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Also, someone refresh my memory, have we had a lot of members on Tarceva? I can’t remember.
Tiffany, did they tell you why they started Tarceva? Was it based on a study? I always like to hear why doctors are ordering one thing as opposed to something else.
Susie
Tiffany,
Welcome to the site and sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis. MD Anderson is a great hospital and I’m sure they will take great care of you. Do you know what type of CC it is? I am 32 and have intrahepatic, had a resection in May, got 3 cycles of Gem/Cis. 6 wks of chemo radiation with Xeloda. Then I will get 3 more cycles of Gem/Cis. I wish you the best and we are always here for any questions/concerns.
Take Care!
SusieOn a happier note, I am packing on the pounds. Up to 109, which is a 5 lb increase for me! My husband is quite cute. He lifted up the back of my shirt the other day to rub my back and said, ” Wow, you are starting to gain weight!” He was referring to the development of my spare tire aka love handles I am now the proud owner of.
It is funny because I was always very fit and never had much unwanted fat but all of my weight gain has taken the form of love handles. I will work on gaining weight first and redistributing it later!
Take care!
SusieEli,
I think this is a good example of lack of communication. My oncologist ordered the scan because I get scans every 3 months and it was time. Then I saw the radiation oncologist, actually only the resident because my Dr was sick that day. He said they like to wait 6 wks after radiation to do a scan but since I already have it ordered, it is ok. So, I got scanned about 3 1/2 wks after radiation. I will ask. Maybe I will get another scan before 3 months.
Thanks for the feedback!
Susie
Hi Eli,
This is such a difficult question and one I would LOVE to know the answer to. I have no idea how long I had cc before it was discovered or why I got it. My Dr’s aren’t able to give me any answers and to be honest with you, they don’t seem very interested in finding out why I got it and how long I had it.
Take care,
Susie
I’m a former liver tranplant ICU nurse and I really think these patients have to go to the ICU post op. Even if they can get them extubated in PACU, they require close hemodynamic monitoring and you have to keep an eye on their labs. I don’t think the floor is adequately staffed to do this.
Not like my opinion matters much, but I thought I’d share it anyway!Take care!
SusieEli,
I know your wife was very fit prior to surgery. I was also and did not have a pound to loose which seemed like a good idea at the time and then you get sick and then all of a sudden you look anorexic. Anyway, I have an iphone and use an app called My Fitness Pal. I can enter everything I consume for the day and it is like a nutrition tracker. You can enter your weight and your goal (in my case to gain weight) and it will calculate how many calories, grams of fat/protein etc you need to have in a day in order to meet your goal. You can also enter your activity and it will subtract what you burned. It’s a really great app and helps me be realistic about what I’m eating. Like some days I think I ate enough and turns out nope, not even close. Maybe your wife can try that to help her gain some weight. If she doesn’t have an appetite that’s another issue. But anyway, this helps me a lot plus gives me a little control of an otherwise uncontrollable situation. I like control.
Best of luck!
SusieI think I remember someone being treated with intraperitoneal chemo at UPMC. I think it was for colon cancer…Could be wrong, though.
Best of luck!
Susieok, so I am back from acupuncture. It didn’t hurt a bit. Just a few needles in my arms and legs. She said I should come twice I week until the nausea is gone. Also, said I should try Chinese medicine at least when I am done with chemo to help the healing process. I have always been skeptical of taking a bunch of herbs and stuff that I don’t really understand. So, I don’t know about that. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m going to try the acupuncture for at least 2 wks and I’ll see what happens. Oh, I also have little seeds taped over a few pressure points on my body, near my wrists and one on my sternum. The Dr said to massage those areas if I feel nauseated. She said if it doesn’t help, they will upgrade me from seeds to beans. Magic beans! Who knew??
Have a great night!Susie
Your wife sounds like such a strong and amazing person. Take care and my thoughts are with you.
Susie
Hi. I had 3 cycles of gem/cis and I did not lose my hair. Maybe a little came out but I didn’t have bald spots or anything.
Best of luck to you!
SusieEli, it is crazy how everyone is different and can experience totally different side effects from the same treatment. I don’t get it. Everyone kept telling me the biggest side effect I would get from radiation is fatigue. Did I mention I can’t sleep?? I’m glad to hear your wife is feeling better.
Thank you everyone for the words of encouragement. It really does bring a little sunshine to my day!Take care!
SusieWell, I finished radiation thank goodness. Lots of vomiting toward the end and for about a week after it ended. Thanksgiving was the first day I didn’t vomit in about 2 wks. It was rough towards the end and I had to go to the infusion clinic daily for iv fluids. I was on sooo many anti emetics, zofran, phenergan, ativan, dexamethasone and none of them helped me and made me so constipated I was pretty miserable. So, I stopped taking them all and what do you know, I quit vomiting. I just take nexium at night now. I lost 10 lbs, which takes me to 105, which I’m not happy about, but I’m hoping now that I’m eating again it will start to come back on. Plus, I guess with all the holidays it’s an easy time to gain weight! I am still pretty sensitive to what I eat. Gotta stick to the bland stuff for a little while. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was just me and my husband this year as I was not up for company. He did ALL the cooking and ALL the cleaning! Take care everyone! Looking forward to everyone’s updates!
Susie
