My wife is of Brazilian decent..& from what I gather gastric cancers are more prevelant in South America or for that matter most 3rd world countries (if you want to call Brazil a 3rd world country)
We did extensive testing here in the States for her abdominal pain including endoscopies, upper GI's, CT Scans..w/o any hard evidendce of cancer ? w/ the doctor only saying "Your wife has a very serious stomach problem & needs to be admitted to the hospital & in my best guess is that she either has gastric cancer or chagas disease?" (at which is an insect sometimes called the "kiss of death" because of the location at which it bites. (It is found in South America & as far North as Texas?) The symptoms are similiar to gastric cancer & can lay dormant for 20-30- years moving into different stages 1-4!!
Teresa was reluctant being she didn't have insurance & her children saying "Mom go back to Brazil because of social medicine" . They (the doctors in Brazil performed all the same test w/o finding the cancer "Free") finally after her becoming so dehydrated opened her and found the cancer which had matastisized from the ovary to the liver. They removed her ovary ,gallbladder, did a by-pass around her tumor , but couldn't remove it because they didn't know of the origination?
She did 21 chemo treatments in Brazil & looked good, but has since declined after her return to the U.S. ? She has had 5 chemo treatments here, but it doesn't look good?
The doctors have her on 12 hour TPN feedings & added a pain pump today? There has been a lot of talk about hospice, but she nor I are ready yet? She has been vomiting most every day now (green bile) & this was the reason for the pain pump? Hopeing the vomiting was because of the morphine & now with the pump it may not be as hard on her stomach (they also put her on a suppositories Phenergan for vomiting)
Well my point I guess to the message is that we need to start finding homes for unused medications that are very expensive that will other wise go to waste? If you know anyone whom is taking Xeloda 500mg. & can't afford the med contact me?
I guess I could have said that in the beginning, but I guess it helps for others to know they are not the only one's w/ problems & you are not alone..
I've learned so much through this experience from meeting the best person in the world (My Wife) to traveling to Brazil & meeting some of the best hearted people I've ever met!
I now joke with people saying "I'm almost a Doctor?" (Because of what I've learned "LOL")