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raeh

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Everything posted by raeh

  1. My dad had this done, a total of four times, at two week intervals. He did go to outpatient, they placed the thin catheter/wire through his nose down toward where his lung mass was, then they took him over to the radiation center. The entire process was at least 4 hours each time. They medicated him, but it always started to wear off at the end and it was hard for him to lie flat. BUT, it did help. It opened up his bronchi and actually did help him feel like he could breathe better, and it actually was directly focused on his biggest mass and that was a plus, too. Good luck.
  2. Driving down the road today; some lady was following behind us so close she could have almost zippered up the back of my dress. I'm trying not to lose patience, thinking I have precious cargo in my car, so what do I do? Give her the finger in the mirror, not once but twice... what a stupid way to let off steam because work still wants you to work, but you also need to be a daughter, care-giver, mother, wife, and everything else, and a cancer care-giver. Whew.... no wonder we don't feel we can cope, but somehow we do end up making it work.... let go of work/job as much as you can, realize time is short with your parent....
  3. # Resource Benecalorie; Very high-calorie, low volume supplement that offers a new level of concentrated calories. # A whopping 330 calories per 1.5 oz.! # One serving provides 7 grams of protein-equivalent to one ounce of meat. # Easily mixes with creamy supplement drinks, milkshakes or soft foods like yogurt and mashed potatoes. # Lactose Free # Low Sodium # Gluten Free # Cholesterol Free # Carbohydrate Free Okay, I actually got mine on line as it was cheaper and I could not locate it in any drug stores near here (Tennessee). Gosh, I hope this helps.
  4. raeh

    Nearing the End

    I'm sorry you can't be there to help and share with them. My father died from SCLC very, very recently. He had to stop all treatment as second-line was not helping; he died about a month after that. Things we noticed with dad: He slept a lot. Some times he would go to bed at 6:00 pm and not get up until the next day after 12:00 noon or so. He fell asleep off and on during the day. He seemed a bit withdrawn. No longer wanted to read or watch tv. His appetite was horrible. He had trouble swallowing. Everything tasted metallic to him. Water and ginger ale were about it. Could not swallow medication. All meds were given as liquid and sometimes that was hard, too. His voice changed; it became more raspy. He lost weight at such a fast rate, we had his pants taken up; he lost about 20 pounds the last month. His color changed to a pasty, gray-green color. His breathing became more labored and shallow. He was on almost 5 liters of O2. BUT, you have to understand this, too. He dressed himself every day in a shirt and pants. It took almost two hours for him to do this. He could no longer comb his hair, we did that for him. His urine output diminished to nothing the last 36 hours of his life. We had hospice with us the entire last 36 hours of his life; we (sister and I) simply felt we were over our head. We gave him morphine for his breathing; his pain was tolerable. The increased amount of oxygen caused him to have "nose burn". It just hurt his nostrils. I was with him the last night of his life. He and I talked about 9:30 pm. At 11:30 pm he seemed a little agitated. Got him settled down. I fell asleep at 1:00 am. When I woke at 1:30, I knew he was gone. All the wrinkles were gone from his forehead. I did not see him breathing any more. He looked calm and peaceful. I know I would have heard if he was in pain or had discomfort in any way. He just fell asleep and died. I hope this will help your family. Again, the actual death was not the bad part, the dying process was harder.
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