Welcome + targeted therapies + motivating the patient

Dadshealth

Welcome, and wishes of all the best to everybody on this forum.

My beloved Dad (79 y) was recently operated for colorectal cancer. He is now scheduled for a chemotherapy consultation.

Where to find more information about targeted therapies available? Unfortunately, medical care in our area often forces family of the patient to know what to ask for, or finding the hospital which offers the best therapy.

How to motivate the patient to care after himself? Just two months ago, Dad was practically self-sufficient. I want to help in daily duties where he is genuinely too weak, but not in something he can do himself. Otherwise I am afraid he will push simple things on his family, and become physically and mentally weaker.

best,

George

SnapDragon2

Just a little eye opener here: Centers only sell what they offer and most times do not tell you of "better options" elsewhere. It keeps the money in their facility. Some have said their centers have told them of newer therapies, targeted, ect elsewhere.

So, research all you can in this limited time of appts to be prepared and ask questions, bring study papers with you to back you up if needed.

Another good search site is colontalk. Varied indepth info and experiences.

SandiaBuddy

Surgery can knock a person on their heels, no matter what age. He may need some help getting out of bed, but that should pass quickly. Getting right back to exercise as soon as possible helps preserve function. Absent problems, there is no reason he should be any more dependent after surgery as before.

Chemo is another bridge to cross. It can involve fairly unpleasant side effects. The decision to do chemo is very personal and depends on cancer staging, expected survival chances, desired quality of life, and much more. Your Dad might want to go into the consult with a list of questions for the oncologist.

Good luck with these issues.

Soundings

What stage cancer does he have? I agree that this will help determine what needs to happen next, including chemo.

As for targeted therapies, those will likely be based on the genetic makeup of the tumor. Depending on the stage, that test might not have been done. My personal experience is with stage 4 with my wife, they don’t always do tumor genomics tests for earlier stages.

I also agree that moving around after surgery is so important. I know in some cases they offer physical therapy if there are issues with mobility. You could maybe ask about that.

Mydadshealth

Hello, its George again. I lost access to the previous account. Sorry, I am through a lot of stress recently.

Dad's cancer is Adenocarcinoma interstini crassi G2 pT3 N1c. Genetic tests were not done. I would welcome any information about post-surgery therapy of this tumor.

Thank you for the tips, also for bringing backup to the therapist. I wll also check the colontalk.

best,

George