Guest Michelle Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Hi, At 11:30 pm Sat. night had to take my husband in to the ER for shortness of breath and chest pain, profuse vomiting, inability to hold even a mere sip of water in, excessive coughing, extreame weakness and fatigue, and dehydration. He is stage four NSCLC and his cancer is stable, however, ever since his last round of radiation therapy, he has not had a voice, he has massive plhegm in his throat, and he just kept getting worse and worse and more fatigued. We waited about an hour before they took us back to a bed in the ER and they did all the normal stuff on Bob - vitals, temp, blood, urine, EKG, chest x-ray - and we waited all night/early morning (about 8.5 hours total for all the testing/results to that testing) for the ER doc to come in and tell us it appeared Bob had a mild heart attack as there were ischemic changes on his EKG and they worried about a PE in the lung so the doc said to me, "Go home, get some rest, pack him a bag as we are admiting him and if anything changes I will call you immediately." I shook like a leaf the whole drive home out of fear, helplessness, and exhaustion as I had not even been to bed yet. I got home and made some coffee and an English Muffin, called the family, and I packed Bob's bag - and got about 3 hours sleep. So, Bob is on oxygen and he actually sounds a little better as I am sure the oxygen is drying that phlegm in his throat thus enabling him to talk better. He had a CAT scan in the ER when I left and it showed NO blood clot...but they didn't know WHY he had the chest pains/shortness of breath/inability to speak and hold food/water IN...so they did an echo and a cardiologist read it and Bob has a blockage. :( He has never had heart disease! Can the cancer/treatments do this? He is having an upper GI and small bowel screening in the morning - thank GOD - I think he should have had that weeks ago. I pray they find out what this IS in his throat so they can FIX IT. I pray he comes home - he is in a very weakened condition w/some mystery ailment AND a heart problem of an unknown nature at this time. So, this is tough. I am scared... Has anyone been through anything like this before? Can he "fight" this being that he is stage four which lowers the immunity and that he is in SUCH a weakened stage at this time? I am so scared... Thank you, Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayroy Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Yes he can fight this disease even if he is stage 4 My dad is stage 4 and has felt horrible at times, shortness of breath, inability to walk, a lot of pain,etc. You have to tell yourself that he can fight it, then encourage your loved one to fight on. Even if the doctors say there is no more hope or treatments left you can find alternative treatments that can help stabilize the disease or even cure it. So the answer is yes, your dad can fight this, just give him full support, research all options, and tell him things will turn for the better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anniemac Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Michelle, I'm sorry your husband is not doing so well. My husband has phelgm in his throat too. It doesn't sound quite as bad, but he also had radiation and the doc says it's a side effect. Tim says it feels like something is caught in the top of his throat and he coughs up stuff. He didn't do this before the treatment and the doc says it's temporary. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 I am so sorry you and your husband are going through this right now, tell him to be strong and try to stay positive, ask the doctors and nurses a million questions if you have too. Try to rest and try to stay upbeat, when my husband was in the hospital I knew he was scared to death and I was too but I tried to pretend it was no big thing and that he would be fine in no time, it eased his fears and we could even smile alittle. Please keep us up to date as I have you both in my thoughts and prayers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelliemacs Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 ok, heres my imput. My mom just finished 14 rounds of full head radiation on 5/27/03. She was ok for about 4-5 days after then last wednesday she started coughing allot and had major phlem in her throat. She lost all of her voice too and she only had a whisper left to start with after the cancer damaged her vocal cord nerves. She was so weak and tired that she needed a wheelchair to get around. We took her to the doctor last thursday due to panic that was setting in and she was diagonosed with Bronchitis. He told us chemo takes your immune system down to pretty much nothing and she cought a cold that developed and he put her on an anti-biotic and although it hasn't happened yet he said her strength would come back. Course she has chemo again wednesday and it will be zapped again so go figure. all I know is radiation side effects are horrible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginnyd Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Dear Michelle, You have had a tough weekend. Thank God your husband is getting the attention and treatment he needs. Can he fight this? I don't know why not. Keep telling him he can. My husband's voice has never been as strong as it used to be since his tracheostomy. He had a paralyzed vocal cord for awhile but that is supposed to be alright now, but his voice is still weaker. Thoughts and prayers for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Dear Michelle, I know that you must be so exhausted, frightened, and overwhelmed. Please take care of yourself so that you may help your husband fight. Come here for help and support. Everyone here is so wonderful. God bless you, Peg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connie B Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Dear Michelle, I am just going to send you a CYBER HUG (((((((Michelle))))))) And boy, if one of those hugs could make EVERYONE better, wouldn't that be AWESOME?!! I only wish! If Bob has the fight in him to fight all that is going on, I see no reason why he shouldn't give it a 120%. I hope you don't get yourself to run down. I know how all this can weigh on the caregiver as well. Sometimes it's even worse on the caregivers then on us patients. Try and get rest and know we are here for you! Warm and Gentle Hugs, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michelle Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 {{{Thank You}}} all for the kind, encouraging, helpful words. We live one day at a time and we believe in miracles and we are choosing to chose hope. We got some bad news today - I started a new thread. I used to be registered on this board, but I lost my password, it was e-mailed to me, and I cannot log in w/it. I sent the Admin an e-mail about this but never got a reply, so, I apologize for posting w/out my registered name, which is MaryP. Thank you all again - I am off to the hospital to be w/my husband for the remainder of the day. I will let you all know how he is doing when I get home tonight. Take care and always believe in miracles. Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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