Hello, our 68yr old, normally fit and well Dad had CT and MRI scans a few weeks ago after some abdominal pain. It was a shock to him and us all to find out it was stage 4 cancer which had metatisized to liver, kidneys and adrenal gland. He then had a difficult three week wait for camera/biopsy during which time he became very sick and couldn't keep down food or water. The camera showed the tumour blocking the small bowel so he was admitted to hospital, put on a drip to rehydrate then stent fitted five days later. We were told a NG tube would also be put in that day as he had gone three weeks without eating (anything eaten was brought up) but it wasn't fitted until six days later, during which time he became even weaker.
He's doing a bit better now refeeding is happening but has been put on steroids plus he's on anti sickness, morphine, bowel relaxant. A complication over the last week has been several litres of fluid had to be drained from abdomen (Ascites) and now a cough. The main tumour is aggressive and has grown rapidly in the last two weeks so our focus is to get him physically stronger in terms of nutrition then for him to start chemo (if he is in agreement) but they are saying go home for two weeks before chemo. We feel he doesn't have two weeks to spare, especially with the acites and rapid progression of the main tumour. Has anyone else had a similar experience and started chemo asap or also made to wait? I am querying with consultant today but would help to hear others' experiences. We're now at five weeks since initial scans and he has declined rapidly, which is tough for all of us. Thank you
Hi Ksmiles80 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I'm sorry to read that your dad has recently been diagnosed with cancer and it's natural to want to find out how soon others have started chemotherapy.
I don't have the experience with this type of cancer that you're looking for but thought I'd suggest that you also join and post in the bowel cancer group, as I'm sure you'll find people there who will be happy to share their chemotherapy experiences with you.
If this is something that you'd like to do, clicking on the link I've created will take you there where you can then join and post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
It would be great if you could pop something about your dad's diagnosis and treatment so far into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
