My wife finished chemo christmas week after 4 months.
She felt quite good after it.
Since then she has gone downhill.
She has no energy and gets very tired.She had a blood transfusion 10 days ago.
Today we went for a drive and called into the supermarket and after 10 minutes she was exhausted.
Its really getting her down and upsetting her.
The oncologist knows all this but where should we go from here.Will she get her energy back again?
Morning steveho
Has her oncologist got a date to restart chemo ? Normally what happens the team would consider using second line chemo .
Its obviously very hard to tell but the Hope would be that she would benefit from the chemo as she did the first time . Given she was only on half dose and achieved stability there is room to be hopeful in that regard .
The last time we chatted she was experiencing a lot of pain . Have they managed to get on top of that ?
https://community.bowelcanceruk.org.uk/forum/19900-new-treating-advanced-bowel-cancer-booklet-now-available
I have also included the Bowel cancer U.K. booklet on managing a stage 4 diagnosis. Off the top of my head I can’t quite remember if I passed that along but it goes through all the different chemo options / combinations that oncologist have at their disposal to challenge the cancer with . Bowel cancer is quite fortunate to have a few . It also looks at all the possibilities of using other approaches .
If you click on the link it should take you to the right booklet .
Its well written .
I think it’s great you are getting her out even for a little while in the car .
Take care ,
Court
Helpline Number 0808 808 0000
That’s the downloaded version . Should take you straight there .
Court
Helpline Number 0808 808 0000
Oh that’s great to hear her pain has subsided. That’s a positive .
She may well wish to take her case back to the MDT meeting to think of the best route forward for her .
Remember the codine can make you quite tired particularly if it’s a good dose. I had it for a while
Helpline Number 0808 808 0000
Sorry that popped off before I meant it too . I was just checking the side effects of
Helpline Number 0808 808 0000
Yikes I keep doing this today . New phone . So sorry. I was just checking the side effects of codine and it can make you sleepy . So that could account for some of her energy levels dropping a bit .
But worth it to get on top of the pain . I got used to it and it stopped affecting me as much but mine was a low dose .
Take care ,
Court
Helpline Number 0808 808 0000
Hi steveho
No I really don’t think you are . I think it’s reasonable to want to know what her treatment plan is going to be and when it will start .
Have you thought about emailing her oncologist secretary to see if they could enlighten her of the next step in her treatment and the timescales involved ? I sometimes think you get more response out of an email ! I have to say I think people are having a really tough and altered level of support during covid and getting heard seems to be harder .
It must be quite difficult for her emotionally to not know what’s going to happen .
Thinking of you both ,
Court
Helpline Number 0808 808 0000
The definition of Palliative care is to support people with complex diagnosis that may not be curative but can go on for literally years in some cases . It’s about maximising quality . My mum was in that group right through her treatment. She maybe just thinks she could benefit from some support in the community. Great for nutrition etc .
That’s great you are getting to see her in person and give a balanced assessment like she was able to go out for short periods etc.
I think she will also be very aware you have both been handling this on your own during the pandemic and it’s a service that’s available.
Hope your visit tomorrow is helpful .
Take care ,
Court
Helpline Number 0808 808 0000
