gerbil runner
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Posts posted by gerbil runner
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My mom has a met in the pancreas. As a matter of fact, the early diagnosis was pancreatic cancer. The tumor closed off her bile duct, causing elevated liver enzymes and jaundice. Her older sister also died of pancreatic cancer about 10 years ago. Mom had a stent placed, which fixed the problem, but it took 2 bronchoscopies and a needle biopsy to confirm that what she had was SCLC with a met to the pancreas rather than pancreatic cancer with met to the lung. Her brain and bone scans are clean, and her liver is clear also. Weird. But hey, we'll take SCLC over pancreatic cancer (which would have meant palliative care only).
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Anne, I'm so sorry you've had to say goodbye to your mom.
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Jason, I was so sorry to read about your dad. My sympathy goes to you.
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Beth - you and I are in almost the same boat. I'm 35, mom is 59. She had a hard time getting diagnosed - 2 bronchoscopies were inconclusive, she had to have a stent put in her bile duct, and the brushings from that were inconclusive. Finally, needle biopsy confirmed SCLC.
It IS scary. But some people do survive this cancer. Make every day count, and work on getting a remission. I like to think that if we can get Mom into remission, she'll have time to wait for the next great cancer treatment.
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Thanks for the replies. I'm going to check what Mom's taking and if today is the same as yesterday, call the dr. for reinforcements. Is Ensure a possibility? Or would it be too much like dairy? Mom lost 12-15 lbs. in the hospital, and although she's far from thin, she feels weakened. I want to nip this in the bud.
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Mom had her first chemo yesterday - cpt-11 and cisplatin. Today, neither the breakfast eggs nor lunch potato stayed down. Chicken soup for supper seems to be staying put. She had attivan, and some kind of suppository for nausea. Any "veterans" have ideas on what to try for food? She's drinking plenty of water, so dehydration isn't an issue at this point.
Her next chemo is Tuesday - only one of the drugs (I don't know which). Will the nausea get worse with more chemo? She also had trouble sleeping last night. Is that unusual? She does have meds for sleeping. TIA for the advice.
Jen
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Barbara - no real help here, but my mom has the same problems with quitting. First time she tried, she went 9 months and everyone suffered. Now she can't smoke because coughing could make her bleed (she spent 4 days on a ventilator due to bleeding after bronchoscopy). Keep trying, get all the anti-depressant help you can. Best wishes.
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I can't believe he's gone. I just started visiting this board, and read all his posts with appreciation for his humor and strength.
Sincerest sympathy goes out to you.
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Karen, I haven't posted much but have read all about your mom. So sorry you have reached this point. My prayers go to you and your family for strength at this time.
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Thanks for the welcome. Talked to Mom last night - the brain scan was clear! Today she starts chemo - she couldn't remember the name of the drugs, but the routine will be 1x per week for 3 weeks and 1 week off - she thinks. I'll have to ask my dad today. He'll know. She's ready to evict the bugs, as she says. Hopefully the bone scan done yesterday will be encouraging as well.
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Hi - I've been lurking for a few days, and decided it's time to "get on board". My mom, 59, has extensive sclc. She's still undergoing tests. Diagnosis did not come easily. She was hospitalized on Nov. 15 due to jaundice, stomach pain, and intermittent coughing up blood. CAT scan showed 3 small lung tumors and a 4 cm pancreas tumor. Initially, the drs. thought it was pancreatic cancer, and she had a stent placed on 11/18 to open the bile duct. Jaundice cleared rapidly, but the brushings from the procedure did not yield a diagnosis. Monday 11/24 she was supposed to have a needle biopsyof the pancreatic tumor, but the radiologist decided he "wasn't comfortable" with the procedure. The pulmonologist proposed bronchoscopy, which was performed 11/25. Mom had a lot of blood in the bronchial tube, and was still bleeding so was placed on a ventilator in ICU. She was stable but scared and fighting the equipment, so was kept very heavily sedated. Finally transferred to RI Hospital at 2 am on Thanksgiving. The first bronchoscopy was inconclusive, so another was done on Thanksgiving. 3 tissue samples were taken, but did not yield a diagnosis. Mom came off the ventilator on Friday and improved rapidly. Needle biopsy of the pancreas was done on Friday, and the results came in Wednesday night 12/3 - sclc. Thursday Mom went home. Friday - brain scan. Today she sees the oncologist and has a bone scan. Not sure it chemo will start today, or what it will be.
It's all very scary, as you well know. I have 3 boys, 12, 3.5 and 20 months, so even though I live 30 miles away, visiting isn't easy. I call every day if I can't see her. Yesterday, she noticed a grape-sized breast lump which hadn't been there the day before. I worry about how far the cancer has gone in the 3 weeks it took to diagnose. Can't fault her care much - they kept trying, and an open biopsy was considered too risky. She's sleeping a lot, though her appetite is good and she very much wants to fight. Dad is very scared, too.
We're hoping to knock the disease back fast.
Jen
Another hospital holiday....
in SCLC GROUP
Posted
Mom had to go into the hospital on Monday - uncontrollable diarreah and low WBC, looks like a staph infection too. She was in ICU on a respirator for Thanksgiving, and now she'll be spending Christmas in the hospital
. I can't bring my two younger boys (3.5 and 20 months) to see her because of the risk of infection. My 12-year-old and I have been in, though.
It's so hard to have holidays change like this. My mom and dad have always hosted all the major holidays. Dad and I haven't had much enthusiasm for Christmas this year. Mom feels badly that she's "ruined" 2 holidays this year. And seeing her so sick after only 2 chemo treatments is worrisome.
The little ones will enjoy Christmas, but the rest of us are struggling. In the back of our minds is the worry that Mom won't be here at all next year. She's lost probably 30 lbs. in the past month, and still can't eat. Thank God she can afford to lose the weight, but this is getting scary.
Hope those of you at home with your loved ones have a very blessed Christmas. We're hanging in there, hoping to get Mom home soon.
Jen