tflory

Eli, My husband has lost 52 pounds and we have the same problem with the ensure plus. we then tried Carnation instant breakfast. This upset his stomach, maybe too much dairy. This site gave me some great nutrition references. I used them to do some searching on my own and here is what I found. Nestle makes a product called benecalorie and boost resource breeze . I emailed them, they do not offer samples, but you can order thorugh thier website. Abbott Laboratories makes the Ensure products. I emailed them for samples. They sent me an email with a 1 800 #. After calling and talking to Amanda who was soo helpful, she is sending me samples of Ensure Enlive which is a fruit based supplement. She also told me of a flavorless powder called Polycose you can mix in and a fruit punch flavored liquid called Promod. Everything can be ordered from their website or she said your local pharmacy can special order it for you. Their number is 1-800-986-8926 , I don’t know if this will work for you, since you are in Canada, but you can try. I also contacted a company that makes a product called Scandishake. They have great recipes on their sites for things besides just shakes. They also make a sprinkle on calorie booster called Scandical. They are sending me samples of both. The number is 1-800-472-2634, they are based out of Alabama. This is all I have found on the internet. Of course, almost everything has to be special ordered and isn’t cheap. As for the steroids, My husband takes decadron two a day for three days after chemo and just recently added on days four and five one pill to help with the nausea. They do help with the appetite. We all take enzymes at our home to aid digestion sometimes. We especially like Papaya enzyme plus that I get at the health food store. It has mint and chlorophyll added to help upset tummies. Hope this info helps.

Thank you pamela,lainy,and eli for responding.We went for a second opinion to a medical oncologist and we liked him so much we may switch. This is such a hard decision, but he is much closer to home( right now we drive an hour one way for all treatments and the hospital), and he is much nicer than the oncologist we have now. He had chemo #3 on Wed. and his CA19-9 went down. I think this is good. Does anyone know if this means the tumor is shrinking? We didn’t have a chance to ask the doctor because we got the results right before the end of the day because they had to do a second blood draw. I try to be very supportive of whatever he wants. I want him to live, but I want him to enjoy his life also. I watched my Dad suffer for three years with bone cancer. It’s so hard to watch him everyday, because I see so much of a repeat of my Dad. I thought I had come to terms with his decision, but there is a part of me that keeps looking for new info,treatments, anything, which he isn’t interested in. When he was first diagnosed, they gave him 6 months to maybe a year. At first, I felt like he could die any day because there were so many ups and downs. We were in the hospital alot, he had blood transfusions, infections, and several stent exchanges, and a complication with some internal bleeding. Things have finally levelled off more and it’s been at least two months since he’s been hospitalized. The pain med regimen has finally been working and no more tears and crying from the intense pain. It’s so hard to watch someone suffering in pain and there’s not a whole lot you can do. Eli, about your daughter, she is fully aware. I talked with a therapist at the school I work at and wondered the same thing about my son. He is very private and doesn’t show much emotion. Unfortunately he was with me at the hospital the day we received the news, which I feel bad about. He remains hopeful that his DAd will be healed . He is more in denial that his Dad will die and doesn’t accept it. That’s fine. I am very honest with him and told him his Dad could be healed, but more than likely he will probably die. We have shared most info from the doctors, but he doesn’t ask a lot of questions. The therapist said that he doesn’t want to accept the reality of it, but everyday he sees his Daddy not feeling well. Seeing his Dad crying from the pain has been hard for him. I have arranged for him to go spend times with his friends on weekends to break up some of the time. Kids deal with this in their own way. It may seem unfeeling to us, but it’s very scary to them. They think what does this mean for their life and how will their life change. I try to reassure my son all the time I am always here for him.I will pray for you and your family.

Eli, I too am new to this site. My husband,who is 40, was just diagnosed with cc and PSC in Sept.We also have a child,son, who is 11. I know exactly what you are going through. No one can prepare you for something like this. I lost my Dad five years ago to bone cancer. my husband has stage III cc with a Klatskin’s tumor.The other problem is that the cancer is in the hylum and also extra and intrahepatic with lymph nodes involved. We are doing the gem/cis combo and he is on his third treatment. They would like to shrink the tumor in hopes of surgery, but my husband doesn’t want the surgery and there is a possiblity if the main blood vessel is involved they can’t do surgery. This site has been awesome in info. I have used many tips on nutrition and supplements. My husband’s nausea has been horrible also, but seemed to do better these last few times with Emend and decadron. The dissapointment and depression is horrible with this whole situation, but my faith in the lord and the love of others has helped. I know it is hard, but try to find something ,even little things to be thankful for. When I concentrate on these things, it helps .