Hi I’m new to this group as we were originally told we were dealing with stomach cancer but it appears to be at the bottom of my father-in-law’s oesophagus.
He started chemotherapy and radiotherapy but he became ill. He was taken into hospital and they suspected pneumonia on his left side.
They had hoped to cure the cancer but they now state his body cannot cope with the strength of chemotherapy required. So they are planning on no treatment for 6-7 weeks until he’s feeling better and then a milder course to keep it under control for a while but now no cure.
My father-in-law is hard of hearing and did not hear this. Although he was in the room.
He has been desperately trying to keep food down to try and get stronger so he can have the treatment but he’s wasting away and cannot keep food down.
His breathing is laboured and he gets tired really quickly but we assume this is the pneumonia.
If anyone has any experience of this, it would be great to hear.
He’s 84 but wants to get better.
My husband hasn’t told him what the doctors have said but tonight he was just staring into space as if it has dawned on him he won’t get better.
If he can’t keep anything down, he’s going to get weaker and weaker.
We live about 3 1/2 hours away but my husband has been living with him the last few weeks.
He has a daughter in Florida and we don’t know the right time for her to come over.
It’s so hard as he’s always been so independent.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks
Hi Jenks65
My husband has OC, but in some instances they still class it as stomach cancer, our most recent oncologist refers to it as such, there is a fine line between the two, and because of where the cancer sat within his system he was told "no cure". A combination of Chemo and Radio is tough for anyone, it is gutting to read that your father in law contracted pneumonia, the difficulty in regard to treatment now is the weakness of his lungs.
Although there may not be a cure, there is at times, medication that provides relief, it is just unfortunate that OC can be a very aggressive cancer, and there is never any real answers.
Food wise, we began putting everything in smoothies or puree food, full fat foods, butter milk, cream, ice cream (when treatment allowed that) and Fortisip drinks which can be got from his GP, full of calories, and although very sweet, can sometimes help with the nutrient that he needs.
I wish him all the luck on this journey.
Lowe'
