My mom actually used oil all the time while she was going through chemo and even after everything settled down, too. Her private oncologist told her it was definitely a good idea to keep using it.
Everything you’re saying here just sounds so incredibly overwhelming to me, though I suppose it makes total sense that you'd want to get that tumor out of there...
Well, I tried sending my mom's medical records over to Dr. Samia, and the way they handle things is basically you send the files, they send you an invoice, you pay it, and then—supposedly—you get their opinion. So, I sent everything over, but then... nothing. We never even got the bill, let alone any actual feedback or opinion from them. I guess we just kind of gave up on trying to get a hold of him in the end, so we just left it at that.
My mother-in-law actually had a positive result too, and they ended up sending her in for a colonoscopy where they found some polyps, but they just burned them out and everything turned out fine after that. I'm really crossing my fingers and hoping that everything goes okay with your mom, too.
So, we ended up buying that exact same Beta Glucan for my mom while she was going through her chemo rounds, because we were basically scouring the internet and asking everyone we could for second opinions—not just about the actual therapy itself, but about all those supplements meant to boost the immune system too. It was such a whirlwind of conflicting advice, honestly! We talked to one oncologist who told us it was perfectly fine to take, though he suggested avoiding it for a few days right before the infusion, but then another oncologist told us not to touch it at all because nobody truly knows how it might interact with the chemo in the body. Then, we even spoke to a homeopath who gave us a really scary warning, saying we shouldn't even think about it because any supplement designed to ramp up the immune system might accidentally signal the tumor to attract that extra immune response, which could actually make it grow faster... it’s so overwhelming, isn't it? In the end, Mom decided to take it a few times during the gaps between her treatments, and besides that, she mostly stuck to royal jelly and propolis that we sourced from local beekeepers, along with plenty of fresh juices made from beets, carrots, and apples, plus some aronia juice and various green smoothies.
Olivia Cook48 said:We have some AMAZING NEWS!!!!! Mom’s lungs are actually going into regression. It’s finally happening! It means the chemo is actually working. Even her doctor was totally shocked because we were seeing results after just the very first cycle!!!! I am sending so much love and hoping everyone else gets tons of good news soon. Hang in there.
Oh man, that is just wonderful, I am seriously so happy to hear that...
Angela Wright said:So, based on that—and I’m assuming you’re just guessing because of something she said verbally—you assumed that’s why she got them. Well, of course the oncologist was confused, because that doesn't actually have anything to do with raising white blood cell counts. Those numbers eventually go up on their own, but honestly, just sitting around waiting for nature to take its course isn't really an option when there's a specific treatment protocol in place. It's so important to get the therapy delivered within a certain window without any delays, because those delays can seriously mess with how well the treatment works and the whole end result. To be totally honest, I think your mom was actually pretty lucky that her white blood cell counts bounced back that quickly.
It wasn't a guess, really. The very first time her white blood cell count dropped low, the doctor told my mom that those injections would boost her levels and that they wouldn't cause her any harm at all. Then, later on, when we went in to pick up her blood work, the nurse would check the counts, and if they were looking low, she’d tell us to come right back in immediately for the injection. There was one time where she ended up going two days in a row, and then on the third day we had our blood drawn, and her counts had jumped from a 2 all the way up to a 6.
Angela Wright said:Everything 😕 Wait, does it actually say she was given that much Dexamethasone specifically just to boost her white blood cell count? I’m really hoping one of our doctors here might stumble upon this and maybe explain it to me.
It doesn't explicitly state the exact reason why she got them, but she received those shots every single time her white blood cell count dipped below the minimum threshold. I think her Oncologist was actually a bit puzzled about why they were giving her those injections, since the white blood cells would probably just recover on their own eventually, but in this specific situation, it would have meant pushing back her chemo sessions, so Mom decided it was better to just go ahead with the injections instead.
Linda Ortiz49 said:The Dex was definitely given via injection, that’s 100%, though I really should double-check the exact name of what it was... My mom actually handled the chemo pretty well, it was just that her white blood cell counts would drop so low that they couldn't start her therapy on schedule, but once she got those injections, things improved so fast—like, from Tuesday to Thursday—so she could get back to her chemo session.
I know you probably know way more about all this than I do, honestly, but I told you I'd check exactly what she was being given tomorrow.
So, I went through my mom's medical records, and it turns out she was getting Dexamethasone injections from her primary care doctor to help boost those white blood cell levels and as part of her premedication before the chemotherapy sessions.
Yeah, the Dex was definitely given as injections, one hundred percent, though I’ll have to double-check the exact name of the medication later... My mom actually handled the chemo pretty well, I guess, it was just that her white blood cell counts would drop so low that she couldn't get her scheduled therapy on time, but once she got those injections, things seemed to stabilize really quickly—like, between Tuesday and Thursday, she was back on track to receive her next round of chemo.
I know you've probably dealt with way more of this than I ever will, so you're definitely the expert here, but I'm going to check the records tomorrow just to see exactly what she was being given.
Maybe I’m getting my wires crossed or something, but if I recall correctly, that was the name of those injections—the ones she used to get from her primary care doctor. I don't have my mom's medical records right here in front of me, but I'll definitely double-check them soon.
My Oncologist seemed a bit surprised that the GP was even prescribing them, but honestly, they helped every single time. And when we kept asking all those questions about whether things like bacon or popcorn might help with her symptoms, she just kind of shrugged and told us, "Hey, you can try whatever you want..." So, of course, we tried everything under the sun, but the white blood cell counts just stayed stubbornly a little bit below the normal range.
So, my mom was actually on Dexamethasone because her white blood cell count was super low, which meant she couldn't really start her chemo treatment just yet, but I guess those injections managed to bump her numbers back up within a day or two 🤷
That is just wonderful news, I am seriously so happy to hear that the results look good and she’s on the mend, I really just hope everything stays exactly this way.
My mom actually handled her chemo pretty well, though I guess those last two rounds were a bit tougher on her, but then again, it had been seven months and we were dealing with that unbearable heatwave, so I'm sure that definitely played a part in it too. Radiation was a much harder struggle for her because her skin got absolutely scorched; her doctor actually told her he had never seen radiation burns quite that severe before, but thankfully that seems to be mostly fine now. She's feeling physically great at the moment, so I am really, really hoping that all her lab results follow suit and stay positive.
@Lisa Sullivan96/">@@Lisa Sullivan96, hey, how is your mom doing? You mentioned earlier that she’s heading back in for her scans this month, right?
My own mom actually had surgery at the start of the year, and since then she's gone through eight rounds of chemo and twenty-five radiation treatments, so now she’s finally facing those first follow-up scans. We were dealing with something similar—an invasive carcinoma, too.
Olivia Cook48, I honestly don't know much about the diagnosis itself, but I'm sure someone will jump in soon who actually knows what they're talking about. I mean, unless I totally misunderstood you—if you were suggesting that bone metastases mean there's only a six-month window left... well, I actually know two women who have bone metastases, and one of them has been living with it for four years now, and the other has been dealing with it for about ten years since they first found out. In both cases, it all started with breast cancer, but everything has been kept under control successfully, and honestly, those women are doing quite well...
I don't really have a magic fix either, but I am dealing with the exact same thing, and honestly, it’s just such a struggle. I often wake up in the morning feeling all puffy, with these massive dark circles—or bags under my eyes, if that’s even the right way to say it? It seriously gets under my skin... I’ve been drinking nettle tea every single day, thinking maybe that would help, but it hasn't done a thing, so I'm kind of at a loss for what else to try. I even went to see my doctor for a full checkup, and apparently, aside from being a little anemic, everything is supposedly fine, but it still drives me crazy because I just feel so old when my face looks that swollen in the morning, and the worst part is that the puffiness usually sticks around for hours 😢
Thanks so much, Ivancic, because honestly, that whole thing about radiation exposure was really weighing on my mind—you know, wondering if we should stick strictly to what they recommended or if we should just go ahead and push for a PET CT ourselves. I’m really hoping they’ll agree to do the bone scan too, even though it wasn’t explicitly on the list of tests they ordered right now, and god knows the waiting lists can be such a nightmare. Since there aren't any private options available through the local health system here, I guess we'll just have to look elsewhere and pay out of pocket if they don't approve it.
Regarding that oncologist everyone keeps talking about, I mean, I totally trust the recommendation, she seems great, but you know how it goes with most specialists lately—it feels like you're being ushered out the door before you've even had a chance to settle in, and nobody really takes the time to sit down and walk you through everything... plus, there's always that nagging fear in the back of your head that maybe, just maybe, they might skip over certain necessary tests just to cut costs.
For the time being, we’re just going to move forward with exactly what they asked for, and I’m trying to stay positive that it’ll be enough. Even though it was an aggressive tumor, it was actually completely dormant when they caught it, with a KI67 of 0, so I keep telling myself that’s probably a good sign, even if I know it’s not a guarantee.
Thanks so much... I was honestly convinced they were doing a full CT scan. At the beginning, all they did was run an abdominal ultrasound and take some chest X-rays before her surgery, and they haven't even done a scintigraphy, neither then nor now, though I guess the doctor did add those markers yesterday. Once she’s feeling a bit better after the radiation treatment, we’re probably going to head over to a private clinic for some more extensive testing, just so we can finally have some peace of mind.
Hey everyone, I was posting here about 10 months ago when my mom first got her breast cancer diagnosis. She’s finished six rounds of chemo plus radiation, and since her tumor is hormone-independent, they’re basically done with the active treatment phase. We were all expecting she’d head straight for a PET scan once everything wrapped up, but her oncologist actually suggested a mammogram, some lung imaging, an abdominal ultrasound, blood work, and a routine OBGYN checkup instead. When Mom actually asked if she needed a CT scan, the doctor just gave her this totally bewildered look... so, I guess I'm wondering, is it actually possible for those tests to be enough to catch any potential metastases?