Feeling Tired

Hello all

My dad was diagnosed with stomach cancer back in July 07. Although I'm not sure at what stage it is at, all I can say is that the results of the laparoscopy & CT Scan revealed that it had not spread to other organs but had basically affected the whole of his stomach. The consultant advised that the best action to take would be 9 weeks (3 courses) of ECF chemo to (hopefully) shrink the cancer, followed by surgery if successful. He is now into his 9th week and I don't think things are going well.

He is feeling extremely tired, weak, breathless, and is still not able to eat or drink much. So much so, in fact, that he is now in hospital on a feed bag(?) and also a drip. I'm getting very concerned to see how much he has deteriorated over the past few weeks, and also that he has missed 2 x 2 weeks of the 5FU due to his poor condition.

I would be most grateful to hear off anybody reading this who has had similar treatment / experiences and can let me know if this is normal for this type of treatment as I'm fearing the worst about the results of the scan next week.

Hi there worriedson

 

I feel your concerns, and my prayers and thoughts are with you, My mother has been diagnosed with Small Cell Carcinoma lung cancer in Dec 2006, still battling and has been in tremendous amounts of pain in her back and stomach, Im sorry I dont know too much about the stomach cancer, but I believe at this moment in time cancer is cancer and effects everybody who is battling with it differently. Our emotions as children and parents of loved ones will never change,

 I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know, Im sending you lots of love and universal light to beat this and prayers and strength to get you and your family through.

 

Kindest Regards

 

Joanna

Thank you, Joanna, for taking the time to read and reply to my post. It is comforting to know that there are people out there thinking about others who are in the same situation. I only stumbled upon this website about 3 hours ago, and haven't come off it since. I'm definitely going to recommend it to all the family as it provides so much more than just bland, matter-of-fact information.

And yes, you are absolutely correct - no matter what form it takes, cancer is cancer and we all feel the same emotions.

I too hope and pray that your mother comes through, and that you and your family can also find the strength needed to cope with the pain of watching someone you cherish so much battle against this awful illness.

Warmest wishes,

Chris

 

On 10/26/2007 worriedson wrote:

Thank you, Joanna, for taking the time to read and reply to my post. It is comforting to know that there are people out there thinking about others who are in the same situation. I only stumbled upon this website about 3 hours ago, and haven't come off it since. I'm definitely going to recommend it to all the family as it provides so much more than just bland, matter-of-fact information.

And yes, you are absolutely correct - no matter what form it takes, cancer is cancer and we all feel the same emotions.

I too hope and pray that your mother comes through, and that you and your family can also find the strength needed to cope with the pain of watching someone you cherish so much battle against this awful illness.

Warmest wishes,

Chris

 

My mother has stage 4 lung cancer and has had those same symptoms:exhaustion, being out of breath, and not being able to eat.  I thought it was either the cancer, or her medication (Tarceva), but it turned out she was extremely anemic and need a blooded transfusion.  She is doing much better now.  If your father is in the hospital, I'm sure they've checked his blood, but just in case?

Hi Chris

 Thank you for your warm reply and for your sharing.

When we first found out that mum was diagnosed with Small Cell Lung Cancer, the first thing that came to my mind was, how on earth can someone I love so much be fighting something I can't see! Cancer is an entity we cantbegin to understand how it thinks or how it functions and what feeds it, what makes it grow and where does it come from.

 At first I adopted the approach of Im not interested in the cancer im only interested in my mum. But now as time passes and I see what it is doing to her physical and emotional state and Im still trying to figure out what it looks like and why is it here.

Im just at the space and time in my life after a long chat with my father that we have come to the conclusion that we are losing mum. I feel for my dad so much after 40years of marriage, how do you say goodbye to your life partner!

 dearest Chris I hope you have tons of support from family and friends and know that we are not alone, The love that you have for your father and the love that I share with my mother can never be replaced and will continue beyond our universal understanding.

At the moment my moods swing, then im smiling then im crying, i just get overwhelmed when I think back of my childhood with mum, how she has been there through it all, but isnt that what makes our parents so special, and to see them suffer is the worst, I would take my last breath to give to my mother if I could do so.

 I hope we can sincerley chat again soon, I also discovered this website this afternoon and haven't left it yet, my e-mails are piling up in my inbox and its almost time to go home. I'm not living with my parents but I drive through to them every evening and i am on the phone constantly, there is going to come a time I need to move backhome to be with them both to help out. I am so scared and feel completely helpless most of the time. My father doesn't feel it quite necessary for me to be there as yet and he wants to spend this time alone with her, I understand and accept that but they know I am available 24/7 come what may. Dad is still working and so am I so we juggle the oncologist visits and scans between the two of us for now, Im just very gratefull I have my father here but to see his sorrow and his feeling of helplessness upsets me more and I wish I could do so much more for them.

Have a wonderful day further and all my warmest wishes to you and your family.

 

Kindest Regards

 

Joanna

 

Hello All

Thank you to everyone who has read and/or replied to my message, unfortunately shortly after my last post my dad took a turn for the worse and sadly passed away on the evening of Sunday 28th October. Ironically it was not the cancer that eventually took him from us, but the hospital acquired infection C. difficile.

For anyone not familiar with this infection (as was I until only recently) the c diff bacteria infect the intestines of vulnerable people (i.e. lowered immune system, over 65's, etc) and the symptoms include severe diarrhoea. This is also a symptom of some forms of chemotherapy treatment, which is why it was not diagnosed in my dad until it was too late.

Thank you once again for all your concern and words of encouragement, they do mean an awful lot to me, and I only hope this post goes some way to increasing the awareness of this infection.

I am very sorry to hear about your situation and my prayers are with everyone who is batteling this disease. My father is going through the same thing. His cancer has spread beyound the stomach and they cannot do anymore treatments for him. He was so sick through his aggresive chemo and radiation I thought he would die. He never was the same after the treatment he has not eaten in months he is on a feeding bag. We have brought him home to care for him and we pray for a miracle from God to leave him with us. My father tells me he feels weaker and weaker. His spirits are high but his body is failing him. I dont know what to do but try to support him and love him as much as I can. Keep his spirits High and love him I wish you and your family all the best