ArtsieSteph's dad's cancer superthread

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ArtsieSteph said:
New update. Daddy woke up this morning after last night not feeling so well. One of the things that the gastro guy was worried about was burping and vomiting, which dad has been having slight burping and lots of nausea. Basically at this point every time he drinks anything, he is immediately full. Like one swig of shake, and boom he is full. We were given the option to give him a cryotherapy shot to his tumor which none of us were sure of, and we're kinda kicking ourselves for not having done so before.

Basically at this point he's having to take like a half hour between swigs of his LIQUID DIET and walk all the time after not having a lot of calories. I'm really worried.
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You mean they can freeze the tumor in his stomach? That's how they got rid of John's cancerous cyst on his kidney. Even if they don't get all of it, they get the bulk of it, emptying his stomach so food and liquid doesn't fill him in one gulp. And, they're still doing the chemo to get what they couldn't. Once the sucker is cryo-ed (frozen) it's dead! Deceased. Never to erupt. A freeze-dried blob. Cryoablation? And just a shot? Whoa, baby! Go for it!!! This is great news!!!
 
I should reiterate some details. The cryotherapy can shrink the tumor, but not kill it. It would be used to help my dad to be able to eat regularly. There a 2% of it perforating his stomach and killing him, and a 50% That it won’t actually do anything.

Option 2 is to put a tube into his system to bypass the stomach and feed him, while he does his chemo. He would have to totally stop working and go to disability at that point.
 
Immediate praise report, dad had ensure instead of the new thicker shake that the doctor had recommended and is starting to feel better. So it could be that it's just too much for his system.
 
Welp he WAS feeling better, now he’s back to feeling like he’s gonna puke more again. He’s scared he’s gonna keel over right here and now which I know isn’t gonna happen but still...
 
Look at it this way: all these symptoms are the cancer's way of saying that it's too weak to stay in daddy's body.. It may protesteth much, but it WILL pass and daddy will feel better.. :) God's in control here, you and Daddy need to remember that.
 
ArtsieSteph said:
I should reiterate some details. The cryotherapy can shrink the tumor, but not kill it. It would be used to help my dad to be able to eat regularly. There a 2% of it perforating his stomach and killing him, and a 50% That it won’t actually do anything.

Option 2 is to put a tube into his system to bypass the stomach and feed him, while he does his chemo. He would have to totally stop working and go to disability at that point.
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It may not kill it all. Truthfully, it only kills what's on the surface, and I doubt stomach cancer is just on the surface. But it does kill/freeze the cancer it gets. So none of those cells can ever wander harmfully away.

2%? Did you know there is a 1% chance of dying from getting your tonsils or gallbladder out? 1% is when doctors consider it "safe." 2% is twice that, so not as safe. But they are talking perforating his stomach? Another word for that is called "perforating ulcer." You're right. It's not good. It's also treatable if they do.

And, if they end up putting a tube into his stomach, they would perforate the stomach too. John had a tube in his stomach. (I still think he liked that better than the tube in his nose.)

50/50 if it works? Given the other choice is not to eat or drink, (and drink is much harder to live with, truthfully. Mouth gets dry, and they get all particular on what goes in the mouth to moisten it again. The two choices are Scope or Listerine. Not a lot of fun either way, and John actually likes the taste of mint), for quite some time, I'd be game for the 50/50. If it doesn't work, there is still the second option. If you go for second option first, the first option isn't a second option by then, right?

I'm not saying to tell him to go for it. This is just how my brain works, as someone who was stuck where you are. It is harder to watch a loved one go through this, than to go through it ourselves. And mostly because we don't want anything hurting them, can't stop it, and don't know how bad it is for him. At least, in first person, we'd know how bad it is. Given our nature, (I share that worry-wart gene you've got going for you, so I get that too lol), we're always going to err on worst-case scenario.

John and I talk out choices. Given it's usually him deciding on the choice, he gets final say. But I consider myself as a sounding board -- a let's look at this from all angles kind of feedback. That way he has all the information before making a decision.

Works doubly well for us, because both of us tend to tune into half the conversation of what doctors say, but it ends up between the two of us, we hear the whole thing. lol
 
ArtsieSteph said:
Welp he WAS feeling better, now he’s back to feeling like he’s gonna puke more again. He’s scared he’s gonna keel over right here and now which I know isn’t gonna happen but still...
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Heads up on something doctors forget about, unless patients know this. There are more than just those two choices. (Two choices -- Ensure, and stuff doctor recommended.) So feel free to ask doctor for yet another choice.

(One of the things John got to drink made him sick. No one put 2 and 2 together for 3 weeks, and didn't bother telling us when they switched him.)
 
Ensure, Boost, they're all the same. Same amount of calories, same % of vitamins and minerals. Between the two, I prefer Boost because the chocolate Boost tastes better than Ensure's chocolate. :)

Oh and a heads up: Boost is really just Carnation Instant Breakfast marketed under another name.. I know this because both of their strawberry flavors used to be pink and taste strawberry-ish, and now both strawberry flavors are whitish colored and taste like vanilla.. blech....

And Carnation is cheaper or just about the same cost as Boost.. you can order it from Walmart.com..
 
The big issue right now is his stomach, where the actual blockage is. Nothing in his esophagus is bad, it's just the stomach. He may have to go to tube feedings through the nose, past the area that is blocked. If it's an issue with his stomach itself not being able to expand correctly, then that is an entirely different and potentially deadly problem
 
So apparently he's getting that tube, and he won't be able to get fed from it for a couple of days because of the quickness that this was ordered. aksdjfasdhkasdjhfksadhf....
 
ArtsieSteph said:
So apparently he's getting that tube, and he won't be able to get fed from it for a couple of days because of the quickness that this was ordered. aksdjfasdhkasdjhfksadhf....
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Any chances he's a veteran from a time of war? I ask, because if he is, he can probably go to the VA Hospital, and then can give him feed.

And even if he isn't, can they put him on an IV to get him vitamins and minerals, along with a bit of protein, and liquids?
 
Nope daddy isn’t a vet. We’re going to the center now to get Dad to put his tube in, as well as do a cryo treatment
 
Today is hard. Dad is very dejected right now, he’s kinda not willing to do anything he doesn’t wanna do today understandably. I am now legit sick, the side of my throat is totally swollen and mom offered to stay home but Dad said no. She has hardly any sick time so I understand but I’m legitimately upset because when I said that he couldn’t afford to get sick right now he said he didn’t care. I care. I care about me. I care about him.
 
ArtsieSteph said:
Today is hard. Dad is very dejected right now, he’s kinda not willing to do anything he doesn’t wanna do today understandably. I am now legit sick, the side of my throat is totally swollen and mom offered to stay home but Dad said no. She has hardly any sick time so I understand but I’m legitimately upset because when I said that he couldn’t afford to get sick right now he said he didn’t care. I care. I care about me. I care about him.
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What needs doing for him? I'm thinking sometimes John needed me to get him something to eat, something to drink, get the tub ready so he could bathe, and be quiet when he was sleeping. What does he need that you can't provide while sick?
 
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What needs doing for him? I'm thinking sometimes John needed me to get him something to eat, something to drink, get the tub ready so he could bathe, and be quiet when he was sleeping. What does he need that you can't provide while sick?
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You're like me in that we really can't call in sick if our spouse needs us. That's the same for mothers and fathers also. A few months ago I was visiting my daughter. She has a husband and 5 children, including twins that were born on Feb 1. I got tired just watching all the things that she does. I told her that maybe she should give her 2 week notice to her family that she was going to resign as wife and mother. She thought about for a few seconds, shook her head and then had a good laugh.
 
I think part of it was also having the medicine of the procedure in his system. Slowly and awkwardly my mom and I are working together to get his pump going. For some reason I made it a big deal and yet now I'm like "It's just another step to keep him going."
 
John not eating was never a big deal to him. (He slept through the first sixe weeks, and the hunger and want of food only takes 3-5 days, so no big deal when he woke up.) It was, very much, a big deal to me though. He likes eating, and I think they waited way to long to take it out.

It's okay if it's not a big deal with your Dad, (although if he's bummed, it is a bigger deal than he cares to admit.) If its a big deal to you, let it be a big deal. Just don't let him know how big a deal it is to you. (Don't want to bum him more.) If we squelch our feelings, they tend to come out sideways unexpectedly. Acknowledge them, but then keep moving forward.

How is your gland doing now?
 
Well it had gone down, but now towards the back of my throat is starting to swell on both sides. My throat hurts like a monster and it hurts just sitting here. I’m gonna have to make a doctors appointment.

Dad wise we’re getting used to things but they’re still an annoyance as far as the tube unclicking and pouring on Dad. I had a major panic attack yesterday for some reason when he coughed and some water came out the tube. I think it was like I saw anything come out so I just had a really weird visceral reaction.

Anyhow. Today is going good.
 
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