| Joined: Jan 2011 Posts: 123 Senior Member (100+ posts) | OP Senior Member (100+ posts) Joined: Jan 2011 Posts: 123 | I am not sure if I should post this here or under the Caregiver section. Do any of you have suggestions on ways to keep track of medications and what was taken when? On a good day Ken couldn't keep things straight even before treatment. I feel like he thinks I don't trust him but I think he is even more confused now and has a hard time keeping track of things. We are trying a check list today where I am putting lines for how many doses and he is writing in the times but he is already having problems doing that. Any input would be helpful!
Jill..CG to Ken, age 43,mom of 1yr old girl. DIAG:12/9/10 SCC BOT T4N0M0 HPV+ START:1/3/11 IMRT dailyX35 and 7 chemo END:2/23/11 PEG IN:1/15/11 Out:4/26/11 CT/MRI 4/25/11-marked improvement CT 6/11 new spots BX 6/23-cancer present Total Glossectomy sched 7/20/11 7/19/11 Ken's suffering ended
| | | | Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 939 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) | "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 939 | Jill,
Are you working and not able to be there??
I assume that is the case but I totally understand the tracking thing. I was lucky to be able to be home and I charted everything..meds, supplement, fluids..everything. It was too hard to keep track without writing it down. Bill would not have been able to do it..he was just too sick and confused at times. I also placed a small bottle of Gatorade Rain by his chair to make sure he was swallowing that much every day.
Someone needs to oversight the meds especially if he is on narcotics. Is there someone that can come to the house each day to do that? All this is so important and its only a few weeks so hang in there...this too shall pass.
Deb
Deb..caregiver to husband, age 63 at diagnosis, former smoker who quit in 1997. DIAGNOSIS: 6/26/07 SCC right tonsil/BOT T4N0M0 TREATMENT START: 8/9/07 cisplatin/taxol X 7..IMRT twice daily X 31.5. TREATMENT END: 10/1/07 PEG OUT: 1/08 PORT OUT: 4/09 FOLLOWUP: Now only annual exams. ALL CLEAR!
Passed away 1/7/17 RIP Bill
| | | | Joined: Oct 2010 Posts: 50 Supporting Member (50+ posts) | Supporting Member (50+ posts) Joined: Oct 2010 Posts: 50 | Jill,
I will let you in on what I do with Bob. We do not have young children, so I put the pill or the liquid(the exact amount) out and write the times he is to take it down. He has my number,if he needs anything in between he can call. It works well, if it bothers him he hasn't said. If you do have young children and like this idea. If you have a master bathroom, maybe you could put it out in there and keep the door locked at all times. I hope this helps
Deb
Deb
Deb taking care of Bob, left retromolar tirgone&alveolar ridge SCC stage IV pT4anomx 11/3/10 partial mandiblctmy,trech,chest flap 11/9/10 Trech out, PEG in 1/19/11- 3/9/11 Cisplatin x3, IMRT x33 | | | | Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 99 Supporting Member (50+ posts) | Supporting Member (50+ posts) Joined: Dec 2010 Posts: 99 | We also found out quickly we needed a spread sheet which Emmett designed with the hours across the top and meds, meals, fluids, mouth care, exercises to be done daily down the side. Blacked out the boxes if no meds, etc. needed to be taken for an hour listed. He then wrote an X in the box when he took/did it. It was a mess before we came up with this plan - he printed a new sheet for each day. Was a good record for us to review how he was doing as the days start to run together in treatment. Plus it took the burdon off me to ask how he was doing.
CG 2 Emmett,7/09 DX SCC rt tongue. T2N1M0, 1 node, marg neg.4/10 PET/CT clear, 9/10 C back. 10/10 Rad hemi, 2 tmrs mod diff. resec flr of mth. Flap 4 nodes/w/ext cap. 11/10 Peg, CX3 HD, 30 rad. 1/31 & 3/21 6/11/11 - PET/CT "activity" 9/11-all Clear. 12/11 peg out. 2/15 still all clear! 9/14 Prostate cancer treated with pencil beam proton therapy, best radiation experience. Keep it in mind as a treatment option for all tumors that can be seen including head and neck.
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