Can't tell how husband is doing...

cbcardb12
cbcardb12 Member Posts: 84
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
CB has been on Folfox w/Avastin & Xeloda for about 1 1/2 months, and I realy can not tell if it is working or not. His eyes are still extemely yellow, and of course he is fatigued, and working to maintain his appetite. He feels strong anxiety with having chemo only every 3 weeks, but his new onc. says that things are progressing nicely. He said that he kind of got use to going every other week, and he feels like this is too far apart. I think I get more afraid everyday. Because he takes the Xeloda for 14 days after and only 1 week off, I don't really get a chance to see him bounce back. I worry that the cancer had too much time to grow during the time he was off any chemo, and there may be no way to slow it down and beat it back. He has also been having really bad bathroom issues. The constipation was so bad, that there were several days of pain for him. We finally got that taken care of, but for awhile we were afraid that he might have a blockage. Sorry for the gloom and doom, just needed to get the fears out in the open.

Thanks,

Carolyn

Comments

  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    #2
    his eyes are yellow?
    And the onc doesn't think that needs to be addressed? Sounds like liver issues to me; we have another board member who recently was having issues with this and finally got it figured out. Push to have him checked out, please! Have you spoken with his doctor as to why his chemo schedule was changed? Was he having tolerance issues? I sure hope he is able to get some help and feel comfortable with how his team is battling his disease!
    mary
  • vhtqm1
    vhtqm1 Member Posts: 107
    #3
    i agree with Mary
    yellow eyes needs to be addressed and something else probably related to this is the constipation you wrote about. if the liver enzymes don't get into the digestive system properly then the food doesn't get broken down for proper digestion and hence constipation may be a consequence? so the yellow eyes and constipation may be one of the same problems. get Billiruben, AST, ALT, Plateletts and Alkaline Phosphatase checked so as to identify if Liver problems exist? hope this helps.

    ed
    pardon my spelling....hope all is well
  • cbcardb12
    cbcardb12 Member Posts: 84
    #4
    msccolon said:

    his eyes are yellow?
    And the onc doesn't think that needs to be addressed? Sounds like liver issues to me; we have another board member who recently was having issues with this and finally got it figured out. Push to have him checked out, please! Have you spoken with his doctor as to why his chemo schedule was changed? Was he having tolerance issues? I sure hope he is able to get some help and feel comfortable with how his team is battling his disease!
    mary

    Hi Mary
    Yeah, we know it is liver issues, just not sure how or where. His new oncologist stated that although he is in overall good health, his liver is teetering. He is calling her tomorrow to see if she can get a ct scan scheduled as soon as possible. I got a good look at his eyes today in the sun light and they looked very yellow to us. I'm just not sure if the chemo is working. His original onc. had him on Folfox w/Avastin, and he responded very well. He completed 12 cycles and had to be placed on something else. He was placed on Eributux after a 1 month lay off because that onc. said things were stable and CB didn't want to start Erbitux during the holiday's. So, he was not on anything from 12/6/09-1/6/10, and then started Erbitux, which his new onc. said did absolutely nothing for him. So in essence, he really didn't have anything fighting the cancer until he started back on Folfox at the end of February. I just worry that it was too little too late.

    Carolyn
  • cbcardb12
    cbcardb12 Member Posts: 84
    #5
    msccolon said:

    his eyes are yellow?
    And the onc doesn't think that needs to be addressed? Sounds like liver issues to me; we have another board member who recently was having issues with this and finally got it figured out. Push to have him checked out, please! Have you spoken with his doctor as to why his chemo schedule was changed? Was he having tolerance issues? I sure hope he is able to get some help and feel comfortable with how his team is battling his disease!
    mary

    Hi Mary
    Yeah, we know it is liver issues, just not sure how or where. His new oncologist stated that although he is in overall good health, his liver is teetering. He is calling her tomorrow to see if she can get a ct scan scheduled as soon as possible. I got a good look at his eyes today in the sun light and they looked very yellow to us. I'm just not sure if the chemo is working. His original onc. had him on Folfox w/Avastin, and he responded very well. He completed 12 cycles and had to be placed on something else. He was placed on Eributux after a 1 month lay off because that onc. said things were stable and CB didn't want to start Erbitux during the holiday's. So, he was not on anything from 12/6/09-1/6/10, and then started Erbitux, which his new onc. said did absolutely nothing for him. So in essence, he really didn't have anything fighting the cancer until he started back on Folfox at the end of February. I just worry that it was too little too late.

    Carolyn
  • cbcardb12
    cbcardb12 Member Posts: 84
    #6
    msccolon said:

    his eyes are yellow?
    And the onc doesn't think that needs to be addressed? Sounds like liver issues to me; we have another board member who recently was having issues with this and finally got it figured out. Push to have him checked out, please! Have you spoken with his doctor as to why his chemo schedule was changed? Was he having tolerance issues? I sure hope he is able to get some help and feel comfortable with how his team is battling his disease!
    mary

    Hi Mary
    Yeah, we know it is liver issues, just not sure how or where. His new oncologist stated that although he is in overall good health, his liver is teetering. He is calling her tomorrow to see if she can get a ct scan scheduled as soon as possible. I got a good look at his eyes today in the sun light and they looked very yellow to us. I'm just not sure if the chemo is working. His original onc. had him on Folfox w/Avastin, and he responded very well. He completed 12 cycles and had to be placed on something else. He was placed on Eributux after a 1 month lay off because that onc. said things were stable and CB didn't want to start Erbitux during the holiday's. So, he was not on anything from 12/6/09-1/6/10, and then started Erbitux, which his new onc. said did absolutely nothing for him. So in essence, he really didn't have anything fighting the cancer until he started back on Folfox at the end of February. I just worry that it was too little too late.

    Carolyn
  • cbcardb12
    cbcardb12 Member Posts: 84
    #7
    vhtqm1 said:

    i agree with Mary
    yellow eyes needs to be addressed and something else probably related to this is the constipation you wrote about. if the liver enzymes don't get into the digestive system properly then the food doesn't get broken down for proper digestion and hence constipation may be a consequence? so the yellow eyes and constipation may be one of the same problems. get Billiruben, AST, ALT, Plateletts and Alkaline Phosphatase checked so as to identify if Liver problems exist? hope this helps.

    ed
    pardon my spelling....hope all is well

    Sorry for the triple posts! Computer hung up
    Sorry for te triple posts!
  • lcarper2
    lcarper2 Member Posts: 635 Member
    #8
    cbcardb12 said:

    Hi Mary
    Yeah, we know it is liver issues, just not sure how or where. His new oncologist stated that although he is in overall good health, his liver is teetering. He is calling her tomorrow to see if she can get a ct scan scheduled as soon as possible. I got a good look at his eyes today in the sun light and they looked very yellow to us. I'm just not sure if the chemo is working. His original onc. had him on Folfox w/Avastin, and he responded very well. He completed 12 cycles and had to be placed on something else. He was placed on Eributux after a 1 month lay off because that onc. said things were stable and CB didn't want to start Erbitux during the holiday's. So, he was not on anything from 12/6/09-1/6/10, and then started Erbitux, which his new onc. said did absolutely nothing for him. So in essence, he really didn't have anything fighting the cancer until he started back on Folfox at the end of February. I just worry that it was too little too late.

    Carolyn

    liver
    I had a c scan that showed nothing and an enhanced MRI found a tumor on my liver bile duct where the pancres joins and it is a rare fast spreading cancer I was jandice and had pain in my back I would not wait for the ONC to decide to do any test I would ask for the MRI .I had to have a stent put in my liver to get the jandice to improve. Please do not wait this could be bad .

    Louann
  • sfmarie
    sfmarie Member Posts: 602
    #9
    Carolyn
    Do get the "yellow" eyes checked out. If the liver is "complaining" then he could have jaundice. They can put a stent in to help that.

    Keeping you in my prayers. Keep pushing until you are satisfied with the answers.

    Marie
  • cbcardb12
    cbcardb12 Member Posts: 84
    #10
    sfmarie said:

    Carolyn
    Do get the "yellow" eyes checked out. If the liver is "complaining" then he could have jaundice. They can put a stent in to help that.

    Keeping you in my prayers. Keep pushing until you are satisfied with the answers.

    Marie

    Thanks for the info
    He has an appointment in the morning for labwork. I traveled today (upstate NY - Potsdam) to be exact, so I won't be with him tomorrow, but I will have him write down my questions and concerns. I don't know anyting about the stent. How is that done? Is is it a major procedure? Will he have to be in the hospital? What does the stent do? Sorry for all the questions.

    Thanks,

    Carolyn
  • linandtom
    linandtom Member Posts: 67
    #11
    cbcardb12 said:

    Thanks for the info
    He has an appointment in the morning for labwork. I traveled today (upstate NY - Potsdam) to be exact, so I won't be with him tomorrow, but I will have him write down my questions and concerns. I don't know anyting about the stent. How is that done? Is is it a major procedure? Will he have to be in the hospital? What does the stent do? Sorry for all the questions.

    Thanks,

    Carolyn

    Liver stent
    My husband just came home from having his stent placed in his bile duct. If they can go in through your stomach - a procedure called ERCP. Check it out on internet. They tried this procedure with my husband but could not get the stent in this way so had to go in on his side through his ribs and into his liver this way. If you have the ERCP it can be done out pt go home the same day. But of course we had to stay 9 days in the hospital due to not being able to go in this way. Had a external drainage tube for 3 days and then had to go in and place the stent. He has a tumor causing pressure on the bile duct so bile could not flow and was backing up in his liver...not a good thing. Any jaundice needs to be checked.

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