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Charlene,
It also occurred to me that John can’t go on hospice while he’s still receiving cancer treatment ie Tarceva. My dad was on hospice and when we had to remove him from hospic in order to start the Tarceva treatment.Charlene, why do you think the Tarceva is not working? Is John eating, or is he avoiding it because of the gas and burping? Have they given him Prevacid and/or Prilosec? As I said in my previous post my dad has to take both daily to help with these symptoms. What finally helped my dad was to take a full large bottle of magnesium citrate. It is over the counter and it made him have a bowel movement which got rid of the pressure. Now mom gives him a vegetable laxative like Senokot every night so that he has prope bowel movements. It has helped with the bloating.
Why do you say John is getting sicker every day?
My heart goes out to you. I’m so sorry you have all this chaos in your life in addition to having to deal with this life threatening disease. I will keep you and John in my prayers that God will lead you both to make the right decisions.
God Bless
fairydrop,
The dr and nurses told dad to walk. That is the only way to get the gases out. We do try GasX and other like products but they don’t seem to help. The dr also prescribed prilosec in the am and pepcid in the pm.They also said to avoid laying flat particularly after eating.
Your John sure has been figting this thing for a long time. We’ve been fighting this since Nov 2007. And everyday even every hour is different. With so many ups and downs. Dad started his second 3 week round of Tarceva last night. Monday will be the oxyplatin. I’ll keep you posted.
God bless
RachelWow Jeff, that looks like good work. I’m watching your sessions with interest. I’ll keep you wife in my prayers as she struggles as a caretaker and loved one affected by this disease.
My dad is also on Tarceva. He just completed one round of daily pills for 3 weeks and oxyplatin one week off and one week off for two sessions. The last scan showed that the tumor had not changed. They say this is a good sign because it had been really growing and spreading. Dad has stage IV with mets to lungs. He starts he second round of Tarceva tomorrow. He is feeling better. He was in bad shape before starting this treatment. In fact he was sent home to start hospice care when we came across a new doctor that started this protocol. He has not had the rash/pimples. He has had terrible indigestion, burping a lot with stomach pains. Other than that he is a lot stronger than he used to be. Keep us posted on how your treatment goes.
Kara,
So sorry for your loss. When was your mother diagnosed, how old was she, what kind of treatment did she try? And finally what kind of symptoms did she experience towards the end? I’m trying to brace myself for what kinds of things to be on the look out as this disease progresses. My continued prayers for you and your family.Jeff, After getting a diagnosis 4 weeks ago that dad had only 4 or so weeks left dad started his treatment of tarceva and oxyplatin. He’s on his third week of tarceva and his second treatment of oxyplatin. He looks better than he has since his diagnosis. He has stage IV cc and this new doctor told him that the odds were against him but that things couldn’t get any worse. He’s finally stable when he walks, he’s no longer confused and his color looks better. We’ll know in a couple of weeks if this treatment is helping when he goes in for his “report card”. He never liked school as a little boy but I’ve told him that this was one test he needed to pass
Rebecca, My dad is on a a treatment of oxyplatin with tarceva. Dad is on medicare and blue cross. His treatment was approved by medicare. Dad has stage IV cholangio with mets to lungs. Lots of luck. Our hope is that this treatment will work. We’ll know within a couple of weeks if there have been any changes.
We us caringbridge.org to update family and friends of my father’s condition. It’s a wonderful way to stay in touch with all the loved ones and it provides a guest book for friends and family to sign in to communicate with the immediate family. I highly recommend this website.
mybdm, I’m not sure I understand his condition. I guess I don’t know his historyand everything you’ve tried but based on what you wrote above I’m not sure I would be calling hospice yet. There are lots of doctors out there some more aggressive than others.
God bless
Jeff, as we brought my father closer to family to live out his last days he saw a new oncologist who has just started him on Tarceva. He started it last Friday. Will keep ya’ll posted.
Irene, I feel for you. It is a terrible disease and a difficult decision to make. My father has a Klatskin tumor which I believe is extrahepatic. In our case if we could have had surgery we would have taken the opportunity…I believe. It was never an option so never had to evaluate the risks.
From what I’ve read on this site, surgery is usually the goal because it gives more time.
More people I’m sure will add their thoughts. I pray that you make the right decision.Belle, I’m so sorry that this is happening. It must be so difficult for your sister since she’s unable to comprehend what’s going on. My father just started hospice this week and it is a very sad time. My hope would be that they could get her comfortable which I know will help the family. God Bless
RachelIris, last week they put my dad in the hospital fo the fever. They started the blood culture test. They gave him ibuprofen for the fever and the fever went down. The oncologists and the infectious disease dr at the hospital told my dad that the fever he was having was due to the tumor. The infectious disease dr says that this type of cancer causes fever. They said that when ibuprofen is given and the fever goes down then the tumor is creating the fever. Dad’s blood culture was clear so it is the tumor in his case.
My dad was finally released from the hospital yesterday. We are making arrangements to transport him to Dallas to be near family. We are having to look for a furnished apartment, oncologist and hospice care.
He has started having black stool. Has anyone ever had this symptom? He believes it’s from the stuff he had to drink for the CT scan. His tumor continues to give him fever which is being controlled with Ibuprofen. He takes loratab for pain. He’s taking some medicine to increase his appetite and it works very well. He eats a lot of food. His stomach is so distended that he looks pregnant. It seems to get bigger and bigger.
Please keep providing your input and your experiences. I share them with my family so that they can understand what to expect. I continue to pray for all.
