Hi everyone,

My husband had his 8th and last chemo treatment today and will have his last rad treatment on Monday. I thought I'd feel happier about finishing chemo today, but not really. I guess it's because we have this waiting now to see if it worked and realizing that the rest of our lives will be going from follow-up to follow-up. I'm not sure about his feelings, but we'll talk about that next week when he finishes up.
Clint tolerated the treatments quite well and only the last week experienced mild nausea, but he increase his eating a bit and that seemed to help.
He did not have much pain at all, minor skin problems from the radiation, and the expected dry mouth and loss of taste, but only minimal thick saliva so far. I asked him today what he thought overall and he said it wasn't as bad as he was expecting.
He was able to drive himself to all of his appointments. Last night he even baked a couple pumpkin pies to take in to the therapy staff. I urge him to rest, but he feels like doing things.
Once he sits, he does fall asleep pretty quickly, so I know he is tired.
This forum has been a great help and provided an enormous amount of support for me.
I have a new hurdle now...my mother is having a PET Scan tomorrow (Saturday) I just found out yesterday. She recently had a chest x-ray that showed a lung mass. She is 5 yrs out of a breast cancer diagnosis. All of my family is on the mainland and I hope they can help her through this. I don't feel like I can leave my husband at this time to go care for her. They waited to tell me this until Clint was finished with his treatments, and were even hesitant to tell me at all with all I have on my plate now. I think with all I have learned going through this with my husband that it will give me strenghth to get through this and also help my family to deal with it as well. I just wish I had more time to get through this post therapy issues before having something else like this to deal with.
Vicki

Hi Vicki,
remember it will be several more weeks before things start to turn around. Often the most difficult time in in the immediate post Tx. The immune system is trashed and thrush can become an issue, infections, fatigue, etc. It's amazing that he was able to drive to all of his appointments. I was too heavily medicated and fatigued to even think about that. The general rule is one month of recovery for each week of radiation.

I'm sorry to hear about your mother. You do have a lot on your plate.

Vicki, Hi! What a great milestone it is to finish treatment. Monday will be a good day for both of you, I'm sure. Yes, we do have to deal with the scans and wondering what is around the next corner, but we can't let it ruin the life that we do have now. I am in such awe of all the caregivers, how you do it is beyond me. It takes strength for us to go thru the treatment, but it takes so much strength for you and others to have to watch us go thru it. I'm praying that all goes well with Clint and your Mom. Take care of yourself. Linda

Vicki - Altho' you do have a lot going on, there are some great positives, too. You husband seems to have done so well with the treatment - better than most - and is soon to be finished with the rad tx. The most difficult time for my son were the three weeks post Rad tx but things got so much better after that. I'm sure your husbands great attitude will be a plus for both of you in the weeks ahead. You have such a compassionate and caring family - I'm sure they are a big help to your Mom just as you are to your husband. I do hope everything goes well for her. Just hang in there - there are lots of twists and turns in this cancer journey. Just when you get used to one phase, there is a new one that pops up and a "new normal" to get used to. All you can do is just take things one step at a time and you will get thru this. Remember to have some time and compassion for yourself, too.

Hi Vickie, well, that was a "good news-bad news" post. I'm really glad to hear about Clint's progress to date, and really sorry to hear about your Mom's potential problem. Hopefully the news will be better for her than you are anticipating.
I know you feel very torn right now.I am wishing your family better days going forward. Amy in the Ozarks.

Aloha Vickie !!

Glad to hear the good news. I know it seems like it takes forever. Now your husband starts the road back to recovery. Don't be surprised if he sleeps alot. That will be very normal. His body needs to rebuild.

Make sure he gets lots of liquids, and nutrition. Like Gary said keep eye out for infection. Also later have them Check Thyroid. Most of us loose thyroid function.

I am sorry to hear of MOM. I pray it is something that can be worked with.

I had dear friends in Hawaii. They were god parents to my son. Last Name was UTA,(have passed) They had 7 Children. Some are on the Big Island. Some are on Oahu.

Take care, and Big Aloha hug too.
Diane