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

Angela Wright, I am so incredibly sorry. Please accept my deepest condolences. I know there aren't any words that can make this better right now, but I truly believe you've gained a guardian angel up there. Hang in there!

My bad!

feralsurfer72, please accept my sincere condolences...

Angela Wright, I’m sending my sincere condolences your way...

So, thank God I’ve finally wrapped up my chemo treatments, but I still have some Megostat left over... I guess if anyone happens to be looking for it, I wouldn't mind sending it your way.

feralsurfer72, I am so incredibly sorry. Honestly, I’m just speechless. Please accept my deepest, most sincere condolences.

feralsurfer72, please accept my most sincere condolences

How’s everyone doing? This thread has totally tanked, just like me...

Hello everyone,
Here is the situation: my father is undergoing radiation therapy for a tumor in his neck area.
He has only completed two sessions—which are quite lengthy—and he is already struggling to swallow food and is dealing with vomiting... He is having an incredibly difficult time managing these side effects.
Does anyone know if there is a specific medication—it truly doesn't matter if it requires a prescription or how much it costs, nor does it matter where it needs to be sourced—that could help alleviate this nausea and vomiting?

The core issue is that he simply cannot eat anything at all. He is currently at home, and frankly, the doctors don't seem particularly concerned about his condition. Do we have any right to call them and request that they administer an IV drip or some other form of support at home?

Hey >, for nausea, I know a good antiemetic works wonders if you follow the prescription. He can even get IV fluids at home, but you’ll have to clear that with his primary care doctor first. Hope your dad starts feeling better soon and gets back on his feet.

Amy Wells78 said:Hey everyone,
Here's the deal: my dad is undergoing radiation for a neck tumor.
He’s only had two sessions—which take forever, by the way—and he already can't swallow food, he's vomiting... he's taking it really poorly.
Does anyone know of any pills? Honestly, I don't care if it's prescription or how much it costs, or where you get it, just anything to help with this nausea and vomiting.

The problem is he can't eat a single thing. He's at home. And frankly, the doctors couldn't care less about any of this. Do we even have the right to call and ask them to come to the house to give him an IV or something?

We’ve been giving Dad honey mixed with ginger, and we’re still doing it. We grate about 200 grams of fresh ginger into a kilogram of honey. Or we make chamomile tea and stir fresh ginger into that. It helps him so much. When he was on chemo, the nausea was brutal, though he never actually vomited. Now, he hasn't been on chemo for over a month, but for some reason, the nausea just stuck around. Ginger is a lifesaver.

Things aren't looking great here. Every day Dad seems to be fading more, getting weaker and weaker. He’s still pretty independent for now. He needs help in the shower, and he's too scared to walk without someone there, but he won't let anyone else handle his regular hygiene (including managing his ostomy). About two weeks ago, he started taking Megostat and it’s been a total game-changer. It doesn't fix everything, but he can manage three meals without a fight and snacks on things in between. Plus, his speech came back. For a while there, he could only whisper.

He hasn't been on chemo for a while because after the first cycle, his kidneys started failing. We somehow managed to get his potassium, urea, and creatinine levels back near normal, but then suddenly, the labs were bad again. After twelve hours in the ER with intensive treatment, everything went back to being almost normal. Now, the oncologist scheduled him for session 16, but with his kidney situation, I honestly don't know what to expect.

What’s the situation like for the rest of you? Michelle Kelly4? John Foster38? cosmiclynx14? Anyone else?

This is my first time posting here. My mother-in-law just underwent surgery for a grade 4 glioblastoma brain tumor. She’s currently staying at the oncology ward for radiation treatments; she’s been undergoing radiation for three days now, and she received her first round of chemo in capsule form this morning. Within just two hours, the vomiting started—she's already thrown up about 6 or 7 times. They gave her some Reglan and told us that this kind of reaction is perfectly normal during these first 3 or 4 days. She’s refusing to eat anything because, frankly, she's terrified she’ll just end up throwing it all back up.
Is there anything more effective than Reglan out there that might actually help ease this vomiting?
I’ve read a bit about Zofran, but I’m really not sure if we should just give it to her without asking the doctors first?

I’d just check with my doctor in Chicago. Pretty sure Zofran requires a prescription here.

Hey everyone...

In the meantime, my dad has been knocked sideways by two different colds, even though he did manage to push through his chemo sessions..
The doctor suggested—well, he’ll be officially proposing at the tumor board meeting—that we transition to maintenance at home using oral tablets, combined with an Avastin injection every two weeks..
The CT scan shows a slight regression, but honestly, the metastases haven't shrunk much since the last scan, just a tiny bit. Now I'm sitting here worrying: why move to maintenance with pills? If they're stopping chemo at cycle 8 out of 12, why on earth aren't they pushing him to the end to shrink the tumors as much as possible? Do they just have zero hope that enough shrinkage will occur to make surgery an option? That was my entire hope—either surgery or maybe frequency ablation if things shrink enough. I don't get it. I can't talk to the doctor until they finalize the decision at the board meeting..

As for Dad, he’s getting more exhausted by the day. He still functions normally during the first half of the day, but by the afternoon, he retreats to his room and I can see him crashing mentally. He looks like he's just done with all of this; he actually told me he wanted to give up on treatment entirely..

So, this is where we stand. Hoping tomorrow is a better day..

How are you all doing, and how are your loved ones??

Linda Patel21 said:Seattle—I would honestly suggest just asking the doctor. I believe Zofran requires a prescription here in the States.

Thanks for the input. She actually headed out over the weekend and started therapy after three days, along with three different types of pills to handle the nausea and vomiting. For now, at least, there hasn't been any vomiting or major issues, though I suppose we can't be too sure since this is only her first week of radiation, and she still has another six or seven to go.🙄🙄She’s heading back to the oncology ward tomorrow to continue both the radiation and chemo. Since she has a heart condition, they really need to monitor her closely, so she’ll likely be staying at the hospital during the week and coming home on the weekends.

My sincerest thanks to everyone here; honestly, navigating all of this would have been an uphill battle without your support.
Please take good care of yourselves and your loved ones.

Sadly, Dad lost his fight today... he didn't suffer, though. He didn't die in pain... it was over in just 5 minutes when he stopped breathing...

That’s my crew
...

Anja and Gary Thomas13, I am so incredibly sorry for your loss 😢

Gary Thomas13, I’m so sorry. I know what you're going through and my words probably don't mean much right now, but at least they didn't suffer. I just want to believe our loved ones are in a better place.