paranoid?

vanser

Hi everyone -
this might sound very paranoid of me, but my mom recently looks tired a lot of the time and has lost two pounds over the last month and a half.

should this be cause for concern? my dad just says that she is tired out from the holidays and she is eating less b/c of the colostomy.
(she was diagnosed stage III, jan 03)

do you think we should call a doctor?

scouty

Is she on any meds or chemo right now? When is her next scheduled appt?. If it is bothering you, clear your conscious and call the doctor just to check.

Lisa P.

vanser

Thanks for the response Lisa.

She is not currently on any meds. Her last chemotherapy and radiation was in October 2003. But she did have an operation in June 2004 for a small local recurrence at the incision site.

Her next CAT scan is scheduled for February 3rd.

Vanessa

spongebob

Vanessa -

Is she atuually fatigued or does she just look tired? Unless she's weighing in at less than 100 lbs normally, a couple of lbs could just be water weight.

How does she say she feels?

Does SHE want to see the doc?

She knows her body better than anyone.

- Bob

jana11

One other reason for weight loss is depression/stress. Is she stressed? Is she worried? If so, call the doc and try to move up the scans a few weeks. And yes, the ostomy takes some getting used to, and may be the cause of a little depression.
Hard advice, but try to relax a little. If your mom feels more tired then call the doc.
It is the nature of the beast (and onc deal with it all the time). Nothing can be passed off as "normal".
Good luck! jana

steved

Good on you fo rbeing vigilant and caring enough to worry and ask for advice. I would suggest talking to your mom- she is the one who will know her body best and must be involved in any decisions about involving docs etc. There is little harm in being cautious and getting her reviewed but the most likely outcome is that it is just due to something innocent. Best to be safe though as the doc can assess for pscyhological aspects such as depression while at it.
Best of luck and let us now how it goes,
Steve

vanser

Thanks for the responses everyone -
I did talk to my mom, and she thinks I am being crazy. She said she doesn't feel tired at all (which I guess is a good sign). She is also under a great deal of stress - she was down over the holidays for a bunch of reasons and I think she is having trouble making long term plans..

Thanks again & I will keep everyone posted.