Hi 👋 Happy Mothers Day to all 😊: Hi there... - My Ovacome

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Hi 👋 Happy Mothers Day to all 😊

DellaTee profile image
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Hi there & happy mother’s day to all you lovely mammys! 😍 I hope you’re all doing great.

Just wanted to come on and give an update on how my mum is doing since her last chemo which is almost three weeks ago, she is getting round 2 tomorrow! For the first 2/3 days she was quite good and was up and about, she then started to go down hill and we suspect this was mostly to do with constipation. She was extremely unwell, feeling very weak and sick, in and out of A&E several times until they eventually gave her an enema which thankfully helped a lot. Although she was quite weak she definitely improved in the days to follow and had some really good days probably the week or so in between. The ascites seems to have gone down a lot and she’s eating plenty, although I don’t think she has started to put any of the weight back on just yet, hoping she will though!

The main reason I am posting is that she has started to feel a bit worse over the last 2/3 days, very little energy and breathless as well, although she is up and dressed each day and doing a bit. Mum has also been complaining of this awful discomfort in her stomach that wasn’t there to begin with, she describes it just under her bust and said it feels like a band of steel, or this heavy pressure. I think it’s worrying for her as she doesn’t know what is going on, if the chemo is working etc as she does have cancer around the diaphragm.

Any input would be very much appreciated, myself, my two sisters & Mammy are headed to Belfast in the afternoon to stay the night ahead of her chemo tomorrow and are hoping to have a nice Mother’s Day dinner ☺️😍 her hair is starting to fall out so we have the dreaded shaving to come this week, hoping it’s not as bad or as scary as we think. Mammy has been trying to be so positive but struggles a bit when she’s not feeling good.

Thanks a lot & Happy Sunday 🎀

Della x

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DellaTee
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Nancy222 profile image
Nancy222

Hello Della,

Sounds like your mom has a very good support system in you :)

When the bowels don't work properly, it's so hard on the system. My stools were like concrete pellets. I needed more stool softeners than the average person. After a while, things improved immensely. Just mentioning that for your information.

It's a good thing you're see the medical professionals. Hopefully they can give her an explanation of the pain in her stomach area.

Best wishes to you both.

Lindaura profile image
Lindaura

Hi Della,

Your Mom is very lucky to have good family support.

I am a Mom and I have really needed my daughter's loving care, along with my husband and sister.

Like your Mom, the cancer hit me out of the blue. I was a healthy, vegetarian, energetic 70 year old, self employed and working full time. Then Bam!

Sudden bloating, diareah, and complete loss of energy, took to my bed, until my wise husband called an ambulance. The rest is history.

But what I want to say is, that your mother's new pain, encircling her ribs, under her breast, sound like the Pleural effusion. It gets worse before it gets better. My ascites and pleural effusion, kept me from eating and drinking during that first round of Chemo and I had to be hospitalised for a week to stabilise me for the next round.

That pleural effusion can also cause a partial collapse of her lungs, causing further breathlessness.

However, during the second Chemo infusion, suddenly, thankfully, all that fluid disappeared! I could breathe again, and eat and drink (it's important to drink lots and lots of fluids) although food and water tasted terrible, at least I could swallow again.

Remember though, the Chemo effects are cumulative, so that for me, by the 3rd day, I was too exhausted to do much more than walk back and forth to the Loo. I might get a few good days, but by the end of the third week, I was still exceedingly exhausted and then off to the Chemo Suitd for the next round!

Also, a contributing factor for my exhaustion and breathlessness, were blood clots in my lungs, one of the bonuses of Ovarian Cancer.

The cancer makes your blood sticky and it clots inside your lungs, choking off your supply of oxygen, so make sure they scan for these, if your mum has trouble breathing or is simply too weak.

The cancer makes you weak, but if you can barely make it back to bed without collapsing, get this checked.

Hope this helps,

Laura

P.S. I have been too weak to do any care taking tasks myself, and have had all my meals prepared for me by my family members. I have basically been bedridden for 6 months. Not everyone gets as knocked back as I did, but many do, so it would be great if one of you could stay to help with your mother's care.

Hi Deila, I hope ye had a nice lunch today for the day that's in it. I would mention her symptoms to the team or the CNS tomorrow, the first chemo can be difficult as you don't really know what to expect. It is normal to go on a downer a few days post treatment. So your Mum would be unable to eat a lot at that time. I found Carrs Table Biscuits and Bovril invaluable, ginger biscuits and mints help the nausea. The constipation can be helped along by meds as well so do ask tomorrow or get your Mum or whoever is going with her tomorrow to ask questions. The hair is a blow of course but better to take in into her own hands and make decision to cut and decide on hairpiece etc. Hope this helps you

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