lmcnish
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My father has had a long history of taking prednisone due to asthma beginning very early in his life. He is 90 and has CC. During the early years, when prednisone was first used as a miracle drug he was on a constant dosage. He has asthma flares that result in taking prednisone at least 1 – 2 times each year. Sometimes he is on it for a month or two. It certainly makes me wonder if there is a link.
I just wanted to let you know that this is my dad’s third stent replacement and they still did not get a cancer diagnosis from biopsies or brushings at Mayo Clinic. However, the good news is that got 2 stents in this time, one in the right and one in the left trunk of the bile duct. He has been diagnosed since Ocotber 2nd and without any treatment other than stents, his cancer has not progressed. Yeah!!! I just want others out there to know this cancer can lay dormant or very grow very very slowly some times. Thanks everyone for being there to share our ups and downs with this cancer.
Lynn
Thank you everyone for your thoughtful input. Since I sent the first email much has happened. Within 7 hours of dad getting out of our local hospital he again was running a fever, nausea, chills etc. We took him to our local ER and insisted they take him to Rochester. Dad was taken by ambulance to St Marys and yesterday he had his stent replaced. He came home today. I have discussed how to make this happen faster for dad and we have a plan. My first contact will be his doctor at Mayo and he will direct the doctors locally to stablize him and send him to Mayo. This will save additional time as they eliminate every source of infection before they agree that it is his stent and send him to Mayo. It has been a long two weeks but the improvement in dad since the stent replacement has been dramatic. Thank you so much for your advice. I am learning to trust my instincts!!! Lynn
Libeco,
My father also went through that same depressive behavior and sleepless nights. In his case, he was prescribed a sleeping medication and used it for about 2-3 weeks and now is sleeping well without it. Hi mood is fairly stable but he has good and bad days. On the days he feels better his mood is just fine. On the not so good days, he is more depressed. We have talked to him about letting us know if he feels he needs support, medically or talk therapy, to deal with this terrible cancer. I bring this up to him every couple of days, and he promised to let me know when this is needed. Right now, I agree that he is doing ok and seems as time goes on, and he gets more time to process, the better he is coping. I hope this will be the same for your dad.
LynnMy situation sounds very similiar to your situation. My father will be 90 this month. He was diagnosed with CC on October 2, 2010. He was told he had 2-3 months to live. We went for a second opinion at Mayo Clinci in Rochester. His cancer is also inoperable and he has chosen to just do palliative care. Right now he has his second stent in and blood work is coming back normal. Normal billirubin counts. He is weaker than usual and dizzy. Other than that he is surprising the doctors with his continued stable health. We are not even scheduled to go back to Rochester for stent replacemnt until late January. Everyday that he is feeling OK is a blessing and right now we are not doing any type of chemo, etc. I hope that this will help as sometimes maybe a very viable option for now is to do nothing since our father’s quality of life is good. Best wishes for you and your father.
Thank you everyone for you support. We just got dad’s MRI results of his head back. He is experiencing extreme dizziness with very few other symptoms. His blood pressure checked out, sugar levels for his diabetes are fine and now he can be relieved that he does not have a brain tumor. He was so sure that was what was wrong. When I shared the good news, we both shed a few tears. My dad is so strong and idependant he fights having others having to care for him. The doctors are now thinking it may be his blood pressure meds, diabetes meds, or chlolesterol meds. He is off almost everything expect mexium and hydrocortisone for addison’s disease. He has been on these meds for many years. It is hard to understand how this can all of a sudden cause problems. Is it because the cancer does not allow the liver to break down the meds effectively? If we could get a handle on this problem his quality of life would be close to normal for him. We are waiting 7 days for the meds to get out of his system. I pray that he will feel better soon.
Just a side note: While my dad’s physical age is 89 he has the stamina and cognitive capabilities of a much yonger man. His doctor tells him all the time what a gift he has been given to live this long and be able to actively participate in life like a “youngster” of 75.
Thanks for all the kind thoughts and helpful tips.
Lynn
