BlueWolf6457
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Posts posted by BlueWolf6457
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She got fluids 3 times last week (lg bag of saline) but wasn't taking the water pills until yesterday morning. I have noticed a pattern though, on Sundays (the 2nd day she doesn't have to go anywhere) she seems a bit more alert. Then she drinks and eats a bit more. I hope they give her a unit or two more of blood before she starts this next round of chemo treatments and because they want to be off both Thanksgiving and the day after they will be starting her next Sunday with the two chemo drugs after radiation. The only up side to that is that the following weekend she will not have to go for treatments for those 3 days after Thanksgiving. However, we will be spending Thanksgiving day in the hospital though for her VP-16 infusion. Her counts are low...WBC, RBC, the works. They take blood every Monday so they have this week to try to get some of those counts up. For the low WBC last Monday they put her on Cipro, I wont know till tomorrow's blood draw if the Cipro helped or not. Either way, the Oncologist is going to have to adjust the chemo somehow or give her something else or I am afraid that the cure will kill her.
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We are going to be meeting with the Oncologist on 11/21 so I will ask if he can make some alterations to her treatments then. How long do the effects of chemo stay in the system? She has a whole laundry list of side effects from her last round of chemo which ended on Nov 4th: Parkinson's like tremors of the hands, coughing and gagging, a pronounced chemo fog to such an extent that she seems almost zombie like, very little if any appetite, doesn't drink enough, water retention in her legs, etc. They gave her IV fluids 3 days last week and unknown to me for some goofy reason she stopped taking her water pills (hence I suppose the reason for the water retention). I know she feels like crap and all of this is scaring me to death.
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This is what the people at the cancer center are calling what my sister has. ALWAYS tired, falls asleep all the time, doesn't respond to questions, etc. They prescribed an anti narcolepsy med but of course the insurance company hasn't approved it yet or we would try it this weekend.
She continues to lose weight, gets fluids three days a week (which has now given her water retention in her legs), and is always cold because she takes in nearly NO protein. I have tried just about everything I can do to help her fight these side effects. Anyone have any other ideas? She gets her second "round" of the chemo drugs beginning on the 23rd.
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My sister is on week three of radiation and it seems to be okay thus far. Although I didn't have lung cancer I had breast cancer in 2008 so I had radiation to that breast and then it spread to my sternum and I had radiation to the middle of my chest last summer and I have absolutely no heart trouble whatsoever. They are usually pretty much able to aim those radiation beams precisely to the area of the cancer. I would pretty much do whatever it takes to save your life.
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Thanks Randy, this Friday she gets her counts checked again and we actually get to see the Oncologist so I will do that. She was a little better today. Actually took a 2 hour nap this afternoon and made it till 9:30pm before having to go to bed. The longer I can get her to stay awake the more she eats and drinks too.
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She had steroids in her pre meds with the first chemo last Monday and her glucose went up to nearly 400 (she also became very agitated and confused) so the doc changed the pre med to no steroid at all. Today she got the 2 units of blood and for awhile she seemed alert but by the time we got home 7 hours later she was back to her old barely alert self. I am more worried now because of all days to evaluate her, the Visiting Nurses picked today before her transfusion to do so. She was barely awake even thismorning and flunked their evaluation. They will be returning on Thursday and they want to do PT and OT to "keep her in her home".
Her blood counts were down (except white cells which were high) before she even started chemo and after this set (6 days of chemo which ended Monday) she was in even more trouble anemia wise. She gets 14 days now with just radiation and then chemo begins again on Nov 24th for another 6 weekdays.
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In essence that's what I feel like. There is so much to remember and the chemo end of this journey is really hitting her hard. She was a bit anemic when this started a week ago but now it's bad enough that she will require 2 units of blood transfusing tomorrow. She has seemed to be a bit better in the mornings, but radiation is around noon and then a chemo session after for the last 6 week days and she is so tired, feeling chilled, and miserable by the time we get home that she needs to be reminded of everything. Taking pills, eating and drinking enough, taking her temperature, checking her blood glucose and taking the proper insulin, etc. All she wants to do is sleep slumped over in her chair till its time to go to bed. Essentially sleeping 14 out of every 24 hour period since last week.
They say the blood transfusion will help in a few days but this is all very scary. Has anyone else had a loved one whose chemo/radiation treatments left them barely functioning like this?
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She's anemic we found out today and will be going tomorrow for a blood transfusion.
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My sister just finished her first week of radiation & chemo (Cisplantin & Etoposide) with one more Cisplantin tomorrow and then just rads for 15 days till the chemo starts over again. She's having problems with extreme fatigue, nausea, and always feeling very cold. She says drinking fluids makes her burp and it hurts so shes not getting a lot. She also is only eating 4 very small meals a day and I cant even interest her in eating much Jello. Anyone have any suggestions as to what I could do to help her feel a little better. FYI We found out last Monday that the steroids in the pre meds made her blood suger go up to nearly 400 so she gets NO steroids whatsoever.
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Today my sister started her first treatments. VP 16 and Cisplatin then a radiation treatment and she is exhausted. Thank you to everyone who answered me. Heres to hoping the chemo and radiation shrink the tumor so that the diseased part of her lung can be removed and she can be cured of this horrible disease.
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If they are using Zometa watch for any pain in the jaw. Zometa and drugs like it can cause jaw necrosis.
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Ok, thanks. How long were you in the hospital?
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My sister was plotted for radiation today after her consult with the radiation oncologist. Her port is in and she should be all ready to start her combo of chemo and radiation on Oct. 27th. What side effects did you experience from your treatment? and how long was your recovery time after the surgery?
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The PET scan confirmed she has Stage 2B non small cell lung cancer so his treatment goal is a cure. He stated that she was lucky it was caught this early. Next week my sister meets with the radiation oncologist and will hopefully be plotted for radiation during the coming week so that she can start a combination of chemo and radiation on Oct 27th. The chemo meds they will use are called Etoposide and Cisplatin and it sounds like they will be used in tandem over a period of 36 days along, of course with the radiation. Then 4 to 8 weeks after that is over she will go to Milwaukee to have surgery. Has anyone had this regiment before? Doc talked about nausea and hair loss as side effects....any others? Any special precautions? How exhausting is this treatment? What is the surgery like? How long in the hospital and what is the recovery? Thanks for caring everyone.
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My sister saw my Oncologist today. He said T-3, N-0 and stage 2B but this is before the PET scan which I hope will be next Thursday (it was supposed to be on Monday but pre-auth for insurance didn't come in time so.....) . She gets a port placed next Friday morning and hopefully get the PET scan results Friday afternoon.
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Biopsy results say my sister has a Keratinizing Squamous Cell Carcinoma. No staging or other information available at this time. She has an appointment with my oncologist on Oct. 10th.
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She had her lung biopsy today and is in a lot of pain. Anyone know how long this biopsy pain lasts and what to do to make her feel better? This is all still like a bad dream to me. Her O2 sat rate was 97 throughout her 4 hour hospital stay and other than the pain there was no lung collapse or bleeding.
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I will keep everyone posted and thanks for your replies. The only other experience I have had with lung cancer is our father who either refused treatment or was never offered any back in 1995. He lasted one month after diagnosis. but he was 10 yrs older than she is now so....
My sister has other health problems as well. Namely the heart disease for which she received 5 stents and severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. It's always so hard to tell what is causing what pain with her, which is probably the reason this went on for as long as it did.
They say that there is a possibility of lung collapse during biopsy (though lessened because her tumor is near the chest wall) or bleeding into the lung. The biopsy will be for sure a day long affair and might require an over night stay.
Thanks again everyone.
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CT guided lung biopsy has been scheduled for my sister on Sept 30th at 10am.
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Michelle, may I ask what symptoms your husband had if any that brought him to seek medical care?
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I will do that. I'm a breast cancer survivor and she is all set to see my Oncologist on October 10th. He taught at Northwestern University for 25 yrs so he really knows his stuff. How do they typically treat a pancoast tumor?
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CT scan results show "an orange size mass in the upper left lobe pressing against the chest wall" a "nodule" in the right lung" and a "nodule" on/in her thyroid gland". It's been 6 yrs that she's complained of pain in her chest area. They want to do a CT scan assisted biopsy but because she's on blood thinners she may have to stop taking them for 5 to 7 days before she can have that done.
I am so mad right now that shes been complaining about this pain for all this time and not one of her doctors (PCA, Heart, Arthritis) ever thought to x ray her chest. You'd think the heart doctor would have caught it.
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My 61 yr old sister received several heart stents in May of 2009 and immediately after she would have occasional pain in her left upper chest that she thought was "stent pain" since one of the stents that they placed was fairly large.
In January of this year she complained of a more constant "stent pain" and also that she had pain in the left shoulder and upper left arm as well.
She went for a complete heart exam in February and was told the only thing they saw was some "scar tissue" which the heart doctor attributed to the stent placement and sent my sister on her way.
The pain increased and she then went to her Rheumatologist (she has severe rheumatoid arthritis) and he shot her with cortisone in her left shoulder and elbow. This did not help at all.
Last week she caught my bronchial cold and was finally given a chest x ray to look for pneumonia. No pneumonia but there is supposedly a pear sized mass in her left lung. Until she caught my cold she never coughed and even now with the cold there is only yellowish sputum and no blood. This is the news we got Friday late afternoon and that she would be set up with a CT scan.
She had a very quick CT scan with no contrast dye yesterday morning and now we are waiting.
Has anyone heard of lung cancer affecting the shoulder, back, and/or arm before?
Being my sisters keeper
in CAREGIVER RESOURCE CENTER
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Tomorrow she is going to the hospital for one unit of blood. I hope it helps her buck up for the next round of chemo. And today she was diagnosed with Thrush. Has anyone else had trouble with the insurance companies covering the "magic mouthwash" the docs prescribe for this?