My mother have Stage-4 Colo-rectal cancer. Do you hold any counsel please..?
Hi, I am 19 years old and am so confused about how to help my mom. She is 54 years antediluvian and was diagnosed with stage 4 colo-rectal cancer about 9 months ago. She undergo chemotherapy with xeloda and had radiation on the spot where the tumor is, she didn't catch very sick or tired while taking the chemo medicine, so the doctor thinks that she wasn't responding to it especially well.. After that we were advised that surgery be the best option.. The tumor was about 9 cm above her rectum and they removed that and give her a ileostomy. The surgery went wrong and she almost ended up dying... The nurse basically told me she would. She be placed in the icu because she was bleeding for about 10 hours and they couldn't stop it. They have to stop the second surgery because of that.
if you have any expertise or advice on how to help her Pleaassee post it.
I read that vitamin c helps, so i am going to buy a bottle of capsule for her tomrw.
Answers: I am sure that you have researched stage 4 colo-rectal cancer on the web and take that her long term prognosis is poor. That is a difficult thing for your family to facade and I wish you all the best.
mother may benefit from a different type of chemotherapy, if the first drugs were not slowing the cancer's growth. Chemo can impede the mortgage of cancer and sometimes put it into remission. Every patient responds differently, so it is important not to set your expectations too high.
Maintaining a okay quality of life for your mom is also a priority. The potential benefits of further chemo must be weighed against any refusal physical reaction and its associated risks.
onal Cancer Institute defines the stages this way.
Doctors describe colorectal cancer by the following stages:
Stage 0: The cancer is found solitary in the innermost lining of the colon or rectum. Carcinoma in situ is another nickname for Stage 0 colorectal cancer.
*
*
Stage II: The tumor extends more deeply into or through the wall of the colon or rectum. It may enjoy invaded nearby tissue, but cancer cells have not spread to the lymph nodes.
*
Stage III: The cancer have spread to nearby lymph nodes, but not to other parts of the body.
*
Stage IV: The cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver or lungs.
Recurrence: This is cancer that has be treated and has returned after a period of time when the cancer could not be detected. The disease may return in the colon or rectum, or surrounded by another part of the body.
You and your mother need to have a homily with her oncologists and clear up any misunderstanding or confusion. She needs to make it plain that the doctor can speak freely next to you. Sign a release if necessary.
might want to look into a clinical trial.
Below is a link for you. Click on "Find a Clinical Trial" and follow the instructions.
If a clinical trial is not an option you might want to contact Hospice, and the Look Good Feel Better program. This wonderful group provides invaluable assistance near personal care.
d as much time as you can with your mom. It won't be easy at times but within the end you'll be glad you did. Source(s): http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials.
http://www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org/.
The posters above me have adjectives given you excellent advice. I can tell you from a nursing point of view is that the doctor might be awkward to tell you anything because your mom hasn't signed a release of information form allowing you to get information about her condition. There are fundamentally strict rules about who is allowed to receive information on a patient. Ask the nursing staff for a release of information form for your mother to sign. If she's strong enough, adjectives she needs to do is make an 'X' and that is considered a signature. Make sure the nurse is surrounded by the room as a witness.
I suspect you know the answer to your question, your mom is in the final stages of cancer. They probably have trouble keeping the bleeding under control due to a low platelet count. Platelets helps form clots to stop bleeding. A low platelet count will prolong bleeding. She probably still feels watery from all of the blood loss from the surgery. It doesn't sound like she be very healthy to begin beside.
What can you do to help her? Besides all of the good information above, spend as much time as you can next to her. Tell your mom how much you love her and that it's okay to let go. Bring the newspaper or a book near you and read to her. Watch a favorite television show together.
and your father may want to get your mother's affairs in lay down. Does she have a will or a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care? This is the time to get that type of paperwork out. Make sure all of her bills are remunerated. If your father handles the bills, offer to help him if needed.
Suggest to the physician that you want a consult near Hospice. Hospice helps the patient and family beside issues of death and dying. They will make your mom more comfortable with aching medication and nausea medication. Hospice also helps the family deal near their grief and sadness.
I'm not in competition with the experts here who've already responded to your Q. Lord know they know years more than i do. I just want to say a small thing or two, from an outsider's point of judgment, and a layman:
Know that you can ALWAYS seek a second (and third) opinion, if you feel there's something more that can be done, or your mother isn't one treated fairly, or you don't trust the doctor. Second opinions can be sought for symptom-relief advice as capably as treatment of the underlying disease.
your mother how helpless you feel, so that she can offer you the condolences and consolation you really do require. Share your thoughts and feelings near her, to the extent you're not overwhelming her. She'll be gone one day, and whether that day is soon or 20 years from now, the "release" emotionally that she can minister to you get will be that much less of a burden for you to carry, both very soon AND at her passing.
Vitamin D is the "new" vitamin C - not literally-speaking, of course, but scientists are finding that it boosts the immune system substantially, to the extent that it can prevent severe illness surrounded by Flu sufferers, etc. They say it makes the immune system "smarter", and more capable of doing what it requirements to do. Consider a supplemental form of it for your mother, but NOT without talking to her doctor first(!) It will not cure her disease, but may help her immune system save the cancer at bay..
Ask (your mother, your father, those in charge of her health) if you can be chunk of/be privy to the complete circumstances surrounding her health, and the decisions regarding it. This will bestow you a deep understanding as well as eliminate/prevent some of the hopelessness you're feeling..
Are you religious/spiritual? Do you pray? Have you asked the church(es), community, friends and relatives to pray? Have you considered visiting known spiritual salutary sites? The power of prayer can be a wonderful thing, and miracles have been set to happen... Further, it can be good for yourself, your own mental/emotional health, as very well as your mother's physical health. It certainly can't hurt to try!
hen your mother suffers from new symptoms, spawn sure the doctor is aware of it. It could be a sign of something else, a complication, or simply something she's yet to share with the doc, who may then, upon study of the symptom, opt to treat it or change his treatment course for her. Tell the doctor of this vomiting. Call the office. Make sure you tell a nurse that you're requesting an anti-emetic for her. Call them stern, if they don't call you back within a sound amount of time. Call early. If they don't call back by the run out of the day, cal them again first-thing in the morning the next sunshine. keep reminding them...
Consider joining a support group for teens of cancerous parents, or cancer-victim's caregivers, etc. This could be a very real and formidable passionate outlet and source of advice for you. Look online, ask the doctor's office if they know of any, browse local papers, ask the library.
I hope i helped a little bit with my little warning, and i do hope you find the inner peace to deal with all this. It is truly massively sad, and i'm sorry that you must endure it. Please know that you'll be in my thoughts, and that i will speak a prayer for you and your dear mother (even if you don't believe in it:-)) Take care of yourself as much as possible, and may God carry you and your mother within the palm of His hand...
It is possible the doctor isn’t telling you everything because your mom doesn’t want them to. I am very sorry, but you are right almost her not getting better. Stage 4 colon cancer is not curable. The treatment she is receiving is to slow the cancer down to bequeath her as much time as possible. When the doctor said she was not responding well he was referring to the chemo’s affect on the cancer not if it made her sick or not and patently this is not good. Having two surgeries as you describe is an unusual course for this kind of cancer, but I’m sure the doctors have their reason. It is very likely from here on they will concentrate on relieving her symptoms as much as possible. If this is the case someone should speak to her oncologist nearly a referral to hospice. I am so sorry. Source(s): I am a cancer registrar.
If she is doing chemo or radiation, then check near her doctor before taking vitamins, etc. which could interfere with treatments. Even vitamin C...
You could try google searching "Dr. Max Gerson" or "Gerson Therapy". It is mostly organic vegetable and fruit juices from a juicer. Also coffee enemas (but I don't believe contained by that part). I don't see how fresh fruit and vegetable juices could hurt though. If she is left side paralyzed, then her gone side of her throat could be paralyzed and it might be impossible for her to swallow correctly without thickened liquids or short pureed foods or without a G-tube (tube feeding). If you feed someone who is paralyzed on half of the throat, they could wind up up with food or liquids in their lungs, governing to pneumonia...So that might be a problem with juicing...check with her doctor first. She should have a barium swallow testing if you suspect that she is choking on food or liquids or not swallowing properly.
Also she could try experimental treatments. Go to http://www.clinicaltrials.gov and type in "colon cancer" or "colo-rectal cancer" or "rectal cancer" , then hit the map tab to find local trials.
she could look into the Cancer Treatment Centers of America which use a combination of traditional and alternative therapy.
If she only has a short time to live (less that 6 months), afterwards hospice can be called in to help her and support her relatives. Ask the doctor if that is so...
Her oncologist may be considering other chemotherapy regimens hoping to buy some time. Be sure you let the oncologist know if you are giving your mother vitamin C or any other homeopathic remedies.
This is not a situation that can be cured. Ignore people who vote there are hidden cancer cures out there. President Bush's young-looking press secretary Tony Snow died of this disease in the past year. Famous people, well-heeled people, doctors, and drug company executives die of cancers like this too. If near were a magical cure, these people would get it. Source(s): MD medical oncologist - cancer specialist physician
First of all I am so sorry for you and your Mom.
ring along a list of question to ask.( People always forget to ask a question until the Dr. leaves.)
a. Another medicine for her nausea. (Why does she throw up?)
b. Can she enjoy physical therapy -- to improve her strength - so she
might be able to sit up by herself?
utmoded nursing saying LOOK GOOD -- FEEL BETTER !! This will not help her cancer but it might help her have a feeling better mentally.
4. Ask the Dr. what he could suggest to improve the quality of your Mom's life.
Having hope is glowing. Tell your Mom you love her at each visit.
Good Luck and may God Bless You Both!
Related Questions:
if you have any expertise or advice on how to help her Pleaassee post it.
I read that vitamin c helps, so i am going to buy a bottle of capsule for her tomrw.
Answers: I am sure that you have researched stage 4 colo-rectal cancer on the web and take that her long term prognosis is poor. That is a difficult thing for your family to facade and I wish you all the best.
mother may benefit from a different type of chemotherapy, if the first drugs were not slowing the cancer's growth. Chemo can impede the mortgage of cancer and sometimes put it into remission. Every patient responds differently, so it is important not to set your expectations too high.
Maintaining a okay quality of life for your mom is also a priority. The potential benefits of further chemo must be weighed against any refusal physical reaction and its associated risks.
onal Cancer Institute defines the stages this way.
Doctors describe colorectal cancer by the following stages:
Stage 0: The cancer is found solitary in the innermost lining of the colon or rectum. Carcinoma in situ is another nickname for Stage 0 colorectal cancer.
*
*
Stage II: The tumor extends more deeply into or through the wall of the colon or rectum. It may enjoy invaded nearby tissue, but cancer cells have not spread to the lymph nodes.
*
Stage III: The cancer have spread to nearby lymph nodes, but not to other parts of the body.
*
Stage IV: The cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver or lungs.
Recurrence: This is cancer that has be treated and has returned after a period of time when the cancer could not be detected. The disease may return in the colon or rectum, or surrounded by another part of the body.
You and your mother need to have a homily with her oncologists and clear up any misunderstanding or confusion. She needs to make it plain that the doctor can speak freely next to you. Sign a release if necessary.
might want to look into a clinical trial.
Below is a link for you. Click on "Find a Clinical Trial" and follow the instructions.
If a clinical trial is not an option you might want to contact Hospice, and the Look Good Feel Better program. This wonderful group provides invaluable assistance near personal care.
d as much time as you can with your mom. It won't be easy at times but within the end you'll be glad you did. Source(s): http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials.
http://www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org/.
The posters above me have adjectives given you excellent advice. I can tell you from a nursing point of view is that the doctor might be awkward to tell you anything because your mom hasn't signed a release of information form allowing you to get information about her condition. There are fundamentally strict rules about who is allowed to receive information on a patient. Ask the nursing staff for a release of information form for your mother to sign. If she's strong enough, adjectives she needs to do is make an 'X' and that is considered a signature. Make sure the nurse is surrounded by the room as a witness.
I suspect you know the answer to your question, your mom is in the final stages of cancer. They probably have trouble keeping the bleeding under control due to a low platelet count. Platelets helps form clots to stop bleeding. A low platelet count will prolong bleeding. She probably still feels watery from all of the blood loss from the surgery. It doesn't sound like she be very healthy to begin beside.
What can you do to help her? Besides all of the good information above, spend as much time as you can next to her. Tell your mom how much you love her and that it's okay to let go. Bring the newspaper or a book near you and read to her. Watch a favorite television show together.
and your father may want to get your mother's affairs in lay down. Does she have a will or a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care? This is the time to get that type of paperwork out. Make sure all of her bills are remunerated. If your father handles the bills, offer to help him if needed.
Suggest to the physician that you want a consult near Hospice. Hospice helps the patient and family beside issues of death and dying. They will make your mom more comfortable with aching medication and nausea medication. Hospice also helps the family deal near their grief and sadness.
I'm not in competition with the experts here who've already responded to your Q. Lord know they know years more than i do. I just want to say a small thing or two, from an outsider's point of judgment, and a layman:
Know that you can ALWAYS seek a second (and third) opinion, if you feel there's something more that can be done, or your mother isn't one treated fairly, or you don't trust the doctor. Second opinions can be sought for symptom-relief advice as capably as treatment of the underlying disease.
your mother how helpless you feel, so that she can offer you the condolences and consolation you really do require. Share your thoughts and feelings near her, to the extent you're not overwhelming her. She'll be gone one day, and whether that day is soon or 20 years from now, the "release" emotionally that she can minister to you get will be that much less of a burden for you to carry, both very soon AND at her passing.
Vitamin D is the "new" vitamin C - not literally-speaking, of course, but scientists are finding that it boosts the immune system substantially, to the extent that it can prevent severe illness surrounded by Flu sufferers, etc. They say it makes the immune system "smarter", and more capable of doing what it requirements to do. Consider a supplemental form of it for your mother, but NOT without talking to her doctor first(!) It will not cure her disease, but may help her immune system save the cancer at bay..
Ask (your mother, your father, those in charge of her health) if you can be chunk of/be privy to the complete circumstances surrounding her health, and the decisions regarding it. This will bestow you a deep understanding as well as eliminate/prevent some of the hopelessness you're feeling..
Are you religious/spiritual? Do you pray? Have you asked the church(es), community, friends and relatives to pray? Have you considered visiting known spiritual salutary sites? The power of prayer can be a wonderful thing, and miracles have been set to happen... Further, it can be good for yourself, your own mental/emotional health, as very well as your mother's physical health. It certainly can't hurt to try!
hen your mother suffers from new symptoms, spawn sure the doctor is aware of it. It could be a sign of something else, a complication, or simply something she's yet to share with the doc, who may then, upon study of the symptom, opt to treat it or change his treatment course for her. Tell the doctor of this vomiting. Call the office. Make sure you tell a nurse that you're requesting an anti-emetic for her. Call them stern, if they don't call you back within a sound amount of time. Call early. If they don't call back by the run out of the day, cal them again first-thing in the morning the next sunshine. keep reminding them...
Consider joining a support group for teens of cancerous parents, or cancer-victim's caregivers, etc. This could be a very real and formidable passionate outlet and source of advice for you. Look online, ask the doctor's office if they know of any, browse local papers, ask the library.
I hope i helped a little bit with my little warning, and i do hope you find the inner peace to deal with all this. It is truly massively sad, and i'm sorry that you must endure it. Please know that you'll be in my thoughts, and that i will speak a prayer for you and your dear mother (even if you don't believe in it:-)) Take care of yourself as much as possible, and may God carry you and your mother within the palm of His hand...
It is possible the doctor isn’t telling you everything because your mom doesn’t want them to. I am very sorry, but you are right almost her not getting better. Stage 4 colon cancer is not curable. The treatment she is receiving is to slow the cancer down to bequeath her as much time as possible. When the doctor said she was not responding well he was referring to the chemo’s affect on the cancer not if it made her sick or not and patently this is not good. Having two surgeries as you describe is an unusual course for this kind of cancer, but I’m sure the doctors have their reason. It is very likely from here on they will concentrate on relieving her symptoms as much as possible. If this is the case someone should speak to her oncologist nearly a referral to hospice. I am so sorry. Source(s): I am a cancer registrar.
If she is doing chemo or radiation, then check near her doctor before taking vitamins, etc. which could interfere with treatments. Even vitamin C...
You could try google searching "Dr. Max Gerson" or "Gerson Therapy". It is mostly organic vegetable and fruit juices from a juicer. Also coffee enemas (but I don't believe contained by that part). I don't see how fresh fruit and vegetable juices could hurt though. If she is left side paralyzed, then her gone side of her throat could be paralyzed and it might be impossible for her to swallow correctly without thickened liquids or short pureed foods or without a G-tube (tube feeding). If you feed someone who is paralyzed on half of the throat, they could wind up up with food or liquids in their lungs, governing to pneumonia...So that might be a problem with juicing...check with her doctor first. She should have a barium swallow testing if you suspect that she is choking on food or liquids or not swallowing properly.
Also she could try experimental treatments. Go to http://www.clinicaltrials.gov and type in "colon cancer" or "colo-rectal cancer" or "rectal cancer" , then hit the map tab to find local trials.
she could look into the Cancer Treatment Centers of America which use a combination of traditional and alternative therapy.
If she only has a short time to live (less that 6 months), afterwards hospice can be called in to help her and support her relatives. Ask the doctor if that is so...
Her oncologist may be considering other chemotherapy regimens hoping to buy some time. Be sure you let the oncologist know if you are giving your mother vitamin C or any other homeopathic remedies.
This is not a situation that can be cured. Ignore people who vote there are hidden cancer cures out there. President Bush's young-looking press secretary Tony Snow died of this disease in the past year. Famous people, well-heeled people, doctors, and drug company executives die of cancers like this too. If near were a magical cure, these people would get it. Source(s): MD medical oncologist - cancer specialist physician
First of all I am so sorry for you and your Mom.
ring along a list of question to ask.( People always forget to ask a question until the Dr. leaves.)
a. Another medicine for her nausea. (Why does she throw up?)
b. Can she enjoy physical therapy -- to improve her strength - so she
might be able to sit up by herself?
utmoded nursing saying LOOK GOOD -- FEEL BETTER !! This will not help her cancer but it might help her have a feeling better mentally.
4. Ask the Dr. what he could suggest to improve the quality of your Mom's life.
Having hope is glowing. Tell your Mom you love her at each visit.
Good Luck and may God Bless You Both!
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