Whew, what a long day. Dad had his chemo this morning and the nurse that took care of him today Ruth was super nice, and you know dad he has that Timmerding charm and just flirted away. I think the nurses are going to love him. We saw dad's doctor today, Dr. Draper, he is very nice also, young which is good in that he will be more aggressive and willing to try new things. I asked him about the spots on his liver because they never did a biopsy and so how could he be certain that they were cancer. He said with pancreatic cancer and with the way the spots looked from when they did the biopsy on the pancreas that he was 99% sure that they were cancerous they normally are.
So chemo took about an hour, he is going to do 7 weeks of chemo in a row and then a week off and they will do more scans to see if the chemo is having any effect at all on the cancer, hopefully it is at least stablizing it which would be good in that it isn't growing. Of course this all depends on how dad will react to the treatments and how much his body can take. After chemo we had to go pre-register for his surgery tomorrow where he is getting the portalcath in and they wanted him to take an x-ray and an EKG to make sure his heart was fine since he just had the chemo and then after that we went and met the surgeon for tomorrow's surgery. Mom and I were saying dad went through more tests and had to see more doctors for what is called a "simple procedure" than when he had his biopsy done. It was an exhausting day!
He is in a lot of pain right now mainly because he hasn't been able to go to the bathroom. Any time you are on strong pain killers it leaves you unable to go regular. But the doctor gave him enough laxatives today to have him going non-stop. But of course because he is in so much pain he wanted the pills to work as soon as they went down. So hopefully when he gets some relief from that, he'll be fine. I imagine he won't feel any effects from the chemo for another day or two and then with the surgery tomorrow, he is one tired dad!
His spirits are still up and we are still trying to have him gain weight. Any protein drinks we give him he is always like they are too chalky, they taste too mediciny, but it's my turn to be the parent " You aren't leaving this table until this drink is done, do you hear me mister" :) (how many times did we hear that growing up)
Sorry just wanted to lighten the mood. I'll post tomorrow after the surgery to let everyone know how it went.
Much love to all,
One Down!!!! . I hope it is working already. you guys might try yogurt (It sure taste better) instead of protein drinks or maybe spike the protein with Ice cream, and lots of chocolate syrup. Make a yummy shake. anyway, anything that will work to get it down. Good Luck tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you.
ReplyDeleteSue
Can't believe Bill is having trouble "going". Never heard of a Timmerding who was not full of that.... Keep us informed about everything, Michele! You are a great blogger. Love from Uncle Tom and Aunt Diana.
ReplyDeleteI love the comment about getting to be the parent now!!! My mom and dad get in big trouble now when they are not home when they say they are going to be home (Right MOM & DAD???)!!! The circle of LIFE!
ReplyDeleteDad has an appointment for Monday morning to have the fluid drained from his abdomen. The relief can't come soon enough! Still waiting to hear something about his legs. The doctor did say that it wasn't as bad as he thought, which I guess is good (???) but not sure about putting the stents in or if he needs them. I think we'd almost prefer the stents versus another medicine such as a blood thinner or something else to add to his daily regimine of meds! Something else that would have possible side effects or screw up another medicine! One step closer to them coming home?? Hopefully!! Hang in there mom and dad and Bill and Cookie!! We are all praying for your strength and for the doctors to have the wisdom to get you guys through these procedures!!! Love, Turtle