My father is stage 4 not doing well

ndmp
ndmp Member Posts: 36
edited March 2014 in Esophageal Cancer #1
My father was Dx Stage 4 last Jan. he has been on 4 different types of chemo. The beast just keeps breaking through the treatment. He has been on Abraxane and Carboplatium for the past 3 months, he had been doing OK with this treatment not having too many side effects, he was having the chemo brain and on about the 4 day after treatment he would feel tired and run down but compared to the other chemo he had been on this one was easier.

I noticed on this past Saturday 4/11 he was very edgy we thought it had to do with his up coming scan on 4/23 he gets very nervous. Easter Sunday he had nausea and vomiting and was not able to eat. I know that this type of chemo that is a side effect, however he has not experienced any of these side effects for the past 3 months he has been on this chemo. He has been declining over the past few days, very weak, not able to eat and today had pain in his right side. He scan has been moved up to tomorrow. I know that the beast is in his liver I am just so scared that it has taken over now. I had to push for a scan for tomorrow but got one, they were going to put us off until next Thursday but that wasn't going to happen on my watch. I just pray that if the chemo is no longer working and all signs point to that, that he will be able to get another type. Think of us in your prayers.

Thank You
Nicole

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #2
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  • daughteroflantzalot
    daughteroflantzalot Member Posts: 2
    #3
    My Father too is stage four.
    Feb. 26th, 2007 he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, he went thru three rounds of heavy chemo then had an esphogogastrechtomy with a colon interposition in June of 2007. When the went in, they thought they could do the procedure minimally invasive however, they weren't prepared for the cancer having destroyed his stomach. The surgeon said when they tried to pull it up and attach it to what was left of the esophagus, it fell apart, his stomach that is. He said he'd never seen anything like it, and that's all this guy does, is everything esophageal. They then had to use a piece of his colon to connect the upper intestine to the nub of esophagus that was left. Then they installed a "J"-tube for feeding through. After he was released from the hospital a month later, they sat down with my Dad, my sister and me and told us that there were 26 lymph's involved - one being the hepatic (at the liver) and with all that they took out, there was still cancer in the margins, the tissues around the area that they took out. Stage 4, he said. Then he told us that whether it be 6 months or a year, he had no doubt that the cancer will come back, where? Hard to tell. Then he apologized and told dad, "You will die from this"
    Dad put up a good fight and had been on some type of chemo every 3 weeks without a break until 6 weeks ago, he had ran the gambit, the allowed maximum, It should have stopped 3 rounds before because he couldn't handle anymore. Hadn't been able to eat since before Christmas, fingernails turned purple and coming off, persistent fatigue, bloody noses, etc. 3 weeks after the last round they did scans, it showed hypermatabolism in 5 different places. In just the past 3 weeks, the tumors have visibly grown, he has it on his skin too, where they did the radiation. It has gotten bigger and redder by the day, and it burns. It's in the shape of a crab. Dad told me thats why they call it cancer, the latin word for crab. It's in his bone, his lung, all around his liver, and in the colon they repositioned.
    It's been almost 2 years since the surgery. I'm his primary caregiver. Yesterday we got in home hospice, it's a wonderful resource. I'm still scared as hell. I will pray for you and your dad as I pray for me and mine.
    Who knew the boogey man's name is cancer?

    Thank you,
    Melinda
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #4
    daughteroflantzalot said:

    My Father too is stage four.
    Feb. 26th, 2007 he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, he went thru three rounds of heavy chemo then had an esphogogastrechtomy with a colon interposition in June of 2007. When the went in, they thought they could do the procedure minimally invasive however, they weren't prepared for the cancer having destroyed his stomach. The surgeon said when they tried to pull it up and attach it to what was left of the esophagus, it fell apart, his stomach that is. He said he'd never seen anything like it, and that's all this guy does, is everything esophageal. They then had to use a piece of his colon to connect the upper intestine to the nub of esophagus that was left. Then they installed a "J"-tube for feeding through. After he was released from the hospital a month later, they sat down with my Dad, my sister and me and told us that there were 26 lymph's involved - one being the hepatic (at the liver) and with all that they took out, there was still cancer in the margins, the tissues around the area that they took out. Stage 4, he said. Then he told us that whether it be 6 months or a year, he had no doubt that the cancer will come back, where? Hard to tell. Then he apologized and told dad, "You will die from this"
    Dad put up a good fight and had been on some type of chemo every 3 weeks without a break until 6 weeks ago, he had ran the gambit, the allowed maximum, It should have stopped 3 rounds before because he couldn't handle anymore. Hadn't been able to eat since before Christmas, fingernails turned purple and coming off, persistent fatigue, bloody noses, etc. 3 weeks after the last round they did scans, it showed hypermatabolism in 5 different places. In just the past 3 weeks, the tumors have visibly grown, he has it on his skin too, where they did the radiation. It has gotten bigger and redder by the day, and it burns. It's in the shape of a crab. Dad told me thats why they call it cancer, the latin word for crab. It's in his bone, his lung, all around his liver, and in the colon they repositioned.
    It's been almost 2 years since the surgery. I'm his primary caregiver. Yesterday we got in home hospice, it's a wonderful resource. I'm still scared as hell. I will pray for you and your dad as I pray for me and mine.
    Who knew the boogey man's name is cancer?

    Thank you,
    Melinda

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #5
    unknown said:

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