Support Needed

Hi

my name is Karen, my husband was diagnosed with tonsil cancer in november, he had his first chemo treatments this week so anyone that could help me with tips would be greatly appreciated.

HUGS

Karen

hi karen, my husband has cancer of the esphogus. he too has gone through chemo. the best advice we were given is take the medication when they tell you don't wait for the nausea or diaarea to start. this helped mike greatly. make sure he does eat even little meals of cereal is better than nothing. mike would feel good after the chemo but be wore out the next day. the chemo he was on cisplation and irinotecan, did cause diaarea and a very low magnesium level. he would get blook work done on sunday and even if he didn't need chemo on monday, he would need a bag of magnesium. be sure he gets his blood work done and he can get permission from his doctor to get his own results. ask the doctor what the proper range is for his magnesium and other important levels and he will know ahead of time if will need any boosts for his blood or other things. it is scary for both of you but you need to stay strong for your sake. this message board is great to get support for youas sometimes we need it more than the patient does! i will keep you in my prayers! laura

My husband had stage 3 tonsil cancer last year and I would say....

1. Don't force him to eat, just remind him it's important to eat... even if it tastes bad (about week 2 or 3 it will start getting bad) but make sure he continues to drink lots of liquids, not just water.  Try to keep his weight up as much as possible.

2. Make a nice little spot for him in the livingroom where he can sit in his favorite chair and have a side table set up next to him with everything he'll need (large Solo cup for spitting mucus in, kleenex box, radiation gel, feeding tube supplies.. ...and a small garbage can and a roll of paper towels on the floor off to the side).

3.  Keep track of all his doctor appt.s and make sure he checks his weight every day and record it.  Have the doctors phone number handy in case you need it (we did).

4.  Try to keep him moving.  Make sure he doesn't just sit in his chair all day long.

5.  If he's on a PEG tube, make sure he keeps the PEG tube clean and ask for advice from the hospital on how to use it and clean it.

...and I'm sure I could come up with a million other things, but I think it's a good start.

- Amy

..oh..and as for the chemo, sometimes it can cause hearing loss, so if his ears start to ring a little, you will need to let his chemo doctor know about it.  Some types of chemo can also cause some short term memory loss.  The best thing to do is buy him some books and puzzles and hand-held video games to play to keep his memory sharp.  We did that for my husband and it really seemed to work well.  No memory loss.

Karen,

I hope things are going well for you and your husband. My Father has tonsil cancer stage 4 with MET to the bone. He is not doing radition only chemo. He is 57 years old and prior to this in good health. My father is doing very well responding to the chemo without to much of side effects. The hair loss and lack of energy and a few digestive issues is about it. I had him start IP-6 vitamins and he handles them well. My thoughts and prayers are with you two.

Michele