HI Folks' Chris did her first chemo session this last Wednesday and came home with a pump that stayed with her until yesterday  (Friday). She had been in dread of what the side effects would be.   Her joke about her pump is " Say hello to my little friend and points it like a gun.   So far all I have noticed is her susceptibility to cold, something we had been warned about.   We were unpacking groceries and Chris picked up a leek (we love leek and potato soup) and dropped  it with a howl.She said it was like  half electric shock and half having her fingers stuck to dry ice. The leek had only been stored in the Woolies cool cabinet , not the freezer.   We have to wash her clothes and eating utensils separately due to the cytotoxic possibilities of the chemo chemicals. Until one of the Oncology nurses explained it,I was unaware they chemo drugs in Chris bodily fluids could cancer to carers. We are just taking it day by day for the moment.   Kindest regards to all   Grahame51 ... View more

Hi Folks, Chris sees Oncology at the base hospital today which is basically an information and instruction session pre actual hemo stage. Next week she starts chemo proper and is to be fitted with a ( pick line?). Anyway that's what is sounds like to this part deaf old bugger. Something like a glorified semi permanent canula, just a means to deliver the chemo to her body.   The Oncology people are saying the first and second sessions will be the ones that tell. If Chris gets through these initial sessions without too much reaction it will only get better from then on, I understand. Her regimen is every fortnight for six months.   Also we have had contact with the MY Aged Care people. Previously I saw that being for old people but reality is being slated home to me,. I am now, old people.   In truth, I really dislike being dependent on anyone and that is the most difficult part for me.   Cheers Grahame       ... View more

We will  have been home 2 weeks next Wednesday. Being comfortable in her own home is a big thing towards gaining a recovery. It was very tedious in getting Chris through her diet,if you could call it that.A sparrow could starve on the minuscule amount of food  she consumes.   She has started well on Protein drinks and has progressed to mainstream diet foods but only in tiny amounts and eats 5 or 6 times a day. She is using Creon a drug that makes enzymes   She still has a drain bag but the the residue is becoming smaller day by day. My god the replacement bags can be pricey from the chemist, They want $130 for a box of thirty.   My daughter -the nurse- rang the oncology people at the base hospital and was supplied a with  couple.   Chris  is feeling strong enough to prepare a meal, throw clothes in the wash and today even drove our car. She tires quickly though, but everyday there are new milestones she achieves.   Fingers crossed that she can maintain the daily improvements.   Regards to all   Grahame ... View more

  I am so sorry to hear this. My wife had her Whipple procedure for pancreatic cancer on the 24th of June.   Speaking with the surgeon and a theatre nurse we found out that if the blood vessels in that area are tangled up by the cancer cluster its impossible to operate. Chemo or radiation are the alternatives.   Hopefully the chemo will buy you dad some much needed time.   Grahame ... View more

Thanks  friends for the replies, Chris had difficulties this last week as she was initially discharged  from the Townsville Mater but that did not last 24hrs as she brought up black blood? Being 3.30am  in the wee hours of the Friday morning she was taken by the ambos to Townsville University hospital. A CT scan proved there was no internal bleeding but a blocked something?   She has had a week of trying different foods and keeping them down and not sicking up and only found her appetite in the last day.  Doctors now seem happy with her eating and  blood, bowel and bladder functions so we are hoping for tomorrow or Friday as a discharge day. She will have to stay here in Townsville until next Tuesday as that's the day the consultant surgeon can see her and clear her to travel home.  I am asking the medicos to clear her to fly home as a six hour car trip down the goat track called the Bruce Highway to Mackay would not be good for someone who has just had a Whipple surgery .  I find the days very long as I visit twice a day as well as do our washing and shop for food and such, Add replying to friends and relative enquiries there's not much left out of long day.  It has been a big steep learning curve for me.   Thanks for reading this,   Grahame   ... View more