Hi - I am here to talk about mum.
She was diagnosed with non small cell lung cancer in December and had her operation to remove 2 parts of her lung. They ended up taking more than anticipated which has now meant she needs chemo for 12 weeks I think, followed by 4 or 5 weeks radiotherapy. they have said it should be 70% effective. She opted to go for the therapy but had her first session last week, was there all day (is this normal?) and has since last Thursday not been able to eat or drink due to severe sickness and was admitted to hospital a couple of days ago for severe dehydration and sickness.
My worry is that this will happen each time? has anyone had any experience of this and can say that it will get better? she is already talking about not continuing with treatment - which I completely understand but obviously want her to have the best possible chance of outcome. However, this is not about what I want, I guess I am just worried that she is making a snap decision based on how she feels now.
I want to talk to her consultant and oncologist but I am not sure if they will talk to me if she is not there. But currently she is so weak, I don't want to hassle her too much to give me their details.
This is all of course made worse by covid as I cannot be there with her to just give her some comfort and support. She lives int he North East and I am down in the South West with 2 young children who are both at school. So there is no way that I can shield for a fortnight and then go and be in her bubble. She does have my brother and sister in law but they can only do so much and are not allowed into appointments or currently into the hospital to be with her.
I am probably waffling on now but I am just so worried for my mum. Any advice or tips would be greatly welcomed.
Thank you!
Hi LucyLu1 and welcome to the group, but so sorry to hear of your mums diagnoses. My heart goes out to you, and anybody else who are caring for a loved one who is recently diagnosed with cancer, but cannot be there for them because of Covid. Having cared for my mum through her cancer, I cannot imagine how incredibly difficult this must be for you.
I am sorry that your mum has taken poorly after her first chemo session. As your mum has reacted badly, the team will definitely be keeping a closer eye on her, and will probably adjust her dosage so that doesn't happen again. They will also make sure she has the correct anti sickness medication to help with this.
I hope she feels better, and has some brighter time between treatments.
Take care
