Caren

Hi Paulette. I'm glad that you found the forum. The people here, survivors and caregivers, are a true godsend.

Thank you, all of you!! ALL of your advice is taken on board and very much appreciated The GP said that it isn't bed sores but in fact is a fungal infection and so she has prescribed some anti-fungal ointment to be applied twice daily. She has also prescribed some codeine for the bone mets b/c when he was in the hospital they stopped one of the pain meds thinking that it could have been the cause of the sickness and diarrhea, but in doing so they left him with very mild meds that weren't helping at all. I also spoke with his Oncologist today, who is very angry that the ward dad was admitted to didn't inform him of dad's stay with them. I have been told to stop the Tarceva and they want to see him in clinic this coming Monday to discuss what to do next.

Thank you both! Calintay I am in the UK so it was around 9:15am that I think I posted that first message. I talked my dad into allowing me to call the doctor to make a home visit and so we are now waiting for him to arrive. The soap that I have given him is a brand for sensitive skin so that should be good.

I noticed a strange smell coming from dad late yesterday and into the evening. Actually he was quite potent b/c the children smelled it and commented to me about it. So this morning I thought I would have a talk with him about his personal hygiene as I know from the past that when he's not feeling so great he tends to let things slide. So I went into his room this morning and a very familiar and yet not very pleasant smell hit my nostrils. It reminded me very much of some of the elderly people that I cared for during my time in the Care home. I went on to talk with my dad and he informed me that he has a rash and some open sores in his groin area and under his testicles. He said that it's ok though b/c he's using cream on there. I asked if he's washing before applying the cream and he informed me that he thought the cream would wash the area ..... I must admit my stomach done a flip when he said this. So I had a chat with him about the importance of personal hygiene and also asked if he would like me to speak to the doctor about getting some anti-biotic cream for that area as what he is using is just a barrier cream and won't clear any infection that is there and he said that he doesn't want me to. I did read that Zinc and vitamin C is good for helping with the healing of wounds, but I'm not sure if I can give him Vitamin supplements along with the other medications.

Thank you all for the advice. The Ice-cream seems to be going down pretty well right now as he's had 2 bowls full today. I was also thinking of making some Jelly/Jello b/c I know he likes this and I would consider this to be a liquid. Last night I made him some horlicks (it's a warm malted drink) with all milk and so I figure that would also be good for calories too. He has tried a lot harder today and has already drunk one more drink than he did yesterday and he doesn't go to bed for about 3 hours yet, so he might even get one more down after the horlicks that I've just placed in front of him.

Welcome, Sue. I'm pleased that you are responding well to your treatments, that's always good to hear!!!

Thank you, TS. I can understand how hard it must be for someone if they really don't feel like drinking, but at the same time if it's something that's required to maintain your state of health then I think that in my dad's case he could try just a little harder with it. He doesn't like Smoothies but he loves Ice-cream. When you say Juice I am assuming you mean Pure Juice and not the dilutable stuff? If so then he will drink it but only a little of it. I'm not sure what Whey protein powder is and so I will do some research on that right now.

I am managing to get my dad to eat small amounts of food. Today he had 1 fried egg on 1 slice of toast with fresh orange juice (about 5oz), some Ice-cream for lunch (1 small scoop) and a small amount of Rice pudding for dinner, which is good, but I'm finding it hard trying to get enough fluids into him and from what I read this is more important than the food intake right now. In a little under 12 hours he has consumed around 15oz (which I think is about a quarter of a liter (British Measurements)). I am pretty sure that he should consume around 2 liters, give or take a few fl oz to maintain the fluids that he would lose throughout the day. Although I'm not too sure about this. I don't want him to become dehydrated and end up on IV fluids again and he doesn't want this either, but he won't even try to drink more. Like if I mention it he won't even take one mouthful of water to show that he's trying to help himself. I am getting more and more frustrated with this and wanted to know if anyone has any good tips to help him drink more?

Thanks everyone!!!

Wow, literally as I hit enter to submit my last post the phone rang and it was the ward sister telling us that dad is being discharged home!!!

Judy isn't it great when we think that eating one solitary biscuit is such an achievement? I haven't called the hospital this morning as I like to leave it until after the Doctors have done their rounds. I didn't receive a call from them at all after getting home yesterday and so I am assuming that there is either no change or he's doing even better now.

Carol (((HUGS))) I am no expert on this subject, but I would just like to say that in all the hours (days/weeks/months) of research that I have done I have not once read about LC metastasizing to the Colon. I will be sending positive vibes for good results with this for you!!

I am so sorry for your loss.

Thank you Jean. My dad is currently back in the hospital since starting his 2nd line treatment (Tarceva) and having a terrible reaction to this treatment too.

Hi Jean I'm glad to hear that Thom's first infusion seems to have gone well and hope that he continues to do as well with this treatment plan. My dad's first line treatment was Carbo/Gemcitabine and he didn't tolerate it very well at all. He ended up in the hospital with an infection and low BC and so he had a transfusion and the treatment had to be stopped. Although on a brighter note, he only took 2 infusions and they saw a 50% reductions in the primary tumour.

Thank you all for the hugs and well wishes, it is very much appreciated!!! Dad was sitting up and looking a lot better when we got to the hospital today and he has stopped vomiting, although he still has an awful 'tinge' to his skin colour. Well they are still running a series of tests. They are thinking that there could have been some internal bleeding. The stool sample and blood work all came back good and so they are putting the sickness and diarrhea down to the Tarceva and are now liaising with the Oncologist (he is in the medical assessment unit) to see what needs to be done regarding that treatment. They want to carry out an endoscopy to see if they discover anything going on in that area. That won't be done today b/c he's eaten and so I don't think it will be done until Monday unless he becomes a more urgent case. I didn't get told about the result of the chest and abdo x-ray because the nurse said that I need to speak with the Doctor about that and I didn't have time to wait for them to do the next ward round.

When I spoke of the SOB a few days ago he wouldn't allow me to call for help. He did, however, deteriorate with that and also with diarrhea and sickness. He then told me last night that he had been bringing up some clots of blood since the night before and this is when I took it upon myself to seek some help. I phoned the on-call GP and on their advice I called for an ambulance. Dad was given some fluids here at home and then we went off to the hospital. They have given him something to stop the sickness (which looks like a teabag has split open), more fluids, stronger pain killers and some oxygen (his SATs were down to 92). He had a chest and stomach x-ray on admission to the ward last night and the doctors will be doing the ward rounds shortly so hopefully I will know more then. I know that I am his daughter and so you will all know how it feels to be worrying, but I used to work in a nursing home and cared for many elderly people there and often held their hands while they slipped away and so I am used to seeing death, so to speak. Dad looks like he's about to start that journey now. ETS: Although I did start a thread late last week saying that he seemed better and had started eating again...come the start if this week the loss of appetite had returned and he's lost 5Kg since the end of April visit with the Oncologist. Even when he was whacked out with his first line Chemo he didn't lose that amount of weight.

Thanks, Randy. I'll get onto it right away.

SOB is something that dad hasn't really suffered with, except being a little out of breath after doing something more strenuous than usual, which I think just comes with age. The past 3 or 4 days I have noticed that after getting dressed in the morning, or going upstairs to use the bathroom he seems very SOB and it takes a good 5-10 minutes for it to settle. He has stopped going out for his daily walk again b/c he's worried that he will get SOB before he gets very far and then he'll be stuck there. I wonder if this is something that I should report to the Chemo nurse now or just leave it and see how he gets on. I don't really know what qualifies as 'SOB' that needs attention....help?

Well within a week dad has gone from eating maybe a sandwich or a couple of slices of bread a day to eating (yesterday) .... 2 Slices of Jam on Toast for breakfast, Trifle for lunch, Sweet and sour chicken with rice (small portion) for dinner and then some Ice-cream for supper!!!

Awe, thanks everyone

The steroids and codeine that dad was prescribed seem to have started to work with regards to reducing the cough and boosting his appetite. He is starting to eat us out of house and home

Congratulations, Dana!!

Jan I will be sending some positive thoughts your way!

Wonderful news!!