nancy_east

Ned, Randy, and Rich, I cannot thank you enough for your thoughts and advice, but most of all your support. I had my mom read your posts and she too is always touched by your support (but isn't much of a computer person so always wants me to respond for her!) And Ned, I gave her that hug from you Ned, she said she experiences many of the things you wrote about and it was reassuring just to know that she's not the "only one" with all these strange symptoms. She's going to ask her oncologist on Monday about possibly lowering her Tarceva dose to 100 mg and see if it helps a little. Luckily, she gets a good chunk of calories in the morning with a smoothie she makes that has flax seed oil and cottage cheese (one of these holistic approaches we read about--I'm far from convinced it's doing much for the cancer but I'm thrilled that she drinks 800 calories first thing in the morning!) Again, I can't thank you enough and please know that I keep everyone on these boards in my thoughts and prayers each and every day. You are such special people.

Hello all, Hope everyone out there is feeling well and enjoying the colors of spring! I am posting a question for my mother. I have only posted a couple of times so to briefly update you on her status, she has stage IV adenocarcinoma (nonsmoker) with previous mets to brain that have cleared with WBR and mets to various areas of bone and one lung mass. Two months ago, she completed 6 cycles of Alimta/Zometa/Cisplatin and is now currently on Avastin and Zometa every 3 weeks with 150 mg Tarceva daily. My question is this: For those of you who may have had similar chemo regimens, how long did you nausea/inappetence last after your last chemo dose? My mother has never vomited through all this but feels "quesy" most of the day with absolutely no appetite at any time. She has to force herself to eat and it's never an enjoyable experience. I know the chemo won't just magically disappear from her body, but I guess I'm a little concerned that she is still feeling the same way she did when she received the last dose of the chemo, now 2 months ago. I'm starting to wonder if the Avastin or Tarceva are causing some of this. She has an appointment with her oncologist on Monday for her next dose of Zometa and Avastin so she is going to ask about all this then. But we are currently at the beach with her for a much needed vacation from all the stress, and it just kills me to watch her so miserable 24/7. She hides her discomfort well but she is a very stoic person and I know she is miserable beyond what she even expresses to her family. Any advice or experience (and things you did to combat this) would be most appreciated, as always. Many thanks... Nancy

Hello all, I enjoyed participating in the chat room for a few minutes the other night with some of you! I find inspiration and advice daily on this forum for my mother and I continue to pray for all of you battling lung cancer. I have a question for anyone who has undergone chemo and has had an upset stomach afterwards. My mom is having a very difficult time eating--she doesn't necessarily have nausea but she says she feels like her stomach has a knot in it all the time and it's very difficult to want to eat, much less eat anything solid. No appetite ever but she is managing to force down smoothies and shakes recently while barely maintaining her weight. Does anyone take anything like Prilosec or Zantac to combat this kind of thing? Her nurse told her to tray Prilosec but just wanted to see if anyone else had any magic they have discovered. Again, thank you so much and I hope to hear from someone Nancy

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your responses. I truly can't tell you how much your quick replies mean and how I feel so welcomed to this forum after just one post. What a wonderful community to be a part of through this--I have found that the people who have dealt with cancer either themselves or by supporting a family member just "know" more than anyone what to say and do, and I can't thank you enough. My mom and I just arrived home from the hospital. We decided after I posted the question to just go on and go as she was in so much pain. She literally could not sit down properly in the car because of the pressure. Once we arrived, they quickly (at least quick for an ER), took her back and a very kind nurse and nurse practitioner manually extracted a lot of her fecal matter and then they gave her a soapy water enema to get rid of the rest. Instant relief and a much happier mother for sure. She has battled with constipation for years anyway, so I'm sure the chemo is just exacerbating it. She already does all the right preventive measures for constipation on a regular basis, so I'm thinking maybe we ought to make an appointment with a nutritionist to see if there's anything else they can recommend besides fiber, exercise, water, juices, etc. As she said, this just can't happen again and I'll definitely do everything in my power to prevent her from going through that again. Again, I appreciate your advice and support so very much. What a gift.

Hello all, I found these boards about a week ago by chance, and I feel like I already know some of you by reading your posts. What a blessing a forum like this is. My name is Nancy, and my 58-year-old mother was diagnosed with stage IV adenocarcinoma of the lung a month ago today. It has metastasized to her brain, bones, and lymph nodes. Needless to say, it was a complete shock to all of us as she was not having any symptoms until she complained one week of left sided weakness that become dramatically worse over a couple of days. So far, she has had 14 treatments of whole brain radiation that helped the neuro signs dramatically and she had her first round of chemo 6 days ago. She has been doing fairly well with the chemo (slight nausea, fatigue) until this morning when she woke up with abdominal pain and is severly constipated. She has taken a Fleet enema, magnesium citrate,and she is currently giving herself a water enema, per the nurse at the oncologist's office, but with no relief yet. My mom is a very stoic person when she is pain and she is really, really hurting right now. She says she can feel everything "right there" wanting to come out and bulging at her rectum but she can't pass any stool. Is anyone out there who can share any tips or suggestions on what we can do? I'm feeling like this is warranting a trip to the ER but I don't want to overreact. the nurse is calling us back in an hour to check on her but I just keep getting more worried as I see her in so much pain. I'm a veterinarian, and I know when animals are in this much pain with constipation, we generally intervene to a greater degree to help them, but since my mom doesn't bark or meow, I kind of feel like I'm out of my league Any suggestions are most appreciated and sorry to start my postings with such a desparate email.