Hi,
Just recently joined the website, my mum is currently on her first course of chemo, she has had a 3 day dose and has now come home she is then due back for a review next Wednesday, and she will then have the same treatment every 3 weeks for 3 months.
This is all so new to me, my Mum is being so positive about it all, but i am just not sure what to expect she has not had any side effects as yet, so not sure at all what to expect, can anyone help out with advise etc.
I have yet to speak directly to a doctor about my Mum case i am hoping i will get an opportunity when she has her appointment in Outpatients next Wednesday.
Andrea
FormerMember
Hi Andrea, You've made the right decision joining this site as you'll get good advice, the best advice I can give you is to write down any questions that you're thinking of asking as I found that when I went with my mum to her consultations my mind went blank, it's really good that your mum has'nt had any side effects from her chemo, my mum was quite ill with the side effects from chemo ie. loss of appetite, feeling sick, not been able to sleep, get your mum to eat as healthily as possible lots of fruit & veg to build up her strength for future treatmnent. What chemo is your mum on? I have empathy with you Andrea as it was lung cancer my mum had - non small cell, Take care & please let me know how your mum gets on at her app. next week.
my mum has been diagnosed with lung cancer but we havent been told what stage. she is in her third cycle of chemo and will have radiotherapy but has been very unwell this last time. she is on steroids but couldnt move her legs on sunday and crawled to to door to let me in. the gp said its her heart causing the circulation problems so we dont know what to do next. she seems to have gone downhill very fast in the last week is this normal?
Thank you for responding to me, i think i spoke to soon about my Mum, she went for her review last wednesday and her white blood cell was very low and so was her blood pressure, to be honest she had not been well but was insistent she did not want me to contact the 24hr help line, but i did ring on the day and they sayed to keep her appointment and to let them know etc when she got there how she was feeling, she had bloods taken and an X Ray then they decided to keep her in until Sunday on antibiotics etc. Now though she cannot have her 2nd stage and they have put it off for another week, i am still very concerned as she is not well at all but they released her from the hospital not at all sure what to do for the best. I am still very annoyed that i have yet to speak to anyone concerning my mums cancer, i had a list of questions last Wednesday but as she was so poorly they wanted to treat her for that and said they would discuss things with me later but never did, then due to it being bank holiday etc there was no one around who could talk to me about what was going on.
Sorry going on a bit here, anyway thanks again for responding.
Sorry to hear about your Mum not being well, i think all chemo treatments seem to differ from patient to patient, i have to be honest i think my Mum is worse now than before she started her chemo, but maybe that is what happens, i am frustrated as i cannot seem to get answers to my questions and i am sure you feel the same. Hope your Mum gets to feel better soon, i would keep doing what you have and get the GP out as often as necessary and i can highly recommend the 24hr hotline number if you do have concerns, they were really good with me and had access to Mums records so were able to help as much as possible not sure if you have the number but i will put it here for you. 0161 446 3658.
I believe that most, if not all Cancer patients should have an advocate-someone to listen carefully even after the dreaded 'C' word is mentioned. Your thots at receiving news can overwhelm any intention to listen, and the doctors advice, has just become extremely important.
Some have suggested taking a taperecorder along, instead of another person but I think the moral support of a Loved one is far better.
A list of questions is a great idea and details of diagnosis, treatment, drugs can all be googled, but stick to reliable medical information. There are scoundrels that actually make a living selling things to cancer patients, that do nothing or in some cases even worse.
I often start a search at www.nih.gov and check things at www.wrongdiagnosis.com
Keep up hope, my friend was diagnosed 7 months ago, and given 3 months.
