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New on this board with question
Hello all -- I am new on this board. I am the primary caregiver for my mother who has stage 4 lung cancer. She went through chemo treatments and 2 drugs but her cancer has continued to grow and has now spread to her liver. She's presently at my house with hospice care. She was in the inpatient facility last week for…
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Weening off of steroids to let loved one go
Talked to my wife's doctor over the phone today (he wants me to check in with him once a week). My wife has been deterioriating after some short relief due to radiation. Since she is no longer improving, and her days are sad and miserable, her doctor told me to take her off steroids (decadron). He said the steroids are…
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Now the ride really starts
Hello everyone. This past Tuesday (the 16th) I got home from work and found my husband in respiratory distress. He had been having mild difficulties breathing, but that night was the worst. It terrified both of us so much so that I ended up calling the ambulance for him. It took 10 minutes for the EMT's to stabilize him…
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Triple Negative Breast Cancer --it has reared its ugly head again
My mom was diagnosed & treated for breast cancer in 2008. Tumor markers were up in Sept & there is a mass in her chest that is being biopsied on Monday. Her oncologist thinks the breast cancer is back (breast was removed in 2008 - so this is along the chest wall). Her prognosis is grim. We've been told that if it's the…
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Illinois ladies facing bc
I am very curious about all the Illinois ladies who are making this breast cancer journey or who have finished it. Where are you located? What's your diagnosis? Where are you in your treatment plan? How's it going for you? I thought we might be surprised to find somebody right in our own back yard that could use some…
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Experiences with palliative TPN/transfusions?
Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum. My friend (age 22) was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in July. They think the primary may be gastric according the the cell block they got from taking cells from her ascites fluid. Her ascites subsided, but she now has a very palpable stomach mass and a malignant bowel obstruction. They…
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Feeling guilty about my feelings...
My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer on my 29th birthday. On her birthday, she had a port put in and started her first round of chemo and radiation. During this time, she stayed with my sister who is a stay at home mom and lives about 10 minutes from the cancer center. She stayed with her during the week and…
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Feeling guilty about my feelings...
My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer on my 29th birthday. On her birthday, she had a port put in and started her first round of chemo and radiation. During this time, she stayed with my sister who is a stay at home mom and lives about 10 minutes from the cancer center. She stayed with her during the week and…
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i stayed away
My mom was sick and i stayed away. My mother allowed my brother/abuser/crackead into her house and as a mom of two little ones i stayed away. Mom thought she had the flu but it wouldn't go away. I started a fight with my brother so he left and I found my mom confused, skinny, limping and hardly able to hold a conversation.…
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Hit the 1 year mark!
I know I should be really happy hitting the one year mark but I have to say in all honesty I don't. I am so emotionally and physically drained. My husband is still holding his own for the most part but everytime I feel optomistic the other shoe seems to drop. If it doesn't drop with him one of my 2 kids drops an emotional…
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David
We lost David today. He took his last breath around 4 pm. I was shocked at how fast the end came. Hospice said it was a peaceful death but I don't know. David wasn't their son. I didn't feel peace. I'm devastated, heartbroken, physically sick, and I don't know what to do. Our extended family all came over and that really…
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The newest addition to my role....
Hello everyone. My name is Angie. My husband and I have been married for 15.5 years. We have faced many hardships throughout our marriage but October 5th brought the toughest battle yet. My wonderful husband was diagnosed with cancer. Honestly, I wasn't surprised. When his newest doctor found his white blood count to be…
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Ugh!
Hi, My cancer journey has been insane so far and I'm not really sure what to do with any of it. Here's my story... My mom was at the hospital for a routine knee replacement when the doctors discovered the actual source of her pain, a large tumour on her spine. She was diagnosed with end stage lung cancer the next day. My…
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No longer appreciated
I'm sure this isn't really a new topic, but I need to know if anyone else has had this experience once the cancer patient is doing well. My fiancee had a total laryngectomy in mid August. He went through radiation and chemo last winter, after being diagnosed with throat cancer a year ago October. I have been his caregiver,…
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A unique position?
I find myself being on both sides of the fence. I have cancer(I'm on the Uterine board) and have had open heart surgery to correct a birth defect(replacement of aortic heart valve) so the last three years have been rough. Now I find myself the sole care giver for my step-dad who has Alzheimers and for my mother who just…
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When the caregiver has no "care given" to them...
I feel so selfish writing this, almost like my priorities aren't straight here, but I've been dealt another blow and I feel like I'm ready to break... A little history, I've dealt with cancer a lot in my life. It seems like everyone has, and it's more and more frequent, as we get older, more and more people are going to…