Posts by Jessica Long44

I feel like I might be a little late to this conversation... but when my mom went in for her PET scan, they told her the same thing. They said she shouldn't be hanging out too close to kids or pregnant women because she’ll be emitting radiation for about six hours afterward. That being said, it’s the machine doing the radiating, right? It isn't like the person herself becomes radioactive and starts spreading it to everyone else like some kind of contagion...

🙂 thanks so much, ladies.

I also wanted to ask if anyone here has been through this—you know, being sick and actually coming out the other side. I’m feeling completely stuck because I don't know whether to push her to eat, force her to get out of bed, or just keep fighting with her about everything. Every single mealtime turns into this thirty-minute marathon of drama and constant bickering between us, only for her to end up barely eating two bites. It feels like a losing battle. On one hand, I can't just let her sit there on an empty stomach taking Xanax and pain meds, and I certainly can't just let her surrender to that damn bed, because if she does, it feels like she’s giving up on life entirely. But at the same time, I have no clue how to help her see that she can actually pull through this. If anyone has experience working with a psychologist or someone who provided real, tangible help during a time like this... please, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks in advance. 🙂

I feel like I’ve ended up on probably the heaviest, most difficult thread on this entire forum... so, let me start from the beginning. My mom had surgery just over a month ago, right after New Year's. She was dealing with this intense pain in her lower abdomen, so we rushed her to the ER, and they admitted her immediately because they couldn't pin down what was happening—they initially thought it might be appendicitis or something similar. Once the surgery was done, we got the real news: it was colon cancer. They managed to remove the tumor, but it looks like it has spread to the lymph nodes near the bowel. The frustrating part is that she was doing so well right after the operation; she could eat normally and felt relatively okay. But over the last week, I don't know what happened, she's just become incredibly weak. She can barely eat anything without feeling nauseous or throwing up, and we've already had to make two trips to the emergency room this past week alone. Each time, they just tell us it's "nervous stomach" caused by stress. According to their CT scan, they claim nothing has spread enough to cause this level of pain, so they just gave her some Xanax, something for the pain, and Controloc for her stomach. What I really want to ask is, for those of you who have been through this, will this depression and total loss of strength get worse once chemotherapy starts? And how does she handle being around other people going through the exact same thing? I honestly feel lost on how to help her... she’s only 47, and she's completely lost her will to live; every day she finds it harder and harder to even get out of bed, let alone eat. We’re heading to the imaging center for a PET/CT this Monday, and it looks like chemo should begin in about ten days or so.

Sorry for such a long post, but I just can't find a way to make this any shorter...

Thanks a million, I really appreciate it!

Hey everyone, I could really use some help here—can someone explain what immunosuppressants actually are? If anyone has any insight or can break it down for me, I’d truly appreciate it..
thanks so much in advance🙂