HIPEC Surgery

CaliGal2012
CaliGal2012 Member Posts: 9
in Colorectal Cancer #1
Married only 2 yrs
Husband just had major colon surgery. They call it HIPEC. In hospital 1 month.
Thought they had got it all but just this week his CEA has gone up to 21. I'm told by nurse not to be concerned but how do I NOT be concerned. How do I live and breath each day knowing he is sick? They tell us there is no real cure best to hope for is remission.
I watch him sleep at night. I maybe get three hours sleep and have full time job.
How do people do this long term.

Comments

  • thxmiker
    thxmiker Member Posts: 1,278 Member
    #2
    Stay Positive
    We are sorry to hear about your husband. We are sending good thoughts his way!

    The CEA is not the end of the world. Mine was 1125 two years ago and now is 2. During Chemo my CEA was all over the place.

    Get him started in good health. A good balanced diet with plenty of antioxidants and vegetables. Exercise to get the blood pumping the mind wandering and breathing. Mentally strong and relaxed helped me a lot. There are plenty of good books on a healthy colon and cancer diet.

    My mind set is this is a new normal for me. That is how I got over the fear and depression. Stay Strong.

    Best Always, mike
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    #3
    HIPEC is incredibly difficult surgery
    I'm not surprised he was in for a month. It will take his body and counts time to settle down after the major surgery with heated chemo. Hopefully, he'll recover well, and be able to put this all behind him.

    You need to get your sleep - you can't care for him if you are worn to a frazzle. You also need to take some time for yourself, if you can find someone to be with him so you can get out.

    I often think the role of the caregiver is harder than that of the patient. We're at least doped up for much of the pain!
  • CaliGal2012
    CaliGal2012 Member Posts: 9
    #4
    thxmiker said:

    Stay Positive
    We are sorry to hear about your husband. We are sending good thoughts his way!

    The CEA is not the end of the world. Mine was 1125 two years ago and now is 2. During Chemo my CEA was all over the place.

    Get him started in good health. A good balanced diet with plenty of antioxidants and vegetables. Exercise to get the blood pumping the mind wandering and breathing. Mentally strong and relaxed helped me a lot. There are plenty of good books on a healthy colon and cancer diet.

    My mind set is this is a new normal for me. That is how I got over the fear and depression. Stay Strong.

    Best Always, mike

    Thanks so much Mike. So
    Thanks so much Mike. So many people really don't understand what we are going through. They offer help & support but it's really not the same unless you really know what it's like to go through it. I just bought a new colon health book so I hope this helps him. He had 90% of colon removed but no bag was needed thank god but he really still have terrible issue with diarrhea. They put him on something called tinture of opium that seems to slow it down but nothing has really worked so trying anything I can at this point.
    Thank you again
  • CaliGal2012
    CaliGal2012 Member Posts: 9
    #5
    abrub said:

    HIPEC is incredibly difficult surgery
    I'm not surprised he was in for a month. It will take his body and counts time to settle down after the major surgery with heated chemo. Hopefully, he'll recover well, and be able to put this all behind him.

    You need to get your sleep - you can't care for him if you are worn to a frazzle. You also need to take some time for yourself, if you can find someone to be with him so you can get out.

    I often think the role of the caregiver is harder than that of the patient. We're at least doped up for much of the pain!

    Thank you
    I feel guilty if I
    Thank you
    I feel guilty if I even get my nails done for an hour but I do have to find some time for myself here soon or may break down. He's back at work now part time and says it helps keep his mind busy but I still see him struggle.
    Thanks so much
  • janderson1964
    janderson1964 Member Posts: 2,215 Member
    #6
    CaliGal2012 said:

    Thank you
    I feel guilty if I
    Thank you
    I feel guilty if I even get my nails done for an hour but I do have to find some time for myself here soon or may break down. He's back at work now part time and says it helps keep his mind busy but I still see him struggle.
    Thanks so much

    You have to care for
    You have to care for yourself as well. I have been battling this for nearly seven years now and i know is is just as hard on my wife every step of the way.

    Jeff
  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    #7
    CaliGal2012 said:

    Thank you
    I feel guilty if I
    Thank you
    I feel guilty if I even get my nails done for an hour but I do have to find some time for myself here soon or may break down. He's back at work now part time and says it helps keep his mind busy but I still see him struggle.
    Thanks so much

    Take care of yourself!
    I'm glad he's back at work part time. That should give you a little time to yourself that is guilt-free. I know that one of the best gifts my husband received was when a friend took me away with her for a weekend. D knew I was in good hands, and I was 300 miles away, so he was really freed up. (I spent a month in the hospital, too, and my husband was there pretty much round the clock.)

    I can't speak for your husband, but I know that I felt bad enough having my life messed up with cancer. I hated the idea that his life had to stop for my cancer as well, and I encouraged him to do things for himself.
  • thxmiker
    thxmiker Member Posts: 1,278 Member
    #8
    CaliGal2012 said:

    Thanks so much Mike. So
    Thanks so much Mike. So many people really don't understand what we are going through. They offer help & support but it's really not the same unless you really know what it's like to go through it. I just bought a new colon health book so I hope this helps him. He had 90% of colon removed but no bag was needed thank god but he really still have terrible issue with diarrhea. They put him on something called tinture of opium that seems to slow it down but nothing has really worked so trying anything I can at this point.
    Thank you again

    Diarrhea
    The Diarrhea is going to be that way for a while. (A long while.) The colon absorbs the water for the body. His body is going to adapt, but it is going to take a while. I am 2 years after surgery, and am finally normalizing. I do drink more fluids then previous to surgery.

    Make sure he drinks more water then usual. I peed a lot else I was dehydrated. He also is losing a lot of water to diarrhea. The Tincture of Opium works, however it tastes really bad, and he can probably regulate it vs take a set amount every day. I took it for a while, and then went to when I needed it. I could feel the difference by how much my intestines were churning. A lot, and I took the tincture. The Tincture also made my stomach upset when I took it to often. (and it tastes really really bad! My wife tried a drop because she did not believe it was the worst tasting thing ever. lol)

    Ginger in any form helped the upset stomach. I did not have an issue with eating other then running to the bathroom. I could get depleted and exhausted when I did not keep a balanced diet and elektrolytes up. Bananas and Gatoraid got me through it.

    I am an engineer and love to cook. I took my down time and learned to bake. Everyone I knew started receiving baked goods from me when I was doing chemo. The smell of food made me feel good vs eating all the time. I switched to the Zone Diet. The Zone is more of an attitude about food and common sense approach to diet. During all of the baking and Chemo I got back into good physical shape. Use the down time to your advantage.

    No matter how horrible I felt, I got out and walked. Getting out always made me feel better. On times when I knew the toilet run was imminent I stayed close to the house circling the block several times. On the days I felt good, I would go on a hike for miles. (I have two dogs and they kept me busy and loved all of the walks.)

    The book, "Anti Cancer A new way of life" is a good read. It talks about the positive research currently going on, Good Diet, and Mental health. It explains both sides, patient and caregiver. Both my wife and I enjoyed the book.

    Best Always, mike
  • CaliGal2012
    CaliGal2012 Member Posts: 9
    #9
    thxmiker said:

    Diarrhea
    The Diarrhea is going to be that way for a while. (A long while.) The colon absorbs the water for the body. His body is going to adapt, but it is going to take a while. I am 2 years after surgery, and am finally normalizing. I do drink more fluids then previous to surgery.

    Make sure he drinks more water then usual. I peed a lot else I was dehydrated. He also is losing a lot of water to diarrhea. The Tincture of Opium works, however it tastes really bad, and he can probably regulate it vs take a set amount every day. I took it for a while, and then went to when I needed it. I could feel the difference by how much my intestines were churning. A lot, and I took the tincture. The Tincture also made my stomach upset when I took it to often. (and it tastes really really bad! My wife tried a drop because she did not believe it was the worst tasting thing ever. lol)

    Ginger in any form helped the upset stomach. I did not have an issue with eating other then running to the bathroom. I could get depleted and exhausted when I did not keep a balanced diet and elektrolytes up. Bananas and Gatoraid got me through it.

    I am an engineer and love to cook. I took my down time and learned to bake. Everyone I knew started receiving baked goods from me when I was doing chemo. The smell of food made me feel good vs eating all the time. I switched to the Zone Diet. The Zone is more of an attitude about food and common sense approach to diet. During all of the baking and Chemo I got back into good physical shape. Use the down time to your advantage.

    No matter how horrible I felt, I got out and walked. Getting out always made me feel better. On times when I knew the toilet run was imminent I stayed close to the house circling the block several times. On the days I felt good, I would go on a hike for miles. (I have two dogs and they kept me busy and loved all of the walks.)

    The book, "Anti Cancer A new way of life" is a good read. It talks about the positive research currently going on, Good Diet, and Mental health. It explains both sides, patient and caregiver. Both my wife and I enjoyed the book.

    Best Always, mike

    Thanks Mike, I just
    Thanks Mike, I just forwarded your email to him. I love all this information. I know he feels house bound due to the toilet runs and he's scared to go to far just in case.
    He will start chemo again on July 12th (not looking forward to it at all) and I really want to be on top of diet things to try to help him this go around. I will also pick up the book this weekend. Thanks again for the info and support.
    Dawn

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