finds tons of info here on the site and from everyone too. Please let us know what treatment options your mum is thinking of or has been offered etc and where they will be done. Has your mum sought a variety of opinions from different facilities as well as that is something to think about also.
Looking forward to hearing from you more.
My best to you and your mum,
Gavin
Hi Julie,
Cuppa and a blether…. A cup of tea and a chat! I always find that a cuppa and a blether helps with so much!
I can so imagine that a 3 month old will keep you very busy and no doubt helps as you say keep your mind off of other things. Babies and kids have a great way of doing that do they not! The smile I would argue is much better than the crying!
Hopefully you will get all of the answers to your questions from your onc this week and I hope that the answers are good news as well as the results of the scans, lots of good news please! Fingers crossed for you Julie.
Hugs,
Gavin
Very well said Marion! There is no recognition of land borders for this cancer and as we know, rural Thailand has some truly horrific rates of CC compared to the rest of the world.
Hugs,
Gavin
Great news Patty! I replied to your post over on that thread and mentioned some things about Greece as well.
Hi Patty,
What a great report, superb news!!! Thanks for this and let me say again, this is brilliant news, well chuffed for you!! And a doctor handing you money…. love it!!! And more to come from Dr Javle as well, superb! Thanks as well for the pic of the Dr and his children. Great that he sent you the pic and his kids look very happy with the book!
Hope you enjoy your holiday! A word of caution on Greece though. Not sure when you are going and I am sure you are aware of the economic chaos that Greece is in right now. Just in case you don’t know, the Greek banks have been closed since last week and IMO will not open until at least next week but who knows really, it could be longer. ATM’s in Greece are running out of physical notes and to me, this chaos shows no sign of ending anytime soon. My advice would be to take plenty of physical Euros for spending money as I don’t think card payments are being accepted now.
Not trying to put a downer on your holiday Patty but just thought I’d give you a heads up on what is happening in Greece on the ground as I like to follow things like this quite closely.
Hugs,
Gavin
Hi Julie,
“Duh” moments….. I have sooo many of them! Hope you were able to get the piece printed off as that will make things so much easier for you and the onc at your meeting rather than have to explain the piece to him instead. I really should get myself a printer as well I think, not had one since my uni days.
Yes I think this is def worth bringing to his attention as who knows what he may say or recommend etc. And thanks in advance for letting us know his thoughts on this piece, that will be of great help to us all.
Big GRRR to strange feelings in your belly and yes, I can so imagine why your mind starts working overtime and worrying about these. I can still remember vividly the anxiety and everything that went with that with my dad and leading up to his scans. If I was with you right now I’d tell you to put your feet up and I’d make you a cuppa and we could have a blether! And yes Julie, you will get through this too and as always, you know we are here for you as well.
Big hug for you,
Gavin
Thanks for that Marion and of course to Duke for his very generous donation as well.
Thank you Duke!
Gavin
Hi Julie,
As far as Metformin and your type ll diabetes goes and with regards to the questions you ask I am not sure really so would not like to say either way. I think I am reading this study the same way that you are and have read it a few times now but can not say for sure. Are you going to print out this piece and take with you on Friday when you meet with your Onc at Mayo? Think that is what I would do if it was me. Keeping my fingers crossed for the test results and I would be very interested to hear what your onc says with regards to your questions as well if that is okay with you?
Hugs,
Gavin
Hi David,
Welcome to the site. Thanks for doing the search for CC abstracts from this years ESMO. I’m waiting to hear back on whether we can link to each one individually so can have a link to each abstract on the relevant board. Why don’t you introduce yourself on the Introductions part of the site as that way more people can say hello to you!
Thanks again for the link and looking forward to hearing more from you.
Best wishes,
Gavin
Hi Clare,
From what I learned last week PoA in Scotland has 2 parts. 1st would cover you for making financial decisions for your dad if he stipulated that and the 2nd would give you power to make decisions on his behalf re his care. I think as well that the 2nd part would cover where he would receive care, what type and you would be responsible for that. It takes a lot of power away from the docs and would put in your dads hands as it were through you so that you could carry out his wishes. The example I was given last week was if someone was to have a stroke and could not make any decisions for themselves then PoA would be very good in enabling the patient to get what they wanted treatment wise or not.
Hope some of that makes sense Carol. The person who advised me on all of this was from the Dundee Carers Centre so I guess they are allowed to give that sort of advice. Here is a link for you as well on PoA –
http://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/power-of-attorney
Think it will cost between £200 – 300 to draw up. I take it that your dad has other financial things in order, will etc. Sorry to bring this up but getting all of this stuff in order makes so much sense and I know that for some people it can be a very tough topic to discuss that so many people shy away from for obvious reasons. Let me know if I can help anymore Carol and you know if you want to discuss things off board you can do that as well if you are more comfortable with that.
Hugs,
Gavin
Hi Sarah,
Welcome to the site. Sorry that you had to find us all here and I am sorry to hear about your FIL, but glad that you have joined us here as you are in the best place for support and help and will get loads of each from all of us. I am from Scotland so will not really add anything to the recommended place of treatment for your FIL, but just to say that I would be happy if it was me at either facility. And from what you say re Houston, house and your FIL’s association with MDA already perhaps they would feel easier? Here is a thread regarding treatment facilities mostly in the US that was created by our members here that should be of interest to you –
http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?id=3126
Like Lainy says, we will be able to answer questions better when your FIL gets more info on his CC re staging and treatment options etc. But of course he should ask about surgery and that being an option etc but I am sure that he will be told that when he is given all the info. From what you say, it does sound like your FIL is in good health and that certainly helps a lot I would argue.
Good on you and your husband for seeking as much info as you can as the better informed you are the better you will be able to help your inlawas when it comes to decision making etc. Good point re the stats, just don’t read them!
Do keep coming back Sarah, we are here for you. Please let us know what is said about everything and I look forward to hearing from you more.
My best to you and your FIL,
Gavin
Hi Carol,
Thanks for letting us know how things are with your dad and I am glad to hear he is doing a bit better again. That roller coaster again is it not. Strawbs and ice cream good stuff! Can’t beat that at this time of the year and I know he will have enjoyed them!
I so agree with Lainy in that it sounds like your dad is wanting to get things in order so that it takes the pressure off of you and your mum. My dad did that as well. He too had the chance to come home from hospice for a bit but decided against it as he knew what it would involve for me looking after him and mum as well. Plus, he felt a but more comfortable and safe I guess in hospice with the medical team around him 24 hours a day. I think that for everyone this decision will have to be their own and could be different to others and my only advice would be just to go with what your dad wishes.
The power of attorney document should be very easy and quick for your dads solicitor to draw up and he will be able to put in it exactly what he wants to happen should something happen etc and it will also start at a time or situation of his choosing. Reason I know this is that this something that I have been looking into for my mum as well. It does give the person granted the power of attorney much more control over everything as stipulated by the person who it covers, your dad. A good idea I would argue that can save a lot of stress, worries etc at what is a very stressful time for you all.
Hope your dad was able to enjoy the tennis today, another great result for Andy!
My best to your dad and a big hug to you as well,
Gavin