Chemo Blues

hawk711 said:

Toni
I too had severe side effects to the Chemo (cisplatin). Made me so tired and weak. I got hydrated every day with IV's during treatment and it helped. The chemo can be stopped for a few rounds for him to get healthy before starting again. The hospital is the right place for him right now to get straight. Have faith in the Dr's, they do good work...
Patience is a virtue during this process and it is hard....keep pluggin
Steve

I understand the
I understand the frustration, my husband has been in the hospital twice. The first was after the second cisplatin treatment for dehydration and kidney problems. It took seven days to get him able to go home, even though he was still weak. Oncologist said no more chemo. The following week he slept 24 hours a day and could not walk more than 3 feet. Mid week his jaw started to swell, techs said normal occurance. The following Monday the size Now they are trying a non chemo drug called erbatox. This is rough and hard on the patient but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep your spirits up, if nothing else, do it for him.

Big hug for you and prayers for patience and comfort for dad and you.

Debbie

The second was the worst
and I got tired of hearing the word "should" - as in "he should be getting better soon" or "this antinausea drug should work." He got a neulasta shot for the low WBC, and we not only kept him out of crowds but stepped up protocol at home for the kids: wash hands whenever coming home from school/work; keep track of drinking glasses and water bottles (nothing left around to be mistakenly sipped from); no guests (we made an exception for our daughter's birthday party - in the basement with the fans sweeping the air down and out the back door and Doug stayed on the second floor in the bedroom).

We kept trying different antinausea drugs to find the combination that worked - every doctor has a favorite, but it might not work for everyone. Doug's nausea also seemed to be increased by the radiation, which explained why it went on so long after the chemo.

The good news is that they decided to skip the third chemo, his WBC improved, the right combo of drugs worked after a few days and he got better. I hope your Dad has similar results soon.

Toni08 said:

Thank you all! (edited)
DrMary your posts are always so informative! They suspect possible infection and have him on antibiotics although, they are not positive. During the two hour drive to the hospital his fever went down quite a bit on its own and my mom is wondering if it was just that he was bundled up and wanted the room warm because he felt so cold?

However, he has been complaining constantly about his feeding tube. The skin keeps trying to heal itself, is puffing up around the exit sight, and is very irritated and painful for my dad. They have burned the skin around it in the past but on Monday when he complained about it, they said with his wbc count so low, they would wait and deal with it later. Perhaps this has led to germs getting under the growing skin/infection?

**They said the skin around the peg was becoming infected, yanked the tube out (which he said hurt like hell, and put in a new one**
Now I am very worried about this infection

So cold
We got Doug one of those blankets with arms and he wore that over sweats and such. The weight loss will make him feel cold, even if he is not sick.

I have no experience with PEGs but a bit with wounds. If he is getting an infection around the tube, I'd expect to pick up a bad smell from the skin (however, PEGs can smell bad, from what I hear, even with no infection). A sure clue is if the redness starts to spread, especially if it seems to do so in lines (as if along a vein) or if the skin underneath the redness is hot and firm. Your assessment is correct - the skin is trying to heal up and has to reach an accommodation with the obstruction. From what I've seen on the list, this does happen after a few days.

At the moment, he is in the hospital and getting IV fluids, yes? So he has the safety net there and can start to heal - I have to admit that I stayed with Doug in the hospital most nights, and that might have helped make sure he got prompt attention. However, not everyone can do this (I expected a lot of our 17-year-old daughter, who made sure the house ran, her brother got to school and she even applied to various universities on her own during this time) - a very close second is to get to know the nursing staff very well. One thing they all worry about is infection, so I'm sure they will speak up if they think he is showing signs of one.

These are tough times, and I hope they are the low point, and that your father will start showing improvement soon.

jim and i said:

I understand the
I understand the frustration, my husband has been in the hospital twice. The first was after the second cisplatin treatment for dehydration and kidney problems. It took seven days to get him able to go home, even though he was still weak. Oncologist said no more chemo. The following week he slept 24 hours a day and could not walk more than 3 feet. Mid week his jaw started to swell, techs said normal occurance. The following Monday the size Now they are trying a non chemo drug called erbatox. This is rough and hard on the patient but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep your spirits up, if nothing else, do it for him.

Big hug for you and prayers for patience and comfort for dad and you.

Debbie

Hi Toni

Sorry to hear that your Dad is having so many problems like this but as John said a lot of it is normal for what he is going through with his treatment. On infections yes keep him away from everyone who might be sick as his immune system is very weak right now. I still live with the being cold thing, in my office at work I have to close off all the AC Vents and at home I sleep with two or three blankest sometime to keep warm. Just a part of my new normal I tell the wife.

All the best to you & Dad
Hondo