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Moms Biopsy and Chemo Advice
13 years ago
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Just got back from moms Biopsy, shit that sucked but shes better now.
We won't know what stage of cancer we are dealing with until the results come back
at the latest tue but they doctor said, even if things might change between now
and then she believes the game plan will be Chemo first to try to shrink the mass
because it's not a nice little lump, its a bit spread out, then surgery to try to
remove it. Is there any advice for new chemo patients? I know everyone takes to
it differently but we don't have anyone personal we can talk to about this other than
the medical team.
Chemo also causes hair loss. A side effect of that would be hair changing color once it grows back. They said my mom's was supposed to be silver but instead..was her normal dirty blonde hehe.
Some links: http://www.justice.gov/dea/ongoing/marinol.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedh.....th/PMH0000403/ http://www.nhtsa.gov/People/injury/.....s/cannabis.htm
I'm not being cruel, I'm not kidding. Chemo weakens a person because it is POISON to kill cells that are only marginally less healthy than the normal ones they are displacing.
There may be vomiting. There may be issues with diarrhea and not being able to reach the toilet. Prepare yourself and try to remain calm and compassionate. x.x
Don't worry about how bad you feel the first day, they will adjust the meds and its really not too bad after that.
DO tell you doctor if you need your line changed to a new vein if it hurts.
DO ask for a Pick Line, I'm told it kinda hurts to have it put in but one main line is better then a new needle stabbing every trip in. I had no idea this was an option til about 4 months in.
and remember. No hair means no hair care and that you can go buy a new hat =D
I'd also tell her to avoid foods that she enjoys while she's getting the chemo. It's common for people on chemo to develop taste aversions against the foods they eat immediately before, during, or after chemo injections. Save the tasty stuff for any breaks from chemo she might have.
There are likely support groups, and the doctor can probably give fairly good advice.
Also agreeing on the marijuana being helpful for the upset stomachs and loss of appetite, though as stated, it can be hard to get your hands on.
Best of luck with it all.
• Buy a couple of nice hats or head scarfs. This is especially helpful if, like some people, you don't lose all your hair. It's sometimes easier to lose it all than to not lost it all.
• Things will taste funny after chemo. It won't be right away, but after a couple days, your favorite foods won't taste the same. Some will also irritate your mouth.
• On the subject of your mouth... be prepared for sensitivity, both in the teeth and overall fleshy parts of the mouth. Highly acidic things can feel like they are burning, and can be painful. Also keep a good oral hygiene routine. My aunt had trouble with her teeth and even lost a couple molars.
• Like CaptRoo said, get her to eat a ton, and put on some extra weight. She'll be thankful and will feel better about herself if she doesn't look like she's wasting away.
• Make sure that people who come to visit ARE NOT SICK IN ANY WAY! Her immune system will be bushwhacked and won't be able to fight off even the simplest of bugs. I would have the immediate family start taking vitamin C to help them not get sick. If someone does get sick in the house, limit your moms exposure to that person as much as possible. You don't want her to get sick. My aunt did, and it landed her in the hospital a couple times over the course of the treatments. Not fun.
• LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST: STAY POSTITIVE!!! There is no better thing for dealing with any form of Cancer. Keep the mindset that "I can beat this!" "I'm gonna kick this cancers ass" and "I'm going to carry on life as usual, because this isn't going to get me down" They all sound a little cliche, but a positive attitude is paramount! :D
If you have questions, I can pass them on to my aunt and have answers within the day. Hope these little tidbits help. :)
how come no doctor thinks of surgery with the intention of freezing the lump or anomaly and then removing it fallowed by defrostation of the area and then reparing the section of damaged tissues and vains?
"Cousins even became a household name far beyond intellectual spheres when he published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine recounting how, when suffering an illness, he attempted to induce a placebo effect in himself by reading funny books and watching his favorite Marx Bros. movies.
When I had cancer in 1997, I more or less followed Cousins' advice. Many people try to heroically combine doing their jobs with undergoing chemotherapy, but with Cousins' theory in mind, I immediately went on disability and just did whatever I liked. I reread all Robert Heinlein's novels, took long walks along the Chicago lakefront, played golf, and carefully polished perhaps my best article Is Love Colorblind? And I slept 12 hours per day. (Nice work if you can get it.)
Did it work? I dunno, but 15 years later, I'm still here."
What others have said is pretty good advice, especially trying to put on a bit of weight before as she will lose a lot of weight and muscle mass, and keeping a bucket nearby. Its not a nice thing to think about but chemo literally is a poison and your body will try and get rid of it anyway it can, normally by throwing up which is why they give you anti-sickness drugs but even with them my mom would throw up regularly for 3-4 days after her chemo.
Speaking of drugs if you/your mom doesnt think the combination of drugs they are giving her are helping with the sickness and such talk to the doctor/nurses about it, they have a lot of different combinations they can try and different people react to them in different ways.
Also like Cipher said it can be a good idea to get a few hats or head scarfs now, there is nearly always some hairloss, for some people its barely any and for others they lose everything but you won't know until it happens (and its not just head hair, my mom even lost her eyelashes eventally, though not her leg hair annoyingly for her )
And like he said try to stay away from food she really enjoys on the bad days/weeks or she will start to link the food with the chemo, for example my mom cant eat soups anymore as it was the only thing she could keep down on the bad days so now whenever she see's soups she remembers how she felt when she was throwing up. This can extend to objects too, my mom's planning on burning our sofa now as for the last 7 months she was basically confined to it for a few days every other week while she was throwing her guts up.
Be very careful of infections and illnesses too, as others said chemo will destroy her immune system, luckily my mom only got a throat infection once during her chemo but even then they had to delay it a couple weeks until she got over it. So try and keep ill people away from her as much as you can, that includes staying away from crowds of people when going out. Our doctors also forbid my mom from having any sort of takeaway (because of the way its cooked/kept warm) and certain types of food some of which we didn't think of at first such as yogurts (which everyone says is so good for you) because of the way the yogurts are made with cultured bacteria which will attack her system too.
And lastly one of the most important things to do is stay positive, that includes you and the rest of your family. She will be going through shit for the duration but watching/knowing shes going through it will drag everyone else down too so hang onto every little positive you can.
Luckily my moms been told the cancers in remission now so it DOES work, although I'm not sure how things work where you are, but the real kicker over here is we don't get the "yes you're cured" for 5 years
And WOW that was a lot longer then I was first planning I guess I ramble on to much sometimes.