Guest NowakowDA Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 Mom had her 7th of 14 WBR treatments Friday. So far, the only major side efect is the fatigue. It hit Mom big time. She says that she feels like someone opened a valve and let all her energy out. She sleeps a lot, but only for a couple hours at a time. Her Rad Onc said that the fatigue was a combination of the cancer, her age and the radiation. He said to let her rest as much as she wants. Somtimes, she's a little spaced out and has to take time to think about what she's saying. Her Dr. told me to make sure she eats and to keep plenty of fluid in her. Still waiting for her hair to fall out. Dr. Wong said that it probably would fall out near the end of her 14 treatments. If it doesnt' fall out, he said he's going to publish a paper in a medical journal about her hair. The only other thing that has showed up is a little edema around her ankles. Her Dr. thinks this may be caused by the fact that she's not using her feet enough. He wants her to sleep with her feet raised and move her feet around when she's setting fown. When she saw Dr. Wong Thursday, her told her that it was very important for her to complete her WBR treatments. He said that she needed to get all fourteen treatments, and that if she continues to improve, he would offer a treatment plan for her lung. After we left the Cancer Center I noticed that Mom was crying. I asked her what was wrong. She said that she was worried that Dr. Wong would not want her to finish the radiation treatments. She said that on Wednesday, while she was getting her head zapped, she heard Dr. Wong talking to another patient in the treatment area. She said that Dr. Wong told this other women that the radiation was not helping and there was no reason to complete the treatment. So she was worried that he might tell her the same thing. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 Don, What your mom is going through is normal. Im sorry to hear that she is not feeling well, but hopefully with time it will go away. As far as her fear, that is normal too. My dad just got news that he was clear of all cancer including his tumor (he had surgery 2 weeks ago)...great news right??? You would think so.. my dad is so worried that at the next tests they will find something new or something they missed that hes not enjoying the fact that as of this moment hes cancer free! So let her be scared, its normal... but reassure her that everything can turn out fine and let her know that you are there for her no matter what... good or bad. Hope this helps Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ven Posted July 11, 2004 Share Posted July 11, 2004 Just a note to tell you that you're still doing a great job, Don. Hang in there. Hope the treatments work wonders. Ven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pecola Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 You're a wonderful son, Don. I'm praying that your Mom finishes her radiation successfully and gets some of her strength back quickly. Gina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJAS Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 Don, Good for you for being so supportive of your mom for this difficult tx. Steve finished his WBRT in Feb. and boy, we know what you mean about fatigue. Sounds like your mother's keeping her hair a lot longer than he did. Hopefully, that will give a bit more protection to the scalp. Steve threatened to go in sometime with his head wrapped in tinfoil, so on his last WBRT I gave him a stuffed Taz (Tasmanian Devil) with its head wrapped in foil! Give her lots of extra hugs because WBRT is pretty rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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