Not bouncing back after chemo

acp269
acp269 Member Posts: 1
in Lung Cancer #1

Hello, my mother in law has stage IV lung cancer that has metastasized to her brain, spine, and liver. She has had surgery to remove part of her lung and has completed one round (3 treatments) of chemo and also had a few radiation treatments on her brain and spine.  Her last scans showed that the tumors were shrinking.  

She has not tolerated the chemo well and decided to take an 8 week break since her last scan.  She is about 7 weeks out from the date of her last treatment and she has not regained any of her energy or appetite.  We can get her to drink a few Ensure each day but that is about it.  I know this is late stage and we were not expecting her to come back to where she was before the diagnosis, but she is feeling about the same as when she was doing the chemo treatments.  We did expect her to feel better and get some of her energy and appetite back.  So I guess I am asking the hard question.  Is she at the end of her life, should we be calling in hospice and preparing for death.  

 

Comments

  • jorola
    jorola Member Posts: 243 Member
    edited July 2017 #2
    It varies for everyone but it does take time

    It can takes months to recover from chemo. Considering how much it had spread and the fact she did not tolerate it well it is not surprising she has not recovered yet. Have you talked to her dr about how she is doing? eating especially? It is very hard to say if she is nearing the end. When is her next follow up and scan? That will probably tell you more. Have you talked with a hospice care group yet? Sometimes they will come in and do an assessment (from my understanding) and can help a bit here - not even sayiing she has to sign up for it yet - just have an assessment. Maybe call the CSN 24/7 number - 1-800-227-2345. They might even have suggestions for you.

  • Lwest
    Lwest Member Posts: 4
    #3
    Chemo/ Cancer fatigue

    H last weekello. My wife was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer May 12 2017. She has already had brain surgery to remove a tumor that had formed. She has finished her first session of chemo last week. She has really fought with fatigue. Its been really bad. She would spend days in bead. I have read a lot of people saying that fatigue is a major problem with chemo/cancer. I wanted to let people know that we were able to get a prescription for aderall. I know there has been several discussions on this. I will say that it has done wonders for my wife. She actually stays awake almost all day. She is talking more and is a lot more social with family and friends. I just wanted to let folks know. I hope this helps with making decisions about fatigue

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