Posts by Adam Taylor12

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Frank Nelson2 said:If those solutions were ever posted on a public forum and became common knowledge, I guess the lawmakers would probably just move quickly to make them illegal.😉

PM me? 😁

Frank Nelson2 said:So many businesses are getting crushed right now simply because their bank accounts are frozen. I mean, how are they supposed to pay their suppliers if a single creditor can lock everything down just over $333? It’s a disaster that leads to broken contracts, lost deals, and a total wipeout of trust. Half the time, there are actually legitimate reasons why a debt exists, and in those situations, settling the full amount is usually just a few months away, but only if the account actually stays active.

There are ways to deal with frozen accounts, but nobody seems to know about them. Honestly, the lawmakers aren't going to get any smarter or more resourceful than the entrepreneurs trying to navigate this mess.

Which specific solutions are we talking about—solutions that actually remain within the bounds of the law?

Angela Wright said:Davorin.
He isn't exactly the most pleasant individual at times—certainly not his most charming quality—but he and Santek are highly specialized when it comes to rare tumors.

Fortunately, we aren't mentioning the doctor with that same name. 🙂

Angela Wright said:Actually, there is an unwritten rule in this country—once you’ve been admitted to a facility, you are officially considered a patient of that specific hospital. It becomes quite difficult to get transferred elsewhere later on, mostly because administrators are always looking for ways to cut costs.

They’ve implemented this new system—essentially classifying patients as outpatients—which effectively shuts the door on you ever being admitted to another hospital. Even theoretically, there's no way in. You start running into administrative walls the moment you try to check into an ER at a different facility. It doesn't matter that our specific situation at the local clinic doesn't technically fall under those constraints, or that we're technically within the jurisdiction of Johns Hopkins Hospital based on where we live. The fact that the attending physician couldn't consistently prescribe antibiotics for steeleagle152's father leads me to believe we are looking at the exact same systemic issue.

mistyjackal842 and steeleagle152—I am honestly not certain if it is even feasible to transfer Dad to another hospital at this stage. Based on our previous experience, when Dad was under the care of the specialists over at Mayo Clinic, the emergency department at Johns Hopkins Hospital refused—or perhaps simply could not—accept him. There was actually some rather blunt, heated phone calls exchanged between the staff at Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital. In the end, the doctors at Mayo Clinic were the ones who ultimately admitted him. 😢

Angela Wright said:..... and Dr. Herceg at the rebro....

Which Dr. Herceg are we talking about?
I have some relatively recent experience where he made an absolutely dreadful "rookie" mistake—unless, of course, he was simply trying to balance the hospital budget by cutting corners. 🤷

I certainly hope it isn't him...

Lisa White54 said:Greetings, everyone. I have some rather pleasant news to share—here I am at last.
The surgery is behind me. My doctor informed me that—all things considered—it wasn't actually cancer. 🙂 I am still waiting on the PhD results—just to be absolutely certain...

I am simply overjoyed...

🙂🙂
🎉🎉

jHey everyone—I realize this might be a bit out of line for this specific thread, but I feel compelled to bring it up regardless...
Roses—you and your husband are practically playing doctor with carcinogens at this point. 🙂🙂
.........🙂🙂🙂 You cancer-ridden little pests—you don't stand a chance against this family.

Lisa White54—you’ve truly brightened our day.
Best of luck moving forward.

swiftpanther102 said:mistyjackal842, please accept my sincere condolences. 😢

QUESTION: My Dad (lung and bronchial cancer with kidney metastases and one in the brain—resolved via Gamma knife; he’s completed 4 cycles of chemo—Cisplatin). About 15 days ago, the doctor decided to stop chemo since it wasn't working; we're waiting on a CT scan to determine if radiation is an option next... For the last 7 days, he's been in pain everywhere. The Zaldiar he was taking hasn't helped. I take him to the ER or his doctor, they give him Analgin IV., and he survives about half a day without pain. If they give him Tramadol, the pain returns within two hours. Then it's back to the ER, and so on. His primary care physician gave him Tramadol drops which don't work, then yesterday she prescribed those TRANSTEC patches (35..); I applied them last night, yet he suffered through the pain all night long. This morning, it was back to the Analgin IV. injection. Does anyone have suggestions? We aren't even near a hospital, so we've been handling everything through outpatient visits.

Ask about OxyContin—it worked for us... also ask about Sevredol—it provides immediate, albeit short-lived, relief, which helps bridge the gap until the other pain medication kicks in.

Dear mistyjackal842, I am truly sorry.
Unfortunately, we lost our battle too, and a very similar situation occurred to us at Villa Brezovica... negligence and neglect... protocol errors... all sorts of terrible things... Mom is still deciding whether we should file a lawsuit.

Thanks to everyone... Dad is at Villa Brezovica in very critical condition, and they're saying this weekend is going to be a turning point.

I honestly don't know what to say to you 😢.
I’ve spent three mornings straight at Villa Brezovica...
I tell them—plainly—that chemo isn't going to hold up when he's in a state where I can't even get him to eat or drink... when he can't even communicate his own needs...
I am by my father's side 24 hours a day... I see every single thing, even the most microscopic change...
For a year now, I've been praying for a miracle...
Fine, miracles don't happen...
But if we can't at least provide some semblance of quality through palliative care—damn it, I just don't understand why that isn't happening...

Okay, so now he's at the hospital...
And now I need advice—if there's no neurological assessment being done, what am I supposed to do? How am I even supposed to challenge the oncologist?

To be honest, I'm terrified of this situation—he's at Villa Brezovica right now, and what if his internist just dismisses a neurological workup as unnecessary? Are they just going to fix him up with something to mask the pain and call it a day?

Angela Wright said:Go to Jordanovac around 2:30 PM and look for head nurse Sandra Karabatic. She also serves as the president of the Jedro Association for those living with lung cancer. Ask her for advice and help. She works from 7 AM to 3 PM.
If I were in your shoes—and frankly, given the scandal here—I would just hover near the ER until they finally saw him. At some point, if nothing else works, I might even take matters into my own hands and give him the Medrol again.

Nurse Karabatic is on the second floor (where we are being treated); I actually ran into her today...
The situation is this—his chemo has been delayed, and he’s scheduled for a bronchoscopy on Monday. He is currently registered as an outpatient.
The internist overseeing his care isn't particularly fond of Medrol—nor of my attempts to administer it myself—and insists that 32mg is an excessively high dose. She claims it’s due to the tumor progressing in the lungs and causing hormone secretion... which is strange, considering the CT scan looks excellent. Perhaps she’s right, but honestly, Dad seems much better after the Medrol...

After quite a bit of rather painful insisting on my part, she finally tells me that if I am truly going to be this difficult, she might as well write him a referral for an emergency neurological evaluation...
So, the doctor writes the referral, and we head over to Mount Sinai Hospital since that's where we reside... and that is when the real nightmare begins. Mount Sinai can't admit him because he's already registered as an outpatient at Jordanovac. The staff at Mount Sinai say the ward at Jordanovac is what he needs, so I have to go to the Jordanovac ER... and with my poor father looking like this, I certainly don't want to drag him back to Jordanovac again. The ER staff at Jordanovac are baffled; they insist Mount Sinai should be taking him. It becomes a endless loop of phone calls between hospitals, while my poor dad just sits in the car. In this moment, I almost think it’s a blessing that he is completely disoriented...
After all that chaos, Dad finally gets through the ER at Jordanovac and is admitted to the hospital...

Currently, there is no neurological workup happening, because Jordanovac doesn't provide that, and I suppose it will either happen via a referral... or it won't...

Angela—I can't get to the Medrol because the doctor lacks the authority to prescribe it, and clearly, I can't get him to a neurologist... Look, I understand the healthcare system is in recession; I know there are a million reasons and I see how hard they are working... but I am just so desperate and frustrated...
I wouldn't wish this experience on anyone.

Angela Wright said:Take him to the ER and explain the situation—he’ll get cortis, 100%. It’s clearly edema. Bring the CT scan so a radiologist can re-read it somewhere else. Was it done with contrast?

It was done with contrast. We were at the ER over the weekend. The ER at Jordanovac turned him away, so we ended up at Mount Sinai Hospital since that's where we live. Mount Sinai concluded he was just dehydrated, hooked him up to an IV, and sent him home. The doctor at Jordanovac—his specialist on the ward—knows all of this (his internist tells me we just have to accept this as our reality now). I'm actually heading to Jordanovac right now for his chemo, without Dad.

If I can't resolve anything there—back to the ER again?
It’s enough to make you snap; it's not cancer that's going to kill Dad, it's the doctors.

We are currently fighting microcellular lung cancer along with brain metastases.
We’ve completed six rounds of chemo (the PE protocol) and finished head radiation; tomorrow, we start a second line of chemo with Hycamtin because of the progression in the lungs.

The issue—even though the head CT looks good following the radiation (only nine days ago)—is my dad. He’s completely lost; he refuses to eat or drink. At Mount Sinai Hospital, they aren't even concerned about this—I was literally told that this is just how you live with it and that we need to get used to it... especially since the head CT results are so positive.
To me, that isn't right—he isn't even on any steroids. Over the weekend, I took matters into my own hands and gave him Medrol (32mg), and his condition actually improved; he regained consciousness. When I mentioned this to the staff at Mount Sinai, his physician insisted I stop the Medrol immediately. I lowered the dose yesterday and today to 16mg. My dad is no longer himself—he barely speaks, lives in his own world, and is essentially just vegetating. This has been going on for seven days now. To top it all off, he starts chemo again tomorrow.
It feels insane to me. His radiologist is nowhere to be found, and Mount Sinai isn't offering any specific recommendations for his review. Where am I supposed to turn?

My dear Rose....

I’ll be the first to admit I don't exactly have a gift for expressing emotions through writing—so perhaps I’m not the most eloquent person to leave the first comment...
Your words left me profoundly saddened; my immediate thought was wondering where that almighty God has hidden himself, and whether He ever truly looks down upon us...

I believe, and I am certain, that you will overcome this illness as well..
And I am sure you know that, that you can, and that you will...
I know everything will be alright with you, because there is no such thing as an invincible disease...
You and your husband have proven that to all of us
This is merely one more battle that you are going to win
and everything will be fine once again

I am sending you all my positive thoughts and every ounce of my strength
🙂🙂🙂

I’m currently driving my father to his daily radiation treatments and dexamethasone doses..
There is truly no need to be afraid—in fact, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised when you realize he actually knows where he’s going again; every day feels like discovering a little piece of him has returned. When we first started this journey, it felt like an impossible mission—he had no idea where we were, couldn't recognize the clinic or the hospital, and was completely lost regarding days, dates, or even a basic schedule. Now? He’s the one keeping track, making sure we don't miss those two consecutive odd-numbered dates that require morning injections. He's even stressing over the upcoming Monday holiday because it means skipping a radiation session. He practically acts as my navigator now, cutting through side streets to get us from one medical center to the next..

Alex Hayes2 said:Can anyone tell me what to expect once my dad starts head radiation? Nausea, fatigue, or anything else?
Right now, he’s actually feeling quite good—no pain at all. His appetite is fine; his main issues are just being a bit moody and occasionally disoriented (left vs. right)—I assume those metastases are putting pressure on his brain. He’s on Dexamethasone and something starting with an "M"—we can't recall the name, but it doesn't seem to be a major issue—otherwise, he acts as if he’s perfectly healthy.
What should I look out for once the radiation begins? And is there any need for immune system support?

The "M" medication is likely Medrol.

I can only offer my own experience here... he’s handling it well. No headaches, and both blood pressure and blood sugar remain stable. We are heading in for session 8 of 10 today. All those little lapses in behavior—including the total disorientation, forgetting where things were placed, losing track of the day or the time...—have finally returned to normal.

swiftpanther102 said:My father is still dealing with hiccups—about five to six days after his chemo session—and he's taking medication for them for two days straight. I called an oncologist a couple of days ago to ask for a recommendation for something to stop the hiccups, and she suggested it isn't actually a side effect of the chemotherapy, but rather stemming from the primary disease (something involving the vagus nerve). After the third round of chemo, we have a follow-up scheduled including a chest X-ray and an abdominal ultrasound.
What should I be expecting here??!!
Is this hiccuping actually a sign of disease progression?! And is it standard practice to do these check-ups after about three cycles of the HIPAA protocol?

swiftpanther102, they usually do both the X-ray and the ultrasound... in our experience, we did them after the 3rd, 5th, and 6th rounds... generally, it allows you to see how the chemo is impacting the tumor...
If you notice anything unusual in my father's behavior—those tiny details that others might miss, but you can tell something just isn't right—make sure to alert the doctors and insist on a brain CT scan.

Angela Wright said:swiftpanther102, I know there is a medication produced over in Mexico that helps with this kind of hiccuping. It costs about $6.75, though I can't quite recall the name 😢. Unfortunately, it isn't registered here in the States, so you won't be able to get it
.

It's called largaticil

Give Coca-Cola a try—breathing into a paper bag, or maybe just a spoonful of honey

And if it's already part of your regimen, codeine might offer some relief

@swiftpanther102, I truly hope it’s already passed... these things usually just stop at some point for no apparent reason whatsoever

swiftpanther102 said:John Doe: Is the second round of chemo typically harder to handle than the first?

To be specific—my father was vomiting for four days following his initial treatment, and he’s scheduled for his second round in just a few days. It’s the PE protocol—something platinum-based—administered over two consecutive days: the first session lasts about four hours, followed by a two-hour session the next day.
He's still feeling quite uncertain about facing this second round; despite his bloodwork looking relatively solid after the first, the anxiety regarding potential side effects is weighing heavily on him. 😢

Our experience... it wasn't🙂
We went through six cycles total, and if memory serves, the 1st and 4th were the toughest ones we endured.
We realized that staying incredibly hydrated makes a massive difference—I'd highly recommend beet juice as well...
Wishing you the best.

Lisa White54 said:Hello, everyone.
I haven't posted in quite a while, though I do follow the Forum regularly.
My husband is doing well. According to his most recent CT scan performed at the hospital in the city, there is no sign of cancer...

Oh, Lisa—what a relief to hear you're doing okay...👋👋👋

As for what happened in Jordanovac, I have no comment; I'm sure someone will chime in soon with some sensible advice.

Well, you certainly made my day.🙂
The other hurdles ahead seem minor—given everything you've already endured, they're almost negligible... just hang in there and take care of yourself.