Small Cell Lung Cancer

roomie33

My dad was diagnosed the day before Thanksgiving in 2012.  Luckily, it was Limited stage.  It was primarliy present in the lymph nodes in his right lung which were actually HUGE.  We rushed to get him to MD Anderson and he started treatment within a few weeks.  He had both lung radiation, and, because his hearing is impaired, he had 4 stages of Carboplatin (Instead of Cisplatin) and Etoposide.    He had a CAT scan after, and they determined that the lymph nodes were shrunken, almost completely (one are two are still above normal size, but the Radiation Dr. said that is expected).  The two tiny tumors in his right lung were gone.  Two weeks ago, he finished his PCR.

My dad had no problems with the chemo or the radiation to his lung.  Don't get me wrong.  Every side effect that was written and he knew about, he thought he had.  I and we are understanding, and you cannot understand how much we love him unconditionally, plus depend on him!  We know the disease, but it was almost like he had a nervouse breakdown.  The PCR has really thrown him for a loop!  He is burned on his head and has sores behind his ears.  He tries to do things and gets dizzy and weak.  He also coughs uncontrollably when he exerts himself.  You also have to understand that he is a very strong (physically) man. 

I am very concerned about two things:  Dementia and the cancer returning.  First, he is confused more than ever and cannot relay a conversation with any accuracy, but he can still do anything mathematical that needs to be done.  Second, I want him to do whatever can be done to prevent it from returning. 

Do any of you have proven diet recommendations and have any of you experienced a change in mental capacity after diagnosis/treatment?

honeycomb27

father

i cannot help with the diet as all our doctors said let my husband eat whatever he wants as you cant force a sick person to eat what they do not want - i do make him drink V8 once a day and a quart of smart water and i dont let him eat fast food

 my husband  is stage 3b lung cancer and like your father the cough scares me too death he was coughing so much his ribs hurt all the time and i could never sleep from all the coughing and wheezing

but believe it or not i started putting vicks vapor rub on his chest and back with a t shirt and also on the bottom of his feet then put socks on his feet and believe it his cough all but went away the next morning - he could not even believe how good he felt the next morning - i know it sounds crazy but it worked

also i started buying the generic vapor rub because i use on him everynight and the vicks is expensive when using everyday

ps when i only put on his chest and back it only helped a little - the bottom of feet is the key rub it on his feet really good and thick - i use 1/2 a small jar of the vapor rub each night and im telling you it really has made a world of difference

also wheezing stoped the next morning after using first time on his feet and never has come back and he used to wheeze all night

also you should keep a window cracked in bedroom if possible and don't keep the room warm its easier for him to breath if the room is cooler like 71 or 72 degrees

hope you try it 

also vitamin E roll on ( or buythe capsules and cut them open ) works good on the burns

april

dennycee

Welcome to the ACS website

Because of the effects of the radiation it seems much easier for patients to become dehydrated.  Please let the doctor know because this is not normal.  Another thing to look into would be a carotid Doppler.  My coworkers husband has small cell and had a problem develop with his mental acuity kept failing.  It turned out that his brain was not getting enough blood.  I know my first instinct is it has to be the cancer but that's not always true.