lbutiong
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Hi,
Thank you all for taking the time to share your insights. Everything is appreciated.
My Mom starts chemo next week. Kris, I’ll make sure that she’s kept warm (with mittens, thick socks and scarf).
God bless us all!
I may have spoken to soon :0( Just this morning, my Mom started to feel that kind of abdominal pain again…but this time, it’s in a different spot. The abdominal pain that she experienced before was more on the RUQ to middle (where the liver is?) of the abdomen. Now, it’s more on the L side. She continues to take her lower dose of Oxycontin and with Oxycodone 10 mgs about 4 hours apart, as needed. She’s already taken at total of 20 mgs. today. My Mom said that the pain would subside but not enough to last her more than 4 hours.
This has happened before and would only last for a couple of days. Maybe, my idea of lowering the Oxycontin wasn’t a good idea after all. She was doing so well and now this…
I’ve called my Mom’s SCCA Oncologist and waiting for a reply.
My Mom has a significant med’l Hx of:
1. Asthma
2. High cholesterol
3. Hypertension
4. Hypothyroidism
5. UTIPercy, it’s really hard to determine whether the side effects were caused by the chemo or Y-90? I believe it’s more of the chemo that caused:
1. Anemia – My Mom received blood transfusion last October
2. Fatigue
3. Insomnia
4. Lack of appetite – My Mom’s potassium level was low, replaced with potassium oral liquid
5. Nausea/vomitting
6. Shortness of breath, even with minimal exertionOccasional complaints of lightheadedness and no edema noted. I’m not sure about her liver enzymes.
My Mom is slowly recovering from all of these. I believe the Remeron and Megace helped her a lot.
God Bless.
Hi Percy,
To anwer your questions:
1. My Mom’s 68 years old when she had both Y-90 treatments done.
2-3. My Mom was on Gemcitabine and Cisplatin. I can’t remember exactly for how long. I believe her first round was 2nd week of March and last round was last week of April (or 1st week of May?). There were also a breaks somewhere in between.
4. My Mom underwent “mapping” sometime in June. The IR doctor didn’t mention anything about the % of the leaking test for the lung. He just said that my Mom was a good candidate for the Y-9O procedure.
Hope this info helps.
God Bless
Thanks Lainy and Marion…
Hi Willow, it’s been 3 months since my Mom’s last Y-90 (she had a total of 2, about a month a part, targeting 2 parts of her liver). The Interventional Radiologist at UWMC was very impressed about the results, based on CT scan 1 month post-Y-90. We went to see her Oncologist at SCCA last Wednesday. Next CT scan of chest, abdomen and pelvis is scheduled sometime in January. He said that they’ll decide from there whether my Mom still needs to do more chemo or not.
My Mom, though she continues to take Remeron and Megace daily, is doing great. Her abdominal pain is almost down to zero so we start to taper her Oxycontin dose.
I continue to pray for my Mom’s complete healing. With God, NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE.
Hi Davis,
My Mom had Y-90 treatments last July and September. No significant side effects except for fatigue. So far, so good…
I hope your Mom feels better.
Hi everyone! I just want to share the good news that my Mom received last Wednesday.
My Mom had 2 Y-90 treatments, one in July and the other one in September. Based on her latest CT Scan, her IR Doctor is very pleased with the results. According to him, more than 90% of her large tumor is dead!
Her next Oncology appointment will be in November. Maybe another round of chemo???GOD is good.
Queenzerka, thank you for taking the time to reply to my question. I’m still looking into it. I was able to find the dcasite.com website. I sent “Bill” an email and still waiting for a response.
Should you be interested, one of the members of the site recommended a pharmacy based in Canada (Hollandview Pharmacy). They prepare dca capsules based on weight and dca mgs. dosage you want. An estimate for my Mom was $200 for a 60-day supply (137 lbs and 10 mgs) + shipping, of course. Additional, would be the Vitamin B1 supplements.
Thanks for sharing this info queenzerka. Would you mind sharing where you purchased DCA for your father? I’m seriously considering this for my Mom who’s been diagnosed with a tumor the size of a baseball…I’m open to anything that will help shrink my Mom’s tumor. She’s currently on her 2nd round of cisplatin/gemcitabine chemo regimen.
Thank you in advance.
Hi all. My Mom just finished her chemo #2 today. So far, so good! Anyway, as expected Cisplatin went up first followed by Gemcitabine (I believe there’s hydration pre-, in between and post).
@PCL – here’s the link provided by my Mom’s oncologist.http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0908721
It’s a clinical study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
@Pamela – I appreciate all the information you provided. I wish you and Lauren all the best as well. Lauren is very blessed to have you fighting this battle with her.God bless!
Hi! So far, so good with my Mom post-first chemo round. She has been feeling the need to sleep more. I guess this is better as opposed to being sick in the stomach or something.
@PCL – Sorry for the late response. I understand what you mean about shorter infusion time. It was an hour shorter because the RN administered both the IV hydration and Gemcitabine at the same time. Anyway, we’ll be seeing her Oncologist on Monday and I’ll make sure to ask him about the rationale behind the Cisplatin first then Gemcitabine next.
@Eli – Thanks again. I’ll offer my Mom Tylenol (or Excedrin, as PCL recommended in one of the forums).
@PCL – Thanks for all the info. My Mom’s next round of chemo will be on Monday. I believe we’ll be seeing her Oncologist before administration. I’ll ask him about the study.
Thanks for replying Eli. My Mom’s nurse instructed us to take Zofran 3 days after chemo. I guess the combination of the IV anti-emetics (same family as of Zofran?) given to her pre-chemo should cover the 1st 3 days. However, the rest (Compazine, Reglan and Lorazepam) she can take.
Just this morning, she woke up fine and then headache started to creep in. Is this an “aura” to nausea. Will Compazine help?Thanks again.
Hi all…My Mom received her 1st chemo today (Cycle 1, Day 1). Her temperature is normal but WBC increased to 15+. She was given 3 different anti-nausea medicines (IV Emend, Dexamethasone and Aloxi). She 1st received Cisplatin and then Gemzar. Her Oncologist ordered specifically for her to receive Cisplatin 1st as opposed to their usual routine of Gemzar then Cisplatin. This was also clarified by the nurse. Apparently, there has been a study/clinical trial done sometime in 2011 regarding this matter. I guess, it is significant as to which chemo drug goes in first.
My Mom was prescribed a bunch of anti-nausea meds to take as needed (Zofran, Compazine, Reglan and Lorazepam). Any thoughts as to which medicine to take first, with least side effects?
Thanks in advance.
