loretta

My husband dx in Dec with lung cancer with mets to brain and liver, been through chemo, gamma, wbr, and more chemo, on june6th we had our scans to check progression, Were actually told that there was inprovement and the tumors had shown shrink. So the last week he has been getting progressively sicker with intense pain in the stomach area and very distended. our oncologist sent us for x-ray and it showed mild constipation in the small intestine, and felt this was the cause of the pain, so a few days of laxitives and an enema no relief, this morning i'd had enough and took him to emergency room. they did another cat scan at the same hospital as the first one just a week ago, and not only said there was no improvement but progression in the belly region. they admitted him and put a morphine pump to get the pain under control, I'm calling the oncologist first thing to have them check the scan but has anyone else had this happen, in the span than less than 2 weeks? I know this is a beast but it was just feeling good to have gotten something positive and boom! I would appreciate any experiences that you have had. Thanks, Loretta

my husb. dx dec. sclc mets to brain and liver,first round of chemo didn't really work, moved to totopecan and landed him in hospital for 10 days, white counts off, transfusions needed and severly dehydrated. will start cisplatin, and gemzar on thursday, while in hospital his oxygen level dropped to 88 and they started 2 litre of oxygen, by the time he was released his levels were reading 94-95 and he was released without oxygen, He is very short of breath on exertion, we had onc. appt yesterday they observed his breathing listened to lungs and checked oxygen level which was at 98, I just don't understand the constant shortness of breath, anyone else have this happen, we have appt thursday with his regular onc. and will ask for oxygen for home if it will make him more comfortable. My next question is itching, he is bothered almost constantly with itching on his back, stomach and legs, it's been going on about 2 mo. we have tried gold bond, mineral oil, aloe very with solarcaine in it, benadryl and so far not much relief,it even interferes with his sleep. has anyone had any experience with this and any home remedies or relief that you can think of would be much appreciated, Thanks so much for any responses, Loretta

Hi, I just got my husband out of the hospital due to dehydration, His was caused by steroids, which made his blood sugar go really high, which in turn made him go to the bathroom alot and then helped to dehydrate him. I had no idea that being dehydrated could cause so many scary symptoms. He slept alot, was somewhat confused, hands very shaky, pulse very fast, After he came home the other day, I started to give him Pedialyte mixed with juice. Pedialyte is for kids to rehydrate them when they are sick due to vomiting or diareah, it has essential electrolytes. Maybe someome else can tell you more symptoms to look for but maybe if you can find pedialyte, or even gatorade that would help. Loretta

My husband completed his first round of second line chemo on Friday 5 days of totepecan? He has been just exhausted since then and almost sleeping around the clock. I wake him for ensure milkshakes and he has eaten 1/2 of toasted cheese and soup a couple of times. He keeps saying he just can't keep his eyes open he even fell asleep in the middle of a conversation. His first chemo etopside & carboplatin stopped working after his 3rd round so we started this kind. He didn't seem to have this reaction to the first kinds. I would like to think he's so sleepy because the chemo is in there winning the battle. Has anyone has experiences like this? If it's normal chemo reaction then I will feel better and just let him recover. Thanks for everyone's help Loretta

My husband dx beginning of dec. sclc with mets to liver and brain. It seems we have used up every ounce of energy available fighting this disease. I usually have a pretty good grip on myself. But, tonight I have been just sobbing, I miss my husband, my friend, everything is just different. For some reason the strength I have is just not there tonight. I just want to curl up in a ball and hide, I don't want to be the strong one, the one who has to handle everything, figure out the medicine, make sure his blood sugar is ok, well you guys know what i mean. I want my husband back!!! I guess I just need to vent to people who know how I feel and I guess it's time to tuck it all back away and get ready to deal with tomorrow. Thanks for listening Loretta

We had all of our scans last thursday, my husband has sclc with mets to brain and liver, they stopped chemo to possibly try something new because the primary tumor in the lung has shrunk but new small lesions have shown up in both lungs,. but, today we got the brain mri results and in the beginning we had 10 lesions on the brain, the report says the only visible tumor is the biggest which has shrunk significantly. It feels good to finally have some good news, the docs said to bring extra ears to our appt. tomorrow to talk about the lungs, so i hope they will offer us further treatment. when do they discontinue trying chemo? we had 3 rounds of etopside, and carboplain? and these are the ones that did not work so well. I hope this gives someone hope as well that every now and then something good happens, because i was starting to not beleive that. Thanks for listening Loretta

Hi all, We received my husbands scan results today he has sclc with mets to brain and liver, he has had 3 rounds of etopside and carboplavin? The doctor said that apparantly this is not working, the disease has progressed in his liver and the primary tumor in the lung has shrunk some but new growth in both lungs, We have to go talk to him on Thursday, and decide what we want to do to progress, are there second round chemo drugs? has anyone had any luck with these? I'm really worried that more chemo may make him sicker and not really prolong his life I guess this is a thing we struggle with. he was just diagnosed the beginning of Dec. and we were told then that the picture did not look good, but things atleast cancer wise seemed to be doing ok, he's had problems with high blood sugar, thrush, severe constipation, dehydration but, we were managing these things, Thanks for listening, I come here to vent because I know that everyone here understands the feelings, Loretta.

My husband scls with mets to brain and liverhas been very bloated for 3 weeks and in much pain, Our onc sent us for an x-ray and said he was very constipated in the small intestine which is behind the stomach and making him look pregnant, He prescribed Reglan which he said with help the stomach and intestine to contract, he hasn't had much relief, we have been back 2 times with the same problem, he is in intense pain, we had chemo yesterday, today and tomorrow, they called today and said they were putting him in to see the doctor, the doctor discontinued chemo and prescribed a laxative, we are coming up on all of our scans on Thursday and he said maybe there was fluid build up and if so they could drain it out for instant relief. He then said he felt the chemo wasn't doing the job it should be or this was a side-effect of the chemo? I wasn't at the appt. I had taken him in and dropped him off for chemo as it takes 5 hrs. They have given up oxycodone 5mg. and hydrocodone 5/325 and have said to give him 2 oxycodone every 4 hrs. it isn't really helping much. I am so frustrated with this, it's bad enough having cancer but all of these side effects from the stuff they use to save your life, has anyone had any experience with any of this or any suggestions?? He was also very dehydrated and had two days of iv fluid Hope this makes sense, I think my brain is really jumbled trying to figure all this out. Thanks Loretta

My husband sclc mets to brain and liver has had thrush for about 1 1/2 month. We have done nystatin over and over, The doctor gave us a prescription for diflucan and it cleared it up, it is back now with a vengence, He is miserable to the point he has quit eating, he says it feels like he can't swallow, are there any other maybe home remedies or anything else to try?? It seems atleast right now the cancer is atleast responding to treatment but he is so miserable with side effects of things he needs to help him that it is really getting him down, He has been breaking down and crying alot, he's very weak from the decadron messing with his legs, we found his blood sugar to be 490 last week at out appt. we now have to test for that, he was dehydrated because of the high blood sugar, I'm sure all of you know it just seems hard to just catch a break, I'm going to talk to the doctor tomorrow about anti-depressants I really think he needs them. anyone have good results with one kind over another?? His stomach is really bloated, and bothers him alot, We have been to the doc two seperate times for that, and he sent us for an x-ray which showed constipation. that problem has cleared up but his stomach is looking pregnant. has anyone had experience with this or any suggestions?? Wow, I guess I had more to pour out than I thought, I am so frustrated and I know you all can relate, I can only imagine the frustration my husband feels, Thanks for listening again and for any suggestions Loretta

My husband has sclc with mets to brain and liver, he's receiving chemo and had 10 wbr treatments, Two weekends ago he had a feeling of blurred vison and the doctor said to start him back on decadron, we had weened him off. We went back to the dose he began with, last weekend he had blurred vision and said he felt like a film over his eye, So I called again and they said to add another 8mg of decadron. We were now at 24mg. It did not help, I asked for his MRI to be moved up from March 8 to see what was happening and they didn't want to do that. He continued to feel terrible, constantly thirsty very blurry vision shaky hands extreme tiredness and weakness, I call our other doctor, one does radiation and another chemo, Thankfully they squeezed us right in and by the end of the day yesterday they called and said his blood sugar was 490, our family doctor had me come over and gave me a monitor and showed me how to test, and also pills to give him if he needs,.Our chemo doctor wasn't very happy that the radiation doc raised the decadron that high without checking him out. Long story short He is finally feeling a little better today and I hope a little better everyday, atleast to the point where he can be up and enjoying life. Thanks again for listening and all the support I receive here, Maybe this information is helpful to someone else, because of course I was thinking all kinds of bad thoughts, and atleast this time was relieved it was something we had some control over.

my husband sclc, with mets to brain and liver so far 3 rounds of chemo etopside and carboplavin? with 25 days between treatments, 10 WBR daily for 10 days last treatment was Jan 18, was weaning off decadron until this weekend when he experienced vision problems and I was told to put him back on, I wanted and MRI but doctor said could still be swelling from WBR. We have MRI's scheduled March 8 for everything to see where we are at. My real question is are side effects of chemo cumulative? he seems to have bounced back reasonably well after the first two rounds, this last round which ended Feb8th. seems to have really done him in He is so weak he can barely get up to go to the bathroom, I know that some of the weakness in his legs can be attributed to decadron but it just seems like he seems to be going downhill to me and the doctors keep saying this is normal after having chemo and radiation. What degrees of weakness have you or your loved ones experienced?? It is so hard to watch a man that was so strong and vibrant seem to be withering away. I come and read everyone's posts everyday and feel a kinship to all of you, I don't really have anyone else around me who understands how I feel or what is going on, I really appreciate all of you and keep all of you in my thoughts daily, You feel like family. Thanks, Loretta

Hi, everyone, My husband was diagnosed the beginning of dec with sclc with mets to brain and liver. We have had 3 rounds of chemo etopside and carboplatin? In January we had 10 days of WBR. finished on the 14th. The doctor said to gradually bring him off steroids from 4 a day stepping down gradually, He has been steroid free for 2 days, Besides feeling really miserable, we just had chemo yesterday, his vision is really bad today, that is one of the symptoms that led us to the doctors before our diagnosis, since treatment it has cleared up some, not clear but not seeing double all the time. The radiation doctor said to watch for symptoms and re start him on the decadron back to the dose that kept him symptom free. I'm really worried about this development he also says he feels some mild pressure behind his eye but doesn't want to go to the hospital, his beginning dose of decadron was 2 4mg. tablets 2 times a day. Is this what I should go back to? I am watching him very closely he said he is not in any pain and just like most men keeps saying he is just fine and is working on his computer as usual. I guess i'll stop rambling now, this whole thing just sucks!! I've really gotten alot of comfort from this board and I thank everyone it is good to have contact with people who totally understand what you are feeling Thanks again, Loretta

My husband has sclc diag the beginning of Dec. with mets to brain and liver, We have had 2 rounds of carboplavin ? and etopside? and 10 WBR. He was feeling very strong and doing more around the house, hanging shelves etc. After the WBR we were told to start taking him off of the decadron we were on 4 4mg a day, we are now at 1 a day and he feels just terrible, no energy, wanting to sleep alot, he didn't sleep much at all when he was on full dose, actually he was more like a speed demon. Has anyone else experienced this come down? We start our third round of chemo tomorrow and I guess I worry that he seems to be acting how he was before he was diagnosed, and I wonder if between chemo treatments which are 25 days in between does the cancer have time to keep growing or is it the decadron or both??? I know I sound confused and I definetly am. Also he can't seem to keep warm he is freezing all the time has anyone experienced this? We see the doctor on Wed. and I will be asking him all these questions. Thanks ahead for any help. And I really appreciate all the support from this board.

Thanks in advance for any help. My husband was diagnosed with sclc in Dec. With mets both to brain and liver, he was immediately started on decadron 2 in the morning and 2 at night. In Jan. they decided to do WBR and he had 10 treatments, at the end of the treatments they told us to gradually come off the decadron, We are now at the point of 1 a day, When he was on the full dose he barely slept and was very wound up all the time. Now that we are down to one he seems to have wound down and is very tired. I think it is a good thing that he is finally resting, he was literally going almost 24 hrs. a day. Has anyone else had this reaction to decadron and does this seem a normal reaction? We are on a 3day chemo regimen and 25off carboplatin and etopside? Monday will start his 3rd round. I guess I don't know what may be drug reactions or symptoms of this beast. I am very thankful to have found this wonderful place of comfort. Thanks to everyone Loretta Later I will work on our profile it's very helpful to me to read everyone's

My husband was diag.with sclc 12/4/06. mets to liver and brain, the first prognosis was 7-12 months. He has had 2 rounds of chemo which he has responded very well to, the lung tumor had shown signs of shrinking so, the radiologist, who had originally written us off and actually told me in phone call that my husband was terminal and there was no help he could offer,thank goodness our chemo doctor felt he had improved enough to do a second chest x-ray to show the radiologist that there was hope to responding to therapy. My question is we have completed 10 treatments of WBR last Wed. The doctor said the radiation continues to work for about 2 weeks and after that there is still swelling so they scheduled a brain MRI for about 7 weeks, he told us to gradually work down on the decadron he has been taking for 1 1/2 mo. 4 a day. he said to start with 2 in morning and 1 at night and see if i notice any symptoms. I'm not sure what i'm looking for, His hands have started to cramp alot but that happened about a month ago before tapering down decadron. What I'm worried about is his hearing he has always been a little hard of hearing but it's become noticable worse in the last week or so. he said it almost feels his ear canals are bigger if that makes any sense. I'm so new at all of this I don't know if anyone has any advice or suggestions. I would really like to say the strength of everyone on this board is inspiring, Some days I wake up and am not sure I can go on keeping it together another day, Of course I do but it's really hard Thanks, Loretta