Never ending horror-arterial ruptures due ro radiation damage

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waywest
waywest Member Posts: 44
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I never saw this one coming.Might as well add it to the endless list of life threatening side effects.We are now 4 1/2 mos postX. Five days ago Daryl woke up coughing up blood. Buckets of it.By the time the ambulance reached Emergency he had lost 2/3 of his blood and had gone into shock.The hospital to which they took him was not equipped to help him at all and they made dozens of middle of the night calls to his Onco & ENT.He was transferred to the main hospital where his ENT (thank god he is also Chief of surgery) assembled a team of specialists in the middle of the night.They warned me that he could go at any time because if the ruptures to the carotid did not start clotting soon he would likely have a stroke since they could not replace his blood fast enough.I found out that a week previous he had spit up a little blood and thought nothing of it.
What incredible gods these surgeons are. One of them was on holidays and flew back immediately.
Ten hours of surgery and they managed to cauterize the ruptures.They saved him-and throughout the entire process doctors and nurses kept updating me every half hour. I don't know how to thank them enough.Hope they have time to read newspapers because I am putting in a big "thank you" ad.
They confirmed that this was caused by radiation damage.The gift that keeps on taking.
In my heart, I feel that this is the last hurdle and that we have finally turned the corner.
There was a concern that this may have been caused by the cancer spreading but what a relief to know that they found no evidence of cancer.Finally some good news!
I was also informed that while this is not common, it does sometimes happen to patients who
have undergone this treatment so, everyone, please be aware that if you start spitting up blood months after treatment, it is a signal to get yourself to the ENT posthaste-even if it's only a few drops.There are so many side effects related to this treatment that it's easy to overlook one that might be life threatening.As far as I'm concerned, you are all superheroes. Never underestimate the power of the human body to overcome just about anything you throw at it - even radiation:-)

W.

Comments

  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #2
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    Prayer of thanks giving.
    Wow! So lucky to have made it through that! Sorry you went through that, but I am sure glad things didn't turn out far worse.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #3
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    sweetblood22 said:

    Prayer of thanks giving.
    Wow! So lucky to have made it through that! Sorry you went through that, but I am sure glad things didn't turn out far worse.

    Hi waywest
    Yes like Sweet said your husband Daryl is very lucky that you as his caretaker was right there on the ball and notified the proper people on time. We all know that something like this is possible but like you said very uncommon. I have been radiated twice to the carotid artery on both sides of my neck and my heart doctor monitors them every time I see him. But after 6 years he said I will more than likely never have a problem with them except for them not regulation my blood pressure again.

    Wishing you the best
    Hondo
  • waywest
    waywest Member Posts: 44
    #4
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    Hondo said:

    Hi waywest
    Yes like Sweet said your husband Daryl is very lucky that you as his caretaker was right there on the ball and notified the proper people on time. We all know that something like this is possible but like you said very uncommon. I have been radiated twice to the carotid artery on both sides of my neck and my heart doctor monitors them every time I see him. But after 6 years he said I will more than likely never have a problem with them except for them not regulation my blood pressure again.

    Wishing you the best
    Hondo

    Hondo &Sweet
    What both of you have survived makes our problems insignificant in comparison.
    It helps me keep things in perspective. I do wish though, that none of us had any reason to be here.
    Daryl did have a small stroke which has given him a bit of a speech impediment, likely not permanent but sheesh I was having enough trouble understanding him before. I tease him about what a "woubly" day it is but he is not supposed to laugh yet.He was telling me that the nurses gave him some "weally gwate soss" and I thought, "oh good he is eating again".
    I get to his room and the first thing I notice are his banana yellow socks with red stripes and little monkeys on the toes.Instantly knew that the phone call was not about the food.

    W.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #5
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    waywest said:

    Hondo &Sweet
    What both of you have survived makes our problems insignificant in comparison.
    It helps me keep things in perspective. I do wish though, that none of us had any reason to be here.
    Daryl did have a small stroke which has given him a bit of a speech impediment, likely not permanent but sheesh I was having enough trouble understanding him before. I tease him about what a "woubly" day it is but he is not supposed to laugh yet.He was telling me that the nurses gave him some "weally gwate soss" and I thought, "oh good he is eating again".
    I get to his room and the first thing I notice are his banana yellow socks with red stripes and little monkeys on the toes.Instantly knew that the phone call was not about the food.

    W.

    Keep us posted
    Let us know how he is doing, hope he can get out of the hospital soon. On the speech problem he might be like how I am, not a total stork but the nerve in the face was damaged by treatment. I take medicine to help, it works but still my wife said I still suler my speech now and then. I just tell her they are new words I am adding to the English language.

    Wishing you the best
    Hondo
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #6
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    Hondo said:

    Keep us posted
    Let us know how he is doing, hope he can get out of the hospital soon. On the speech problem he might be like how I am, not a total stork but the nerve in the face was damaged by treatment. I take medicine to help, it works but still my wife said I still suler my speech now and then. I just tell her they are new words I am adding to the English language.

    Wishing you the best
    Hondo

    Waywest, your husband's
    Waywest, your husband's ordeal sounds way worse to me than anything I went through. We all have our pain and challenges to get through. :)

    For me this place helps me keep my perspective and makes me remember to be thankful for how lucky I am.
  • buzz99
    buzz99 Member Posts: 404
    #7
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    Carotid Artery Rupture
    What a harrowing experience for you both. That is one side effect not on the list we were given but I was aware that this could happen. Roger Ebert, who had parotid cancer, had this rupture happen to him 7 times! Just another something to worry about... Karen
  • rmkbrad
    rmkbrad Member Posts: 176
    #8
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    This happened to me
    This happened to me a few weeks ago, started to cough and blew blood all over the bed. Got up and went to the bathroom and the blood flow out of my mouth was like a river. Wife grabed a towel and we headed to the ER. By the time we got there the bleeding had stopped, so about 25 minutes of bleeding, anyway the small hospital that we went to had me life flighted to a larger hospital that would be able to handle this if it happened again. Ended up not bleeding any more it all came from my tongue and after meeting with the ENT surgeon the next morning they beleived that doing nothing would be better than doing surgery. So home I went, was told to stay on a cold liquid diet for a few day to reduce swelling and allow things to heal. That afternoon I started to cough again and the bleeding started again but this time for only about 5 minutes and it stopped. No bleeding since then "nock on wood" but what a scare. Just lucky that my kids all just went to grandmas for the week so they were not here to see it. Anyway glade to see you are ok and I am not the only one that had the crap scared out of me.

    Brad
  • ToBeGolden
    ToBeGolden Member Posts: 695
    #9
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    Please Repost Periodically
    What a story. I'm a year post radiation but the tumor may be back. Don't know yet. Glad your husband made it thru the night. This story should be re-posted periodically because of its importance. Thank you.
  • waywest
    waywest Member Posts: 44
    #10
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    rmkbrad said:

    This happened to me
    This happened to me a few weeks ago, started to cough and blew blood all over the bed. Got up and went to the bathroom and the blood flow out of my mouth was like a river. Wife grabed a towel and we headed to the ER. By the time we got there the bleeding had stopped, so about 25 minutes of bleeding, anyway the small hospital that we went to had me life flighted to a larger hospital that would be able to handle this if it happened again. Ended up not bleeding any more it all came from my tongue and after meeting with the ENT surgeon the next morning they beleived that doing nothing would be better than doing surgery. So home I went, was told to stay on a cold liquid diet for a few day to reduce swelling and allow things to heal. That afternoon I started to cough again and the bleeding started again but this time for only about 5 minutes and it stopped. No bleeding since then "nock on wood" but what a scare. Just lucky that my kids all just went to grandmas for the week so they were not here to see it. Anyway glade to see you are ok and I am not the only one that had the crap scared out of me.

    Brad

    Update
    Thank you all for your kind wishes. Daryl is out of the hospital and back to square one with the eating thing (drat the luck). The procedure left him with a slight stroke and his speech is somewhat impaired but improving. Brad,I am very concerned that they chose not to cauterize the artery but perhaps it is a minor artery?, however, this is an embolism and could very easily cause a stroke if the blood supply drops dramatically for any length of time.The surgery is quite complicated but at least that is one less worry. God knows there are enough other issues with this recovery.Maybe the tongue isn't connected to the brain? (Well, for sure mines isn't)If it happens again please tell them to fix it!

    W.
  • waywest
    waywest Member Posts: 44
    #11
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    ToBeGolden said:

    Please Repost Periodically
    What a story. I'm a year post radiation but the tumor may be back. Don't know yet. Glad your husband made it thru the night. This story should be re-posted periodically because of its importance. Thank you.

    so sorry
    ToBe, So sorry to hear about the possible recurrence. I think everyone here lives in that state of constant fear of recurrence but, you know, from everything I have been reading, they are VERY close to a cure for cancer.I have also read very positive results from "seeding" which is done by targeting the cancer cells with radiation pellets. In fact, I heard of someone who was declared terminal 2 years ago and was completely cured with this
    procedure. Mind you, he had to sell his first born to pay for it but, you see? There is lots of hope!Let us know how it turns out. Fingers crossed.
    w.
  • waywest
    waywest Member Posts: 44
    #12
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    buzz99 said:

    Carotid Artery Rupture
    What a harrowing experience for you both. That is one side effect not on the list we were given but I was aware that this could happen. Roger Ebert, who had parotid cancer, had this rupture happen to him 7 times! Just another something to worry about... Karen

    Roger Ebert
    Hi Karen,I did follow Roger's journey with cancer.Just saw some recent pictures of him. Good lord, he is completely mutilated!What is so wonderful about his story is that he has not allowed it to take over his life and he refused to throw in the towel at every stage of his ordeal. Makes me feel like a quitter.
    W
  • ToBeGolden
    ToBeGolden Member Posts: 695
    #13
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    ToBeGolden said:

    Please Repost Periodically
    What a story. I'm a year post radiation but the tumor may be back. Don't know yet. Glad your husband made it thru the night. This story should be re-posted periodically because of its importance. Thank you.

    Sorry, I mixed in my story.
    I'm sorry I mixed my story in with yours. But I got the "hint" that something might not be right just the afternoon of my post. I will put my story in its own thread, where it belongs. I don't know if my C has returned, and need the results of imaging etc. But my otolaryngologist paints the most positive picture possible, and she would not suggest the " extra" tests unless she suspected something. If the tumor is back, I believe I can beat it once again, with the help of my doctors and caregivers.

    But your husband's story is truly remarkable. And a good lesson for all of us cancer survivors. If I cough up any blood at all, I'll have my wife drive me to the ER. Rick.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #14
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    ToBeGolden said:

    Sorry, I mixed in my story.
    I'm sorry I mixed my story in with yours. But I got the "hint" that something might not be right just the afternoon of my post. I will put my story in its own thread, where it belongs. I don't know if my C has returned, and need the results of imaging etc. But my otolaryngologist paints the most positive picture possible, and she would not suggest the " extra" tests unless she suspected something. If the tumor is back, I believe I can beat it once again, with the help of my doctors and caregivers.

    But your husband's story is truly remarkable. And a good lesson for all of us cancer survivors. If I cough up any blood at all, I'll have my wife drive me to the ER. Rick.

    Hi Rick
    Hope the tumor is not back my friend, remember we all have a little bleeding now and then, just part of our new normal, but too much is what we need to look out for.

    Keeping you in prayer
    Hondo

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