I have been reading this message board since my husband, 57, was told he has stage IV esophageal cancer last September 2006. He was told the standard 6 months to a year if the chemo worked on the tumors to the lungs and liver, and less time if the chemo treatment was unsuccessful. It obviously worked, ( up until a few weeks ago), as he is still with us..and had been continuing to work full time, ( he's an attorney with a triple A personality), ate as he liked, and survived 3 stent placements and 3 stent removals after they all migrated to his stomach. He now has a 'permanet stent', and he is not the better for it. It is causing pain, and he has vertigo so severly he is unable to walk, eat without throwing up and can no longer track his work, so is staying home for the first time since our journey began with this terrible disease..He has lost 24 lbs in the last three weeks and his doctor finally ordered a scan to check for possible brain tumors and or the stent causing a pinched nerve to create the vertigo, (?).anyway, I guess i am reaching out to ask if anyone else has expereinced the things I am mentioning after they have had a stent put in?
I am so alarmed at the way he is looking and feeling I am beside myself! He is gaunt, sleeps alot, gets confused and disoriented, can't eat, lost his appetite, he is hydrated, though..but he is so dizzy he walks like a man who has been out to sea for a long time. He complains that the back of his head hurts, and he has numb feet, both of them, are icey to the touch, elevated blood pressure, and has lost all the feeling in his left hand and most in his right hand, very greyish hue to his skin. All of the last few symptoms happened within the last few days.
I am very proactive in advocating for my husband but it really took some aggressive action to get them to order this test for him tomorrow..which is not in character with his doctor....My husband really does look like he is nearing death.
Could they be thinking my husband is at the end of his journey and the tests are no longer needed, or is this just so common they are just taking it in stride? Does anyone know if these symptoms are common? I have asked the dr.'s assistant to answer the questions but she has become very vague and said they would call us in for a consult after they get the results of the scanning....
If anyone has any ideas please let me know. When a person you love is facing this formidable foe it is the most agonizing thing to watch, and the most frustrating experience imaginable when you can't help them other than to be there and keep praying the pain and the suffering will just go away by some miracle.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I have followed many of your stories and have cried while reading them when someone was lost to this disease, and found solace, also, in many of your wise words of comfort and grace.