Jump to content

Finally - a move towards treatment


deruo

Recommended Posts

Hi all and thanks for your support.

This'll be short as I've been up for 48 hours advocating for my mom, but we finally got her in a hospital and a consult with an oncologist.

He's recommending chemo with cisplatin and etopiside, with some radiation for the chest area (will have a consult with radiation specialist).

He's planning to start the chemo tomorrow, and today we're doing the bone scan and brain CT. So we still don't know if it's limited or extensive SCLC.

The last two days have given me new insight into just how screwed up the medical system is, but the important thing is that she's being seen and help is on the way. Will write later, just wanted to check in and let you know that we're on the way.

Deruo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks very much everyone.

Mom just had her second day of chemo today. I don't know whether it's the chemo or not, but she sounds a LOT better - breathing easier and not coughing as much. Nor does she sound like she's gasping for air. She's in bed being quite chatty actually. The Dr. said she could probably go home tomorrow but she wants to stay until Saturday, just in case the side effects kick in and she needs help.

I know I've been complaining about our med system, but I have to say that the nurses that have been taking care of her are marvelous. If flowers were allowed on the Oncology Floor, I'd take them a big bouquet!

I do hope someone can verify something I was told - her chemo dose has been reduced because when they did a kidney function test, it indicated that her kidneys weren't operating at 100%. Rather than risk damaging her kidneys, they reduced the dosage of the 2 chemos. (She's a fairly small woman on top of the kidney thing) My question was "does a reduced dose mean reduced effectiveness of the chemo" or would it affect treatment. The oncology nurse said that it would not. I think I asked the Dr. and I think he said the same thing. (To be honest, it's a blur - and I've been taking notes - but you know how it is...)

I marvel at how strong she is. I'm very proud to say I'm her son.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The dose reduction won't affect the effectiveness of the treatment. Both cisplatin and etoposide are cleared by the kidneys so if the dose weren't reduced, it could result in effectively an overdose. Also, cisplatin can be very hard on the kidneys so have to be very careful with it when kidney function is not so good.

Sounds like so far so good, good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.