sallypa
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i just wanted to post an update. my sister just finished her final chemo cycle. she did pretty well all things considered. she does have some weakness and pain in her legs, and lost a lot of weight but she made it thru. now we have to just wait and see what happens. she goes for a full body scan in about a month. hopefully there will be no signs of cancer and it will never come back. we are trying to stay positive and pray for her.
my sister has completed the chemo/radiation period of her treatment. she is doing pretty well all things considered. she had a good christmas and new years. the treatment was rough but she made it thru and is now currently on a break. she lost a lot of weight but looks good. she will begin another 3 month round of gemzar at the end of the month. hopefully she will tolerate that as well as she did the first round. we were told by others that after a break the chemo seems to be more intense with more side effects. she was very happy that so far she hasnt lost her hair but again was told by others that will probably change when she restarts the chemo. does anyone know if this is true. we keep telling her to look forward to spring and the treatments will be finished.
i just wanted to post an update on my sister. she is half way thru the six week chemo-radiation treatment and so far she is doing as well as can be expected. after three more weeks she will get a month off before another three months of chemo. i wish researchers could come up with a better way to treat cancer than chemotherapy. we are looking forward to the break as it coincides with christmas and new years so hopefully she can enjoy the holidays without too much discomfort.
i am so sorry to hear of your mothers passing. i will keep both of you in my prayers. God bless you.
when my sister was first diagnosed with cc in july she was told her tumor was inoperable. her only chance was chemo in hopes of shrinking the tumor so they could operate. we sought out 2nd, 3rd and 4th opinions. we went to the university of pennsylvania hospital and the dr felt strongly that he could do the surgery. he originally thought by looking at the reports that he would do a bypass of the vein but when he got in there he didnt need to as the tumor was pressed up against the vena cava but hadnt damaged it. he got the tumor out with a 2mm margin. not the best of margins but the tumor is gone. my sister is now going thru to chemo and radiation in hopes that the cancer will not return. the lesson we learned was to keep looking for other opinions. i wish you all the best.
i just wanted to post an update. my sister finished her first cycle of gemzar chemo and now has a week off before she starts five weeks of 5fu chemo and radiation daily. so far she is doing good. the only side effects of the first round were tiredness, nausea, and some weight loss. we are all scared about this next process. we know it is going to be hard. we are praying for the best. i am praying the side effects will continue to be minimal.
after some problems at the hospital last week in which nothing got done because of scheduling errors. monday my sister started chemo. no problems so far except for being tired. we just keep our eyes on april 2011 when the chemo, radiation will be done and hopefully the cancer will be gone forever.
havent been writing lately as we hoped to find a second opinion that wouldnt call for six months of chemo and radiation. unfortunately there was no better news. my sister will begin the chemo on monday. hopefully the side effects will be minimal and God willing at the end of the six months she will be cured.
thank you tom for your support. i pray that your chemo treatment will continue to shrink your tumor so that maybe surgery could be performed. we are going to seek some other opininons about the post surgery chemo-radiation. we know that she is going to have to do some chemo/radiation. we were just hoping it would be shorter than a six month process. but if thats what it has to be than we will go ahead with it.
my sister just saw radiologist and oncologist today. they have recommended gemzar 1 time a week for 3 weeks than 1 week off, followed by 5 weeks of daily radiation and fluorouracil chemo followed by another 3 cycles of gemzar. she had successful resection surgery two weeks ago. the only problem was instead of a 2cm margin the doctor had one site near the vein could only get a 2 mm margin. this is why they are saying she needs this schedule. we are still going to look for another couple opinions. i would appreciate it if anyone has been given a similar opinion.
we had 3 appointments today with surgeon, radiologist and oncologist. the good news was the dr said the entire tumor was removed and the lymph nodes he removed all tested negative. he also said there was no other visible signs of spread. the bad news was he said while he wanted to get a 2 cm margin he was only able to get a 2mm margin meaning my sister will need chemo/radiation. the schedule seems grueling. one cycle (3 weeks on 1 off) of gemzar followed by 5 weeks of daily radiation followed by three more cycles of gemzar. i am hoping some of you may have some advise or knowledge of this schedule that you could share. the drs say this will all take about six months to complete. the kept saying the good news is that her resection surgery was successful and they believe with the chemo/radiation she has chance at being cured. the problem i have is there is no test to see if the cancer is there right now. she could be going thru all of this for nothing plus there is no guarantee if she does it that she will be cured. drs also had no explanation for the pain she is feeling in her shoulder as well as her arms and hands except to say they dont think it has anything to do with the cancer.
dale, thank you for the link toyour blog. it helped me develop some questions for my sisters appointments on wednesday. i am just so glad to see that you are doing well.
thank you linda for your help. i am so appreciative to everyone for the help and encouragement. we are going to see the surgeon, radiologist and oncologist on wednesday and i am trying to study as much as i can to ask the right questions. if you or anyone else could assist me it would be helpful. i am not really sure what to ask them other than is chemo and radiation really necessary right now or can we wait and see if anything comes back. thank you again and i hope you find a treatment that will work for you. take care.
