Posts by hollowridge88

Hi again, everyone... So, I was helping bathe my mother, who has been diagnosed with "Right lung carcinoma (adenocarcinoma), adrenal gland metastasis" about a week ago. Up until yesterday, I hadn't noticed anything unusual or out of the ordinary, aside from some existing lumps (metastases) on her body. However, while I was bathing her again yesterday, I felt a hard lump—almost like an egg—on her left breast. It feels quite rough and firm to the touch, and it seems to be painful when she's touched there. I’ve been doing a little reading online, and everything seems to point toward breast cancer... Has anyone here dealt with something similar? Could someone help me understand if this could actually be it, or if there might be another explanation? Is it possible for the cancer to have spread to the breast as well? Thank you so much!

Lisa Sullivan96 said:For everyone here going through this, or those supporting loved ones, have you ever reached out for psychological counseling or just had someone to talk to?
I know there are hospitals out there that immediately set up counseling sessions for women recovering from breast cancer surgery because losing that sense of femininity can be such an incredibly heavy burden to carry.

And naturally, for any other types of cancer, do you find yourselves talking things through with your family?

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To be honest, we haven't sought professional help anywhere, though maybe we should, but we mostly just lean on each other and process everything within the family with my siblings. Mom actually prefers not to talk about it at all because she gets so upset, and she’s even asked us not to bring it up in front of her since she's already dealing with so much.

vividsailor7 said:I suspect Reglan might help, though there's a chance it could actually make the diarrhea worse.
I’m sticking with what I mentioned before!

We'll just have to wait and see, because we're seeing another doctor tomorrow, and then he'll be able to refer her to the next specialist...

So, we just got back from the doctor... She was prescribed Reglan for the nausea and Seldiar for the diarrhea. The doctor suggested it’s probably just some kind of infection, but he sent her straight home anyway. He didn't even run any blood work or anything... honestly, I'm just speechless and in total shock. This level of negligence and lack of responsibility toward patients at the White Monastery is just bottom-of-the-barrel. They've shut down the Emergency Room, so all they can really offer at the clinic are pain injections and nothing more. But okay, that's not even the main point right now; I'm just so angry because everyone seems to be distancing themselves from Mom, and it feels like nobody actually prioritizes her health—it's just "give her some pills and send her home." To me, it simply doesn't feel normal for someone to have diarrhea and vomiting for two weeks straight; I truly don't understand how a doctor could think that's okay??! No matter how much I try to stay hopeful or cling to a shred of optimism, I find myself losing hope and letting go every single day as I watch her suffer—watching her deal with the pain, the vomiting, how weak she's become, the dizziness, and seeing her lose her will to fight, feeling so helpless that she's practically pulling her hair out because she's just had enough... It's an overwhelming wave of misery, sadness, and despair all hitting me at once... but whenever she asks me, "Will everything be okay?", I always answer, "It will, Mom, everything is going to be fine," and every single time I say it, I feel this huge lump in my throat because it feels like the biggest lie I've ever told to both her and myself. 😢

Linda Patel21 said:Dear hollowridge88, I am honestly so sorry to hear things are going so poorly for you all right now. Please forgive me for asking, but what exactly is your mom battling? I really don't know what to suggest regarding her pain, though I seem to remember someone mentioning here that she should ask the hospital staff—maybe the anesthesiologists—about something to help ease her suffering so much. As for those blue hands during blood draws, maybe try asking at a pharmacy for a specific cream; I dealt with something similar before and they gave me something that helped quite a bit. I think the cream was called Heparin. Sending so much strength to you in this fight, and I'm thinking of your mom and her pain.

She's battling lung cancer that has metastasized to the adrenal glands, liver, and bones, and she also has these small nodules which are metastases as well. She's been dealing with diarrhea and vomiting for about two weeks now? Almost everything she manages to eat comes right back up through vomiting or diarrhea. She's also started coughing quite heavily... does anyone happen to know what all these symptoms might indicate? We suspect she might have picked up some kind of bacterial infection in her stomach or intestines... but the coughing??

Hi there! We’re checking in again just to let everyone know we’re still here, though we’re feeling a bit exhausted and down, just pushing through one day at a time. So far, Mom has only been able to make it through 4 rounds of chemotherapy, and her condition hasn't really improved. After a heavy chemo session, she can't eat anything for about 5 or 6 days; she just deals with vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, and terrible pain. In the meantime, we tried switching her from 25 mg morphine patches to 50 mg/h, but it was way too much given her current state and weight, and she actually overdosed, so we had to go back down to 25 mg/h—now she's just enduring awful pain. She was prescribed Zaldiar 325 mg tablets for the pain, but she isn't allowed to take them alongside the morphine patches. She used to take Tramadol 375 mg before the patches, but she can't use those anymore either, and now she's on Tramudin 100 mg, which doesn't seem to be helping at all. Does anyone have any advice on what we might give her to help ease the pain? Meanwhile, we found out she's definitely headed for 4 cycles involving 6 total chemo sessions, and we're honestly terrified she might not be able to handle it. Three days ago, her doctor told us that it has spread to her liver and that they are strictly working on life extension now. Over the last few days, Mom has been complaining intensely about pain in her kidneys, legs, both sides of her back, and where her liver is... since we haven't shared everything with her because we think it's best that way, she's starting to ask questions and get scared on her own. Also, does anyone know how to soothe arm pain during blood draws? Every time before chemo, they poke her 4 or 5 times; they break needles, hit bone, hit muscle... it's the same when they draw her blood the day before chemo too. One day they actually hit muscle and bone, and her arm hurts so much now; she developed this lump and it swelled up terribly. I'm also wondering if it's normal for a bruise about 4x4 cm from a ruptured vein to stay at the injection site for about 10 days after a blood draw? What should we do about that? Thank you!

mistyjackal842 said:hollowridge88

Hang in there. I am so incredibly sorry to hear that your mom isn't doing well. My own mother passed away quite suddenly recently, and since she wasn't battling cancer, I really held onto the hope that she would pull through and we’d have more time together. We actually had all these plans for her rehab and for next summer. Right now, my dad is doing relatively okay, though he is definitely a bit weaker than he was a few months ago before Mom's last hospital stay, especially since he's quite a bit older than her. He was such a huge help with everything involving Mom; whenever the physical therapist wasn't around, Dad would be the one helping her into her wheelchair. We even made sure to take her out for walks every single day this past summer. It was always either him or me staying home with her, and when he had to run errands, he could handle everything himself despite his age. It just goes to show you really have to be prepared for anything. Just last year, Mom was doing so well that the two of us were able to go on a trip to the coast by ourselves for a week. Everything happened so fast with her, and I was so close to her because we truly did everything together our whole lives.

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Thank you so much! I am so sorry about your mom and your dad as well... everything moves so quickly that you barely have a moment to process it, let alone wrap your head around what is happening. Our strength lies in our will, and she has such a strong will to live, which is both the most important thing and the hardest part to face. We won't ever say goodbye to her, not as long as she is still here with us. We are going to push through this together—hoping, laughing, and crying side by side. No matter how things turn out, we will get through it as a family. Even our doctor told us directly to prepare ourselves, but honestly, as long as she is still here with us, we will make the most of it. There will be those little moments where she feels like her old self again, and for us children, those fleeting moments are enough to keep us moving forward and holding onto hope. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the support, the advice, the shared experiences, and for being here to talk and offer comfort!

Angela Wright said:Unfortunately, we are dealing with metastases that are spreading into all sorts of connective tissue😢

So you mean the cancer has spread everywhere those lumps are appearing?! Oh my God, I just can't believe it.😢

They’ve popped up on her chest, stretching from her breasts up toward her neck, down under her armpits, all over her back, and even on the leg that's been bothering her...

Yes... honestly, that’s been the most uplifting news we've received so far.

My sister forgot to mention that she’s feeling some lumps on her body that feel fixed to the touch and have these strange, irregular shapes; we were told that this happens when the tumor starts spreading or breaking out from the primary site... does anyone know what that might actually imply? How much of a concern should we be about those lumps?