Any advice appreciated....

15 years 8 months ago #18628 by Mel09
Replied by Mel09 on topic Any advice appreciated....
Thanks so much Leigh!

We are praying that he remains strong throughout the chemo. We don't want him to get discouraged. He is feeling a little better today and has been trying to eat and stay as hydrated as he can. Next week is only a 45 min. day so hopefully it will be better. I just pray that his next PET scan will be more positive!

Thank you for all of your advice and I hope that you are doing well also!!

Melissa

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15 years 8 months ago - 15 years 8 months ago #18620 by Leigh
Replied by Leigh on topic Any advice appreciated....
Dear Melissa,

I just wanted to wish your Dad all the very best with his chemo.

Having completed a 4 cycle course of gemz/cispl recently I can say thankfully I faired pretty well.

The cisplatinum was the most difficult regime and the effects remained with me for roughly a week. I experienced tiredness sometimes severely which wiped me out and needed to sleep many hours.

Luckilly I never had any sickness and my appetite remained and the steroids given alongside the chemo stimulated my appetite and I gained weight because of that.

Oral hygeine is very important and alongside brushing I used a mouthwash made from salt. The sores remained at bay through the whole treatment.

The effects are different for everyone and I suppose depend mostly on your state of health at the start of the treatment.

Melissa, I wish your Dad all the very best in the coming months and hope he fairs well with the chemo....

Best wishes to you and your family....

Leigh

Leigh, 39
Dx July 2007
TURBT July 2007
RC/Neobladder ,Studer Pouch, September 2007
Erasmus Centrum Rotterdam
TNM Classification: pT4 N2 Mo
4 cycles aduvant chemo Gemzar & Cisplatinum

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15 years 8 months ago #18606 by Mel09
Replied by Mel09 on topic Any advice appreciated....
Thanks so much for your message. My father had the chemo on Friday and is feeling exhausted! He had some bouts of being nauseous but other then that, just extremely tired and weak. We are trying to keep him hydrated and eating as much as possible. We have also switched to soy milk and he is drinking green tea. Don't know if that will help, but it cant hurt! At this point, we are not leaving him alone because we don't want him climbing the steps. If exhaustion is the only side effect we will be thankful. Please keep me posted on your father as well!

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15 years 8 months ago #18605 by newbie08
Replied by newbie08 on topic Any advice appreciated....
Hi Mel09,

Really sorry to hear about your dad, you must all be in such shock at the moment, I really am so sorry! My dad was also diagnoised with BC in May, his cancer diagnosis is different from your dad, my dads is T2 G3 and he will be getting sugery to remove his bladder towards the end of the year!

The reason I'm replying is that my dad also just started chemo (ciplatin/Gemzar)last thursday (he is scheduled to have 3 months of chemo before operation!!) so just wanted to let you know that we are going through the chemo at the same time and if we have any concerns maybe we could compare notes on how they are getting on! Just know i'm here anyway.

My thoughts are with you and your family x

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15 years 9 months ago #18473 by momof4
Replied by momof4 on topic Any advice appreciated....
Mel09,

As far as foods to avoid? I think he should eat whatever he wants, whenever he wants it...I did add licopene tabs (If he eats alot of tomato or red pasta sauce(Jersey Tomatoes are the best by the way) he is getting this), Omega 3 tabs ( If he eats salmon or fatty fish he is getting this), and I do give my husband a high concetrated fruit daily, usually something with pomegrante, but he can't drink it unless it is mixed with something else...I had to change from a multi vitamen to a flinstone chewable because they got too big to swallow. The key is weight gain at this point...even if it is 10, 20, 30 lbs...he will need this the future...

Please do consult your Dr. before any of the above. This has been my experience, but everone is different. My husband is only 48.

Karen

Caregiver for my Wonderful Husband Angelo, who has Metastatic Bladder Cancer.

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

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15 years 9 months ago #18458 by momof4
Replied by momof4 on topic Any advice appreciated....
Mel09,

Well here is were some controversy starts...there are different types of bone "leisons" as they are called...not necessarily tumors per-say. One type is osteoblastic, the other is osteolytic...with osteolytic the bone is actually being eaten away similar to how a termite eats wood...the osteoblastic however does not do this...If his leisons are osteolytic he will need to be mindful of breaks...but not so much with osteoblastic...I actually called in an Orthopedic Oncologist to tell us which he had...you may want to look into some of the drugs used originally used for arthritis...Zometa is one that I know of off hand but there are others, these drugs make the bones stronger...ask his Dr. what his take on these are...be sure he takes a multi-vitamin everyday (make sure the Dr. knows, and it is ALWAYS added to his med list when you are asked for it). There are also Dr.s using Quadramet in conjunction with chemo...some good results there...we would have probably gone for that had we found out about it earlier...

If you have any other questions, I will be happy to answer them...

Karen

Caregiver for my Wonderful Husband Angelo, who has Metastatic Bladder Cancer.

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

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