Worst Nightmare

[Jdhoops30]

My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 OC and had surgery and has been in the hospital ever since. She started chemo last Friday in the hospital and has been there since. Mom was malnutritioned going into chemo with the surgeries and all the procedures prior to chemo. It's just so hard seeing her go through this. She is the greatest human with the biggest heart. This first round of chemo has been very rough. She hasn't eaten, has mouth sores with a very dry mouth. She was put on a lasix drip and was able to lose 44 lbs of fluid. The 2nd round of chemo is supposed to start on the 9th. I just want more than anything for it to be better. I am devastated for her. A feeding tube was out in through her nose to help with nutrition. Does this get better?

[Arvind-2]

Hi, Sorry to hear about your mom. This surely will get better. Just keep faith in yourself and be brave to overcome this situation. I think one or two session will result in some or the other typical signs of side effects on chemo. But eventually once your mother get back to her normal schedule and diet, things will be fine.

Regards,

Arvind.

[Jdhoops30 in reply to Arvind-2]

Thank you for responding. Today was a little better. I hope it continues and she catches some relief.

[OneLittleStone]

The first chemo treatment was the one that hit me the hardest. Probably due to a few different reasons. I was already physically and mentally exhausted from the cancer and dealing with the diagnosis. Also the drugs being introduced to my system were strong and quite a shock to my already weakened body.

As time passed I was able to tolerate them better, although other side effects can pop up. My most constant companion was fatigue. Her best weapon in this battle will be her frame of mind. It’s hard to have a positive spirit when going through this, but not impossible.

Blessings on your journey~

[Margiedolly]

Dear JD, I'm sorry to hear about your mom, she sounds like an outstanding person. I have been in situations during my six years of chemo that felt like death was near.. Prayer makes a difference. If you start a prayer chain on the internet, you get lots of people praying for your mom. Read to her from her Bible. Passages from Psalms can be very comforting. I, too was on a stomach pump and IV nutrition and chemo after they opened me up and sewed me back up and said I was inoperable. That was 10 years ago! The chemo kills the cancer, which was robbing her of nutrition. I agree with Arvind, because that's what happened to me.

Hugs to you and your mom!

Margaret

[mimanda]

So sad for your family in this tough moment and sending love your way! I’ll offer a little different perspective from my vantage point (38, patient advocate, living with ovarian cancer for the 4th time in 9 years, in a clinical trial).

Don’t forget that the great days ahead might not be without cancer. Even when we do experience “no evidence of disease” for most of us things never go back to “normal,” even though they mostly do for our loved ones. At every point we have to weigh our options and consider our best quality of life. We often feel tremendous pressure from our loved ones to live “at all costs” to our bodies. For most of us there is a point when quality of life (over quantity) becomes the goal.

It sounds like you have every reason to be very hopeful and positive about her treatment! That’s awesome! There are some women who get through treatment and never look back during long lives. Even without getting rid of cancer many of us (like me!) still have great lives of love and purpose. I mention this because I wish someone explained all this to my loved ones and because we can all be too focused on getting rid of the cancer as the only goal. I focus on as many great moments of love as I can for as long as I have.

[Jdhoops30 in reply to mimanda]

Mimanda- thank you for your response. I will always be hopeful and positive. The 2nd treatment will be this Friday if she is strong enough to start. I know this is hard for her because she is so weak and has lost a lot of weight and strength. Showering is a tough task and very exhausting for her. She wants to gain weight and be able to walk and get some independence back. She isn't used to needing all this help, as she was always the one helping everyone else.

[Grace123]

Just to say my heart goes out to you and your mother and family. For me personally, getting the diagnosis while coping physically with the strain that surgery and chemo put on the body was the toughest time. There's psychological and physical trauma & it's tough. But as I processed more of what I was going through it got easier - I did get the support of a psychologist from Maggie's which was unbelievably helpful. Wishing you & your mum the very best xxx