My Mom

[aussie]

Originally Posted by spareparts

my mother is 78 and has been going thru treatment since the spring of 09. She went thru a hysterectomy, radiation, chemo and was given a similar prognosis. She was initially deeply depressed, she still is a bit at times, but shes come to adjust to it and accept it as part of her life. She used my daughter as inspiration to get thru the tough times of chemo. My daughter told her is she could handle it, then grandma could. My mother has surpassed the expectations of the doctors.
It's a tough situation, it seems my family has been in it in one way or another for the past 10 years. We looked at it initially as why have we been singled out, it didn't take us long to figure out we're not singled out, cancer is all around us every where, people are living and fighting it every day, everywhere you go. We are now involved with three different organizations that deal with cancer in children. We've meet and lost some good friends, its when we are surrounded with others that we realize that we haven't been singled out. My family has been strengthened by the people we've met thru it all. My mother now looks forward to the time at chemo so she can talk to the other patients there, shes met a lot of new friends, young and old, its a common bond thru them all. Her water aerobics class(part of her rehabilitation process) is the highlight of her week. I'm not going to patronize anyone by saying "its going to get better" and all the other cliche's that we hear. And as hard as it sounds, it is part of life, just one more challenge that we have to endure. When my wife went thru treatment and operations, she told me she was looking at it (much to my dismay) as the boob reduction she always wanted. One day when she was pumping gas, a women(complete stranger) noticed my wife( no hair from chemo) and walked up to her, she told my wife it was ok, this women was also survivor. My wife had been in the dumps that day, but those words from a complete stranger lifted her spirits. Our friend erik went thru gamma knife treatment yesterday, he's taking today off, but he's going back to school tomorrow. He's had the maximum amount of radiation allowed for his life, he's still taking chemo each day and will for a while. He's determined to graduate high school and get accepted to college, at 17 years old he's been given a 30% chance of making it to his next birthday, this will be his forth time fighting cancer at his young age. He accepts it as another challenge of his life, he's determined to live and not let it run his life.
Best wishes to you and your mother, our family will keep you both in our prayers. Tell your mother to keep her head up, its just another day and another challenge of life, we all go thru it each and everyday.

well said spares im lost for words

[macojoe]

Mom had chemo on wed, she did good wed, but had some sickness the past few day's, also been sleeping a ton!
We had another uncle down from NY yesterday and she was up some to visit with him but it was a chore for her. He came in the morning and went home in the afternoon. Her sister wants to come down for a few days, but my mom says it going to be to much for her and she feels bad,I said just do what you can and she will understand, and I go there (30 min ride) every day any way so between me and brothers we will keep her busy!

[spareparts]

keep her hydrated and let her sleep, chemo will get you down. You will have to set some rules with visitors, keep kids visit short, anyone with any kind of sickness needs to stay away, allow visits for a little amount of time each day, she needs her rest

[Monkey Butler]

Wow, my first visit in quite some time and I hear this.

MJ, I am very sorry for your Mom's illness and will pray for her well being and strength for you to support her through whatever happens.

Like someone else said, I don't do a good job of expressing my feeling about things like tis, so I'll leave it at that.

[macojoe]

Thanks all!!

She had her chemo but since then she has been tired and not moving around much.
She is going to Doc tomorrow to have a port put in her chest for the chemo, so they don't have to use her arm anymore.
Biggest thing right now is tiring to get her some food in her, she has lost some 20 pounds in the last month, just can't seem to get anything to stay in? This is making her pretty weak, will be speaking to doc about it tomorrow.

[Road King Cole]

Here's where medical marijuana would be good. Not only does it lift your spirits, but gives you the munchies. I had a friend go through chemo and the doc recommended it. I am guessing your Mom wouldn't be "groovy to that scene."

anyhow, still wishing you and your Mom the best.

rkc

[spareparts]

the doctor can give her a prescription of the chemical(can't remember the name of it) that give you the munchies, don't worry, it doesn't do anything else, just makes you hungry. We had it for Kendall when she was going thur chemo, thought she was going to eat us out of our house and home. My mother drinks warm jello, its loaded with carbs. The military survival courses recomends it for use when you need high energy and caloric intake. Its easy on the stomach as well. They have been giving my mother a shot two days after chemo, its helps her get back on her feet after chemo, don't know whats its called, but it really helps, most hospitals won't use it unless you have real good insurance, I understand its $10,000 per shot, yeah you read that right, $10,000.00. If she starts taking oral chemo, be carefull with teh pills, they are $1200 per pill

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by Road King Cole

Here's where medical marijuana would be good. Not only does it lift your spirits, but gives you the munchies. I had a friend go through chemo and the doc recommended it. I am guessing your Mom wouldn't be "groovy to that scene."

anyhow, still wishing you and your Mom the best.

rkc

We gave that to my mom-in-law (76) to help her through her final days. Wasn't "medical" brand, but it certainly helped. I really think it prolonged her life by several months, and she certainly felt better and was eating better due to it.