Support for families dealing with cancer and other serious illnesses (Part II)

Angela Wright said:Good grief...
It’s honestly overwhelming—my daughter gets so worked up on her Ventolin that I find myself needing to take a Normabale just to stay level when she's using it.

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The nurse was lucky she didn't fall right off her chair when I told her how much Ventolin he's actually taking (he's supposed to have one ampule four times a day, but he's going through four ampules a day). They wouldn't have even realized that immediately after the inhalation, he starts feeling nauseous and dizzy—his heart starts racing, too. We ended up pulling out the medication insert, looking at overdose warnings, and everything; the nurse confirmed our fears. So, for now, we're sticking to Bisolvon.

Rachel Williams, that's wonderful! Please, keep doing exactly what you're doing!!

Rachel Williams said:...Aside from the fact that her pulmonologist somehow managed to "diagnose" her again the other day (for the millionth time), those three doctors at the ER over at Mount Sinai were just staring at the labs and diagnoses, listening to the whole history, and still couldn't wrap their heads around how my mom is even standing right now.
As long as they're the ones left scratching their heads, we'll take it—we’re just happy and grateful she's here. 🎉🙂

Sending all our positive vibes out to everyone who needs them. 🙂

Signed, sealed, and delivered! Let them keep wondering!

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ruggedfox11 said:The doctor would've probably fallen right off her chair if she heard how much Ventolin he’s actually using (he needs one dose four times a day, but he’s pulling four doses a day). They wouldn't have even realized that immediately after the inhalation, he feels nauseous and dizzy, his heart starts racing—until we actually pull out the medication guide, see "overdose," and the doctor confirms that's exactly what happened. So, for now, we're sticking with Prednisone.

Rachel Williams, that's awesome! Keep doing exactly that!!

Why couldn't they just give him a standard inhaler instead of making everyone deal with these damn ampules?
He isn't just overdosing himself; he's poisoning the whole house.

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Angela Wright said:I honestly don't understand—why couldn't they just give you the pump instead of making you deal with all that hassle with the ampules? It seems like such an unnecessary struggle.
It’s not just that he’s putting himself at risk—he’s essentially turning the whole house into a danger zone by overdosing like this.

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He’s dealing with everything—the ampules, the pump, and the Salbumatol—and honestly, the whole situation just feels like a massive headache. And our buddy—who basically thinks he’s some kind of high-level narcotics expert—decided to give us his "expert" advice on what Ventolin actually does. So, naturally, now there's a little whirlwind tearing through the house! haha.
There’s something nasty in the air lately—it feels like everything is coming down at once. Both my cat and I can't stop coughing, and honestly, even the rain feels heavy and oppressive... it’s almost like the weather itself is acting high.

Reddit here—my mom has been stuck in the hospital for eight days now. They haven’t even been able to get her colonoscopy done yet! First, she couldn't keep any liquids down, and then when she finally did manage to drink some, she didn't clear out properly.
Basically, things are looking pretty rough. She’s struggling to stay focused on what’s been happening over the last ten days, and she can't even get out of bed anymore. She's constantly hooked up to an IV because she just can't handle any food or fluids at the moment.
Yesterday, she had bloody urine all day long; she’s got a catheter and a bag, and honestly, it looks really red.😢

The only thing I have right now is her bloodwork. Can anyone with more experience take a look? I can see that several of these values are definitely off.

WBC 15.2
RBC 4.74
Hematocrit 0.368
Hemoglobin 121
MCV 77.6
MCH 25.5
MCHC 329
RDW-CV 21.3
Platelets 405
MPV 9.8

Alkaline Phosphatase 706 (should be between 64 and 153!)
Alpha-Amylase 47
Lactate Dehydrogenase 677 (should be between 0 and 241!)
Glucose 0.9
Urea 12.4
Creatinine 105
Total Bilirubin 153
Total Protein 49.4
Albumin 19.4
CRP 190.3
Sodium 137
Potassium 3.7
Total Calcium 1.8

Thanks so much!

Here I go again... we've wrapped up all the pre-op prep. Honestly, every single test came back perfectly fine—CBC, liver panel, urine, culture, EKG, you name it—except for the one thing that’s absolutely terrifying me. Her fibrinogen is at 6.2, when the lower limit is sitting right around 3. At this point, it feels like a total confirmation that we're looking at malignancy.
Regarding that hormone mentioned earlier (I think they called it estradiol), we didn't even bother reacting to it because Mom has been in menopause since she was 33 due to some past radiation and medical mishaps... so naturally, things are going to be out of whack there.
Based on everything we're seeing, the assumption is that it's advanced ovarian cancer, but as everyone knows, they won't truly know how much of a mess they're dealing with until they actually get in there. They did say oncology treatment is definitely next on the agenda, assuming she can even handle the surgery, given that the tumor is massive. If there's any silver lining, it's that her liver enzymes are normal, which suggests the cancer hasn't completely taken over the liver yet; it's more likely we're looking at early-stage metastasis.
I'll check back in after the surgery on the 18th once chemo kicks off...

My mom passed away last night 😢
She’s finally at peace now... The cancer had spread everywhere. And since she wasn't interested in pursuing treatment, there really wasn't any other way this could have gone.

Scott Davis32, I am so incredibly sorry to hear that... 😢

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Scott Davis32, I am so incredibly sorry to hear this... please hang in there.

Scott Davis32, I am so incredibly sorry for your loss.

I am just so, so incredibly sorry, Castor...

I am so incredibly sorry for your loss, Scott Davis32... I'm sending you so much love right now.

Castor, I am so sorry...

Scott Davis32, please accept my deepest, most sincere condolences.

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Scott Davis32, please accept my deepest condolences—hang in there during these tough times 😢 😢 😢

My grandmother was just diagnosed with malignant breast cancer. Is there a specific thread here where I can ask someone to help make sense of her test results? We're stuck waiting two weeks for her appointment with the oncologist, and the anxiety is just eating us alive...

This person posted this:

Scott Davis32, I am so incredibly sorry. My heart goes out to you. I truly hope your mother is in some warm, sunny place now.

Robin Diaz4 said:Found this:

thanks!

Well, here we are... We’ve just finished the second cycle of topotecan. Honestly, looking at the follow-up bloodwork was a nightmare—white blood cell counts are low (with low neutrophils and high lymphocytes; after the first cycle, it was actually the opposite, with low lymphocytes and high neutrophils). On top of that, he had a fever hitting 102.2 for three days before it finally broke on its own. The doctor decided he needs to be on Dexamethasone injections for at least three days, so we have another blood check tomorrow. Blood sugar is stable and the platelets are holding up okay, BUT we finally figured out why he lost his sense of taste and developed that hoarseness—it turns out it’s freaking Candida. I insisted his oncologist take a look at his throat the day before yesterday, and she said it was covered in buildup, so they put him on Rosary immediately. Anyway, there's never a dull moment around here.