pamela
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Lainy,
Lauren already found her dress, ordered it, and picked it up already! It is beautiful. They are having an old school Italian wedding.
Thanks, Gavin. Every day she gets up and weighs herself and says, Lost 3 more pounds!! I think she has now lost 26 pounds of fluid!! She is still really tired, worn out, sore, but feels so much better with all that water weight gone.
Hi Suzy,
I am so glad you ordered the Lindi Skin product. It feels better than any other lotion. I know you will love it!! Isn’t it great not to have to sit there all day at chemo getting Cisplatin!!! Gemzar is a piece of cake without it. Lauren is doing better. She has lost 19 pounds of fluid in the last week!!
Lainy- You crack me up!!!
Take care, ladies!!
Hugs,
-PamHi Scheitrumc,
I just wanted to welcome you to this site and tell you that I am sorry to hear about your wife. It is such a terrible shock to find out you have cancer. My daughter, Lauren is the one with cc. Like others have said, once a plan of attack is in place, you will feel so much better about things and really begin to fight. It helps so much to have an oncologist that you really like and trust. I am glad to hear you have a great support system. I wish you and your wife all the best in your journey and hope to hear from you again.
Best wishes,
-PamHi Suzy,
My daughter, Lauren has been on Gemzar/Xeloda before. Xeloda was fairly tough for her to handle. Stomach upsets and really hard on her feet. I think everyone reacts differently to each chemo. She also was on Gem/Cis at the beginning of her 17 months on chemo along with 5-FU and handled that very well. If you find Xeloda to be difficult to handle, ask if you can switch to 5-FU. It is very similar, but is administered through a pump over 48 hours. Lauren tolerates 5-FU much easier than Xeloda. One tip with the Xeloda is to really put lots of lotion on your feet. Towards the end of each cycle Lauren had, her feet would be so red and peely and lotion helped a lot. I wish you all the best with your new chemo.
Hugs,
-PamHuong-my,
I would like to welcome you to this site and tell you that I am very sorry about your dad. Have you looked into University of Michigan Hospital? We live in Ohio and travel to U of M for my daughter Lauren’s care. They have an excellent cancer center and Lauren has a wonderful oncologist, Mark Zalupski. She also has a brilliant liver surgeon who does many resections and liver transplants named Christopher Sonnenday. She has had the first of a two part liver resection on March 26th after being on chemo for 17 months. She will be having the second part in May. She was always considered unresectable until recently. We could not be happier with the great care she receives from these two doctors. I hope you find a facility where your dad feels comfortable and he gets excellent care.
-Pam
Yippee!!! So happy for you, Susie! I’m happy you got the results quickly. I think it is cruel and unusual punishment for doctors to make anybody wait for scan results. Sleep well, dear Susie.
Love,
-PamDear Honeyz1,
I am so very sorry to hear of your Dad’s passing. I am glad you were all there surrounding him with love and that he went peacefully. My heart is with you, your sister, and your Mom. I’m sure this is so difficult for all of you.
Love and hugs,
-PamHey Big Red,
That is a perfect nickname for you. Hot and spicy just like the gum!!! Haha! No really, I am happy all is well.
Love and hugs dear friend,
-PamHi Ceance,
I just wanted to welcome you to this site and say I am sorry your husband has CC. Sorry, but my daughter, Lauren has been on many chemos, but not Docetaxel. I think it depends on what facility you visit as to who might do surgery. My daughter, Lauren, has tumors on both sides of her liver, and has portal vein involvement. She had been on various chemos and had Theraspheres last year. She was thought to be inoperable at the beginning as well. Her surgeon thought now was the right time to do surgery on her and she had part one the end of March where her liver was cut in two and tumors were removed from one side of her liver. She will be having the second part of the surgery probably mid May. It has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination, but never say never. Don’t give up hope on surgery and best of luck with the new chemo.
Love and hugs,
-PamHi Rosegrace,
My daughter, Lauren, was on Gem/Cis at one time. They gave her nausea meds in her IV before she got chemo. It was called Aloxi. They also can give Zofran, but it gave Lauren bad headaches. She also got a lot of fluids through her IV, so I don’t believe there was a chance for dehydration. I don’t know if I would call any chemo “mild.” Everyone reacts differently to every chemo. In Lauren’s case, she would feel like she had been run over by a truck for a few days and sleep a lot after chemo. This particular chemo did not make her real nauseous, but once in a while it would sneak up on her and she would throw up. Ask for a prescription to take at home for nausea. Lauren has Compazine and Ativan. Ativan can also be used for anxiety. Lauren takes one every night before bed. Cisplatin can really mess with the blood counts, especially platelets. Lauren had to miss a few chemo treatments due to low platelets. This is quite common. As for questions you should ask the onc., the main one is to find out and make sure he or she has treated many people with CC. This is a rare cancer and some doctors don’t have much experience with it. Write a list of questions you have before the appointment and make sure you are satisfied with the answers. I always go in with a list. I found reading as much as I can and learning the lingo really helps. It seemed so foreign to me at first, but now it is second nature. I wish you and your mother-in-law much luck and I am sending love and hugs your way. I really hope things go well. A positive attitude helps immensely. Take care.
-Pam
Dear Exoaria,
I am so sorry to hear of your Mum’s passing. I have a son and we have a special bond, I’m sure the same you had with your Mum. She will be with you forever, not in the physical sense, but in your heart. I know it is probably almost unbearable to deal with, but hopefully things will get easier as time passes. Please talk out your feelings with special friends or see a counselor that will listen to you. It will help you to know that what you are feeling is normal. My heart goes out to you and I am sending you big, big hugs. Please take care of yourself and continue to do things that would make your Mum proud. God bless.
Love,
-PamDear Mary,
I am sorry you didn’t have the best news, well actually the news pretty much stinks, right? With this cancer, I have found that sometimes news is good and sometimes news is not good. You have to learn to accept the bad with the good, deal with it and go on. The most important thing is to keep a positive attitude and don’t give up hope. I am hoping the SBRT works wonders for you. I appreciate all the support you give Lauren and I. Now it is my turn to support you. I am sending my best wishes for you on May 8th and the days following. God bless you.
Love and hugs,
-PamHi Danny,
I would also like to welcome you to this site. Sorry it has taken me some time to respond to your post. My daughter had surgery on the 26th of March and I am just getting back in the swing of things. Martin sounds like such an amazing man and he gives us all hope. I’m hoping and praying his next scan will be a great one. I think sometimes doctors can be negative with regards to this cancer because most people don’t fair too well. Like everything, there has to be some at the far end of the curve that do well. I sure hope with new developments in cancer research that more people will start falling on that far end of survival. Bless you and Martin.
Hugs,
-Pam
