Hi everyone.
Last May, my mom (who’s 55) happened to feel a lump, which turned out to be malignant breast cancer on her right side. It happened so fast—they had to perform a full mastectomy, and once she recovered, she was prescribed six preventive rounds of chemo, every 21 days, at a major cancer center in Chicago.
Honestly, the chemo hit her pretty hard. We expected the hair loss, but her toenails fell out and everything. The mental toll was just as bad; the nausea and vomiting would kick in the second we stepped foot in the hospital building, even before she actually received the treatment.
We fought through those six doses, and afterward, they recommended another year of maintenance therapy without the heavy side effects, pending approval from Medicare. However, she refused all of that. Instead, she decided to go the alternative route with things like Shiitake mushrooms, Noni juice, and whatnot.
Her physical test results are actually great, so everything looks fine on that front, but her mental state is just a disaster. She’s become incredibly verbally aggressive and prone to making scenes in public. She has zero tolerance and an extremely short fuse; if something isn't done exactly her way, she starts screaming at anyone and everyone, regardless of where we are or who is watching. Even the most trivial things can set her off to the point of hysteria, which usually ends with her needing a sedative. The worst part is the paranoia—she starts inventing scenarios in her head and refuses to let them go. The next day, if you try to bring up what she said or who she yelled at, she'll swear she never said it.
I'm wondering if anyone else has gone through something similar? Any advice at all?
Last May, my mom (who’s 55) happened to feel a lump, which turned out to be malignant breast cancer on her right side. It happened so fast—they had to perform a full mastectomy, and once she recovered, she was prescribed six preventive rounds of chemo, every 21 days, at a major cancer center in Chicago.
Honestly, the chemo hit her pretty hard. We expected the hair loss, but her toenails fell out and everything. The mental toll was just as bad; the nausea and vomiting would kick in the second we stepped foot in the hospital building, even before she actually received the treatment.
We fought through those six doses, and afterward, they recommended another year of maintenance therapy without the heavy side effects, pending approval from Medicare. However, she refused all of that. Instead, she decided to go the alternative route with things like Shiitake mushrooms, Noni juice, and whatnot.
Her physical test results are actually great, so everything looks fine on that front, but her mental state is just a disaster. She’s become incredibly verbally aggressive and prone to making scenes in public. She has zero tolerance and an extremely short fuse; if something isn't done exactly her way, she starts screaming at anyone and everyone, regardless of where we are or who is watching. Even the most trivial things can set her off to the point of hysteria, which usually ends with her needing a sedative. The worst part is the paranoia—she starts inventing scenarios in her head and refuses to let them go. The next day, if you try to bring up what she said or who she yelled at, she'll swear she never said it.
I'm wondering if anyone else has gone through something similar? Any advice at all?