Hi everyone, here's a short update on how mom's doing after her first chemo treatment. She's been vomiting everyday for four days so far so we're trying a new drug added onto her regimen, something she can take at bedtime.
Her second appointment is this Friday the 19th early in the morning. A good friend of ours is helping us get there (I truly don't know what we would do without all our friends' support). This week is my turn to go w/ mom to chemo, last week Parveen went.
The nurses and doctors at DF have been great, and very good about returning calls. If she does go into the hospital again, I'll update you all as soon as possible.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
First Chemo treatment
Yesterday mom had her first treatment. My cousin Parveen went with her to the treatment and it took forever. They were there from 2pm--6pm. I met them there after work and we all went home together.
Last night she was fine. She ate, she slept, she was alert, a little tired.
This morning at 8am she was up and walking around, she helped my aunt make broccoli.
She then took a long nap and then the visiting nurse came. During this time we should've fed her, there was a 5 hour gap between breakfast. We thought that it was best to let her rest.
When she took her afternoon dose of morphine and reglan (the anti-nausea med) she drank a whole glass of water. This sudden influx of water on an empty stomach made her vomit. So we will have to make sure she eats more frequently.
Since then she's had some ice cream, crackers and the like. For dinner she didn't eat much. She had some soup that aunt made her but not too much of it. She didn't feel very well and was queasy tonight. We're taking it slow and I just hope whatever she did eat she keeps down.
Tomorrow I will try to make her some Bangali custard (otherwise known as )
Last night she was fine. She ate, she slept, she was alert, a little tired.
This morning at 8am she was up and walking around, she helped my aunt make broccoli.
She then took a long nap and then the visiting nurse came. During this time we should've fed her, there was a 5 hour gap between breakfast. We thought that it was best to let her rest.
When she took her afternoon dose of morphine and reglan (the anti-nausea med) she drank a whole glass of water. This sudden influx of water on an empty stomach made her vomit. So we will have to make sure she eats more frequently.
Since then she's had some ice cream, crackers and the like. For dinner she didn't eat much. She had some soup that aunt made her but not too much of it. She didn't feel very well and was queasy tonight. We're taking it slow and I just hope whatever she did eat she keeps down.
Tomorrow I will try to make her some Bangali custard (otherwise known as )
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Routine check--in w/ DFCI
We went to Dana Farber Cancer Institute today instead of the Faulkner. It is much closer.
Today we found that mom weighs 99 pounds. They drew two vials of blood for tests before chemo.
Mt. Auburn said her thyroid was off but Dr.A thinks it's the least of her problems. He wants to tackle the cancer first.
They have increased her pain patch (fentanyl).
She is eating solids but what is happening is the cancer is using up a lot of her nutrients So she needs to eat way more than she is. The problem is of course her appetite.
He prescribed a drug for her appetite. We will try that tonight. Today I want to thank Zaman uncle for driving us to the appointment and back. He was a tremendous help.
So the plan is every friday we go in for an infusion of Gemzar (gemcitibine) and the last week of Feb. going into March she is off the chemo. Then they will do another three weeks on and one week off (that whole thing is a cycle...3 weeks on one week off). After two cycles they may do a CT scan or he said they will assess her condition but how she's eating, her pain, other symptoms.
The doctor reached over and held her hand several times. He was a little surprised to see her in a wheelchair but Zaman uncle thought it would be best that she don't walk around all over the hospital. He was right.
He's a great doctor. I really like him.
One of the weeks we will be seeing the NP instead of the MD but that will obviously be OK. One of the Fridays we have a date with a nutritionist. I definitely want to be there for that one.
Ok, I will write more when I have something more. Inshallah it'll just be good news :-)
The family feels all sorts of things about chemotherapy Friday. I just hope it helps.
Today we found that mom weighs 99 pounds. They drew two vials of blood for tests before chemo.
Mt. Auburn said her thyroid was off but Dr.A thinks it's the least of her problems. He wants to tackle the cancer first.
They have increased her pain patch (fentanyl).
She is eating solids but what is happening is the cancer is using up a lot of her nutrients So she needs to eat way more than she is. The problem is of course her appetite.
He prescribed a drug for her appetite. We will try that tonight. Today I want to thank Zaman uncle for driving us to the appointment and back. He was a tremendous help.
So the plan is every friday we go in for an infusion of Gemzar (gemcitibine) and the last week of Feb. going into March she is off the chemo. Then they will do another three weeks on and one week off (that whole thing is a cycle...3 weeks on one week off). After two cycles they may do a CT scan or he said they will assess her condition but how she's eating, her pain, other symptoms.
The doctor reached over and held her hand several times. He was a little surprised to see her in a wheelchair but Zaman uncle thought it would be best that she don't walk around all over the hospital. He was right.
He's a great doctor. I really like him.
One of the weeks we will be seeing the NP instead of the MD but that will obviously be OK. One of the Fridays we have a date with a nutritionist. I definitely want to be there for that one.
Ok, I will write more when I have something more. Inshallah it'll just be good news :-)
The family feels all sorts of things about chemotherapy Friday. I just hope it helps.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Home nursing care
My mother's primary care doctor set up a home nursing care for us. The woman will come once a week at whatever time is good for us (most likely after my aunt is home). She will check her blood pressure and other vitals, make sure she's OK. There are many helpful things that a medical professional knows that no amount of research can replace. Sure Khalamoni, Apu and I are doing well managing her medications, doctor's appointments etc. but it gives us a piece of mind to know someone is looking in on her.
Mom is back to eating solids, chicken, very squishy rice, soup. I've found she really likes to nibble on ice cubes. Instead of just plain ice cubes Apu and I thought she could have popsicles made of Gatorade so that she can get electrolytes. Today I made some out of pomegranate juice.
Like I've said before vegetables are hard for anyone to digest (i.e. we don't produce an enzyme naturally to break down cellulose) so it's even harder for her because she's not even making regular pancreatic enzymes.
This week we have an appointment at Dana Farber on Tuesday the 9th. It will not be the chemotherapy infusion, it will be a physical with her oncologist, some blood work to look at her chemistry and do a complete blood count. This will show a before and after picture of how her body is reacting to the chemo drugs. There have been advances in chemotherapy so they are not as harsh as before. The nurse that visited mom today did say she worked in a cancer ward for a long time and administered chemo. She said the first thing to beware of is the extreme fatigue. Anemia is a side effect of chemo so that leads to the fatigue (partially). She said not everyone looses their hair.
The loss of hair, though traumatic for some, I can live with (she owns several colorful headscarves/. I don't know how she feels about that possibility; I am sure she will make some amazing joke about it. She is quite a witty woman underneath her reserved exterior :-) But I worry most about the nausea returning. It was very difficult to watch her vomit for two weeks straight. I do not want that to return (I know I speak for the family as well, that they feel the same way I do). She is already compromised, and her strength is clearly not what it used to be.
Anyway, we'll just burn that bridge when we get there. I need to not over-think things.
I hope she is better tomorrow. Yesterday she was fine but of course I was at work and didn't see her well. Today I was home with her and she felt uneasy and a little queasy all day.
Tomorrow we are expecting one family to visit. It will brighten her spirits and will distract from any mild pain/unease.
The family truly appreciates your prayers and thoughts.
Mom is back to eating solids, chicken, very squishy rice, soup. I've found she really likes to nibble on ice cubes. Instead of just plain ice cubes Apu and I thought she could have popsicles made of Gatorade so that she can get electrolytes. Today I made some out of pomegranate juice.
Like I've said before vegetables are hard for anyone to digest (i.e. we don't produce an enzyme naturally to break down cellulose) so it's even harder for her because she's not even making regular pancreatic enzymes.
This week we have an appointment at Dana Farber on Tuesday the 9th. It will not be the chemotherapy infusion, it will be a physical with her oncologist, some blood work to look at her chemistry and do a complete blood count. This will show a before and after picture of how her body is reacting to the chemo drugs. There have been advances in chemotherapy so they are not as harsh as before. The nurse that visited mom today did say she worked in a cancer ward for a long time and administered chemo. She said the first thing to beware of is the extreme fatigue. Anemia is a side effect of chemo so that leads to the fatigue (partially). She said not everyone looses their hair.
The loss of hair, though traumatic for some, I can live with (she owns several colorful headscarves/. I don't know how she feels about that possibility; I am sure she will make some amazing joke about it. She is quite a witty woman underneath her reserved exterior :-) But I worry most about the nausea returning. It was very difficult to watch her vomit for two weeks straight. I do not want that to return (I know I speak for the family as well, that they feel the same way I do). She is already compromised, and her strength is clearly not what it used to be.
Anyway, we'll just burn that bridge when we get there. I need to not over-think things.
I hope she is better tomorrow. Yesterday she was fine but of course I was at work and didn't see her well. Today I was home with her and she felt uneasy and a little queasy all day.
Tomorrow we are expecting one family to visit. It will brighten her spirits and will distract from any mild pain/unease.
The family truly appreciates your prayers and thoughts.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Mt.Auburn Stay Update
Yesterday while I was at work around 3 I was talking to my mom on the phone. She said she wasn't feeling well. She said her right brow she felt like it was drooping
her right foot kept twitching and she couldn't stand up...well like it was shaky. her blood pressure was high and she felt heaviness in her chest everytime she breathed in.
I called Dana Farber to maybe have the doctor paged or talk to a nurse practioner. They connected me, the NP called the house and aunt was home by that time. The NP suspected the same thing I did that these were stroke symptoms. Aunt drover her to the ER at Mount Auburn, the closest one to our house. I met them there.
Her EKG was fine. They did a head CT scan which showed no sign of stroke.
Later on that night they did an MRI.
Today mom called to tell me they did an Ultrasound on her leg to rule out deep vein thrombosis (aka blood clot) and she's awaiting an EKG on her heart.
Pancreatic cancer patients have blood clot issues associated with their condition so that was a fear of mine.
Right now we are waiting on MRI results and more information.
=================================================================
No stroke, her EKG and ECG and LMNOP's are all fine (just kidding about the LMNOP guys hahaha). They are keeping her tonight. Don't really know why. Probably just to cover all their bases. Next week on the 9th is her first chemotherapy infusion.
She was fine when we left her tonight. She ate dinner, mashed potatoes, half a dinner roll and veggie soup (the broth mostly). Solids, YAY!
We had to tell them to MAKE SURE to give her her Reglan and Creon meds before meals (reglan every 6 hours of course). They misunderstood even though I gave them a chart of her meds and when she's to take them. A table I tell you! That we fill in at home! Apu and I worked on it and I don't why they didn't..."realize" that she needed this every 6 hours etc.
So anyway, glad that was taken care of. It's sometimes surprising how much people have to speak up to get things done. Her initial oncologist practices at Mt. Auburn too..doesn't anyone read clinic notes? :-p
her right foot kept twitching and she couldn't stand up...well like it was shaky. her blood pressure was high and she felt heaviness in her chest everytime she breathed in.
I called Dana Farber to maybe have the doctor paged or talk to a nurse practioner. They connected me, the NP called the house and aunt was home by that time. The NP suspected the same thing I did that these were stroke symptoms. Aunt drover her to the ER at Mount Auburn, the closest one to our house. I met them there.
Her EKG was fine. They did a head CT scan which showed no sign of stroke.
Later on that night they did an MRI.
Today mom called to tell me they did an Ultrasound on her leg to rule out deep vein thrombosis (aka blood clot) and she's awaiting an EKG on her heart.
Pancreatic cancer patients have blood clot issues associated with their condition so that was a fear of mine.
Right now we are waiting on MRI results and more information.
=================================================================
No stroke, her EKG and ECG and LMNOP's are all fine (just kidding about the LMNOP guys hahaha). They are keeping her tonight. Don't really know why. Probably just to cover all their bases. Next week on the 9th is her first chemotherapy infusion.
She was fine when we left her tonight. She ate dinner, mashed potatoes, half a dinner roll and veggie soup (the broth mostly). Solids, YAY!
We had to tell them to MAKE SURE to give her her Reglan and Creon meds before meals (reglan every 6 hours of course). They misunderstood even though I gave them a chart of her meds and when she's to take them. A table I tell you! That we fill in at home! Apu and I worked on it and I don't why they didn't..."realize" that she needed this every 6 hours etc.
So anyway, glad that was taken care of. It's sometimes surprising how much people have to speak up to get things done. Her initial oncologist practices at Mt. Auburn too..doesn't anyone read clinic notes? :-p
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
At Mount Auburn Hospital - Minor Scare
Mom went into Mount Auburn Hospital today; she had some odd symptoms including droopy eyelids and spasms in her leg. I called a nurse practitioner and she recommended that we take her to the closest ER.
We did, and she seems to be fine now; blood pressure, blood work, and CAT scan all came out as normal. Still, they're going to keep her for overnight observation.
I think everything is OK for now.
We did, and she seems to be fine now; blood pressure, blood work, and CAT scan all came out as normal. Still, they're going to keep her for overnight observation.
I think everything is OK for now.
Monday, February 1, 2010
So far so good
Mom has been doing well on the liquid diet. Today she will try to eat a potato, we will see how that goes.
The doctors were very unclear about her dietary restrictions so that is the reason why she threw up after coming home from the hospital, her digestive system was not ready for solid foods.
Right now we're transitioning her into solids but we don't want to rush things. Also we want to build up her strength for the chemo which is why we're holding off on that right now. We should have her first infusion next week. The doctor's office will call me with the date and time.
The doctors were very unclear about her dietary restrictions so that is the reason why she threw up after coming home from the hospital, her digestive system was not ready for solid foods.
Right now we're transitioning her into solids but we don't want to rush things. Also we want to build up her strength for the chemo which is why we're holding off on that right now. We should have her first infusion next week. The doctor's office will call me with the date and time.
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