Please share Y're Updates on Fam&Friends

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Please share Y're Updates on Fam&Friends
6
Wed, 01-03-2007 - 10:10pm

Please drop in with updates on you or your family and friends .  


I hope all of you are okay.   ~~~~Pssssst even "lurkers".


Gentle Hugs


Philly

Hope everyone has a great Summer!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2003

Hi Philly - thanks so much for your concern for us all.

Last I posted, my mom had only (1) treatment. Since then, she had one more (Nov. 7), had DIFFERENT side effects (extreme weakness in legs). She did okay until Day 11, and then the shortness of breath started again. THe onco. office kept telling us it was not related to chemo. I took her to primary care doc, who said it most likely was...

Two days after PC visit (Friday before Christmas), took her to onco because she had gotten to where she couldn't hardly walk without stopping to rest. They gave her IV fluids, said her potassium was low. Helped her alot.

But...Sat night she began to vomit and severe diarrhea. Despite her protests, took her to ER. They did EKG, blood tests, cat scans, etc. Ruled out blood clot (whew). Admitted her for dehydration. Her mineral levels were severely low. She ended up in the hospital for a week and just before coming home doc ordered 2 units of blood because he said she was anemic (hence the shortness of breath). Chemo = diarrhea/anemia = dehydration/shortness of breath.

Her 3rd treatment, scheduled for 12/27, was delayed until this Tuesday, Jan. 9th. Doc lowered her Xeloda (oral form of chemo) from 6 pills a day to 4 to see if that will take care of the diarrhea.

Yesterday she actually went out to shop a bit and out to eat. First time since before chemo started!

Please pray that things go well after this 3rd treatment!

Oh, and doc did mention that the cat scan showed that the swelling in her lymph nodes had gone down. That's some good news.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003

Hi


I thought I had already answered your post.

Hope everyone has a great Summer!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Wonderful news puppy dog, I am glad to hear your mom is recovering from the effects of chemo.

Judy

cl-ivhjude

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2003

Thanks Philly and Judy. You both are doing such a wonderful (and needed) job of keeping things positive around here!

As I mentioned, my mom had her chemo on Tuesday. And, Yippee!, she did not have that same weird reaction she had last time that scared us so much. (Weakness and trembling all over.) Maybe it's because her treatment had to be delayed by two weeks...

Even so, we're just taking one day at a time now. She has been out on short excursions twice since Tuesday - which is a new thing because after her first two chemos, she just basically sat in her recliner.

One of her IV chemo drugs - Oxaliplatin - can cause extreme sensitive to cold, so she has to TOTALLY avoid anything cooler than room temperature, eating, drinking, touching, etc. Just touching a cool faucet handle can set off a reaction. (I think it's caused neuropathy.) That limits her food and drink choices alot.

We're on the lookout for any signs of diarrhea, as that is the side effect that put in the hospital. She did have a "scare" yesterday, but a dose of Imodium hopefully took care of it. As she takes more of the Xeloda (4 pills a day, a reduction from the normal 6 a day), it might become a problem. I hope not, as the Xeloda is a very powerful, effective drug against her cancer.

Thank you both SO much for your encouragement. 2006 was a bad, bad year for her...I'm so hoping we can get this first part of 2007 behind us, with good results, so that we can have a good year together.

I hope the best for both of you. Stay strong, you have no idea how much your words mean to those of us going through what you already have (and still are).

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
What joy in reading how well your mom tolerated her last chemo, yayayayayayaya.

Judy

cl-ivhjude

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003

Oh thank you for posting.

Hope everyone has a great Summer!

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