Hello,
I have just joined the forum in the hope that someone can help in clarifying, sharing experiences of similar situations a how things panned out.
So my mum is 76, she had breast cancer when she was 60 but following an operation, radiotherapy and medication it has not reoccurred.
During the summer I noticed my mum looking a little washed out, to be fair she has the stress of a 99 year old mum (my nan) who is still living at home and is a career along side caring for an elderly dog so she was telling us she was tired and a bit run down. I saw her at the end of July and apart from looking a bit tired and refusing a glass of wine as everything tasted too sweet I wasn't worried too much. As it was going into the summer holidays as we were going out for day trips with my 4 year old before her starting school we agreed to pause meeting up weekly as we did until early Sept when i would be able to take her out whilst my little one was at school.
Fast forward 4 weeks and we all meet for a picnic. I was shocked to see how much weight my mum had lost and unsteady she was on her feet. she was as stubborn as she had ever been telling me that she was fine, had just been eating less due to this weird sweet taste and the stress of the dog and her mum. I pushed for her to go to the doctors, she said she didn't feel she needed too.
From here we had a weeks silence where she wasn't answering messages to any of her children, we had communication from my dad saying she was ok but just had a stomach bug and was resting.
This week she surfaced and asked if i would accompany her to the doctors, i agreed and she said she would make an appointment. it is not easy to get an appointment, my dad pushed and got a home visit the next day. The doctor didn't' seem too concerned said to just try and drink more, that the urine sample was clear, her heart was fine, gave medication for oral thrush which he thinks was causing the sweet taste and advised to get bloods done just in case there was anything underlying.
Then trying to get a blood test wasn't easy with the soonest appointment being three weeks away, not happy with this and worried about my mum's decline i took her to a and e that evening for tests.
A chest x ray was clear, heart was fine, numerous questions were asked about any pain, bleeding, cough etc all of which were negative. The bloods show dehydration, high calcium in blood, anemia and raised inflammatory marker of which they have requested an urgent CT scan. They are saying its to rule out anything lump/tumor related etc but I have gone from hoping this was just a case that she needed to start eating properly and taking care of herself to believing it may be something more serious.
So i am hoping someone might be able to share similar experiences and outcomes.
Thank you in advance,
Hi Kel1001 and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but sorry to hear about your mum’s ongoing challenges.
Let’s look for this to be something simple and she can be treated quickly and satisfactorily.
My journey is completely different with me going to my GP over 24 years ago with a small rash on my back and no other symptoms to 21 months later, after many tests, biopsies and scans to find out I had a very rare, incurable type of skin Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The body is such a complicated machine and only going through the rollercoaster of tests can the truth be found. Let’s look for you all to get answers soon.
The Macmillan Support Line is open 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00. This service provides cancer information, practical information, emotional support or just a listening ear.
You may also find our Family and friends support group helpful.
