I’ve posted before about my husbands diagnosis of stage 4 gallbladder cancer. It was diagnosed after he went to A&E at the end of May feeling unwell, he had a severe infection/sepsis. Cancer was diagnosed and he had a stent put in his bile duct.
Roll forward. He underwent his first of 8 cycles of chemo and all went well. Last Friday was his “week off” and all was good although he was quite fatigued. We got to Sunday morning and I again had to take him to A&E and again he was ill in the same way as at the end of May; another severe infection (related to the gallbladder cancer, and where it has spread to his liver, kidneys and lungs).
The treatment he’s receiving is the same, strong IV antibiotics, he’s not going to be discharged today …. possibly he may come home on Sunday but more likely Monday. There’s no visiting allowed at our hospital due to COVID.
He was due to have his second cycle of chemo on Friday, obviously this was cancelled and the plan is to reschedule to next Friday (all dependant on how well he is and the results of blood tests etc). He’s due to speak with his oncologist this week so we should know more then.
So what have we learnt?
1 - To take his temperature, if we’d realised it was high sooner the treatment could have started sooner.
2 - Ring the specialist team when feeling unwell instead of turning up at A&E.
3- That this is likely to happen again - so to be more aware. What we thought as fatigue following the chemo could have been the start of the infection.
We’re still feeling a little lost so any advice would be appreciated
thanks for reading xx
Good evening Rosie, sorry to hear that your husband has had to go into hospital, this is a problem with any cancer treatment as it weakens the immune system i know with my experience after having operations there was always a risk of infection so in most cases they prescribe antibiotics to help with the recovery. You are right in saying that the fatigue could have been the start of the infection but because of side effects we naturally dont think of the obvious. Lets hope he can restart the treatment once the blood test comes in and no more hiccups along the way. Hope all goes well with the oncologists appointment, all the best.
Chris x
Its sometimes not easy but its worth it !
Bless you Rosie, yes, i like many on here understand how difficult cancer and the treatment can be along with the recovery, its just as bad, if not worse for the carers or partners as they also go through all sorts of emotions, im sure your husband is so gratefully for the support you are giving him, just being there makes a big difference so it will be even better if he is discharged tomorrow. There is a carers support group on here if you ever feel like chatting to people who are going through similar. Fingers crossed for tomorrow. You are always welcome to post your concerns, take care.
Chris x
Its sometimes not easy but its worth it !
