#1626 08-22-2003 12:21 PM | Joined: Jul 2003 Posts: 235 Gold Member (200+ posts) | OP Gold Member (200+ posts) Joined: Jul 2003 Posts: 235 | Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well. We (my Mom) just finished our third cycle of twice daily radiation therapy, leaving her with two more cycles to go! I was afraid to continue with the third cycle though considering her week off: hospitalized with dehydration, malnutrition, pneumonia, erratic heart beat, trouble breathing, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, fever, skin breakdown, halucinations, loss of continence, severe mucositis and surgery for the PEG. Fortunately things turned around and we were able to weather a very ugly storm. With the exception of having a "very angry mouth" (her doctor's words), we proceeded, using very effective pain management narcotics, and knocked out the third week. It feels good to get that under our belts. The CT scan doesn't show the tumor anymore, but the last physical exam still indicated a small mass, so I'm not exactly comfortable relying solely on a CT scan. We'll see what next week's exam shows. In any event, I look forward to having a more comfortable week off, as the last one was down right nasty. At the moment Mom is feeling great and just waiting out the final hours of her 5FU drip so that we can bring her home for a week of rest. Have a great weekend everyone. You're in my thoughts and prayers. D
Mom's caregvr. DDS failed to dx 01/03. Dx Stg IV SCC 05/03. Induct. chemo, IMRT, 5FU, H, Iressa, Neck disect, radiation. Dad's caregvr. Dx 01/04 Ext. Stg SCLC. Mets to liver/bone 08/04. Died 11/12/04. Mom tongue CA dx 06/13, hemiglossectomy (80% removed) 08/13. Clean margins and nodes, but PNI. 6/15/15: Tongue CA at base of remnant tongue. Declined further tx; hospice. Died 10/13/15. What a long and difficult journey.
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#1627 08-22-2003 03:30 PM | Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,552 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,552 | Hi D, Yup, I had all that stuff too -except the pneumonia but had thrush numerous times (and you can substitute "incontinence" with "constipation") and I only had to hospitalized breifly for rehydration a couple of times. What you are describing is "standard treatment misery". Thank goodness it passes. I also had the doctors tell me that my throat was "very red" and that they are "not happy yet" with an area that has been slow to heal in the tonsil connective tissue. But they have said that it doesn't feel like a tumor and is probably scar tissue. It does show up on the MRI.
The word "mass" is a creepy word but the primary medical definition is "A quantity of material, such as cells, that adhere or unite to each other" and nowhere is mass mentioned in the definition with malignancy. Scar tissue readily jumps into this category.
If you have 2 more radiation cycles to go go, you are not out of the woods yet. What you describe though sounds very encouraging. I am really glad that your mom is getting better and moving beyond this.
Gary Allsebrook *********************************** Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2 Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy) ________________________________________________________ "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)
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