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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Cancer / January 2006Update from Onc. visit
Just returned from my visit with the oncologist. Really was nothing to report. He said the x-ray doesn't really show the tumor, would have to do a CT scan to see it so until I start having symptoms that affect my quality of life there isn't much they will do now. I'm booked to see him in 2 months unless something comes up and I need to see him sooner. That's where it stands for now. Said the pain in the joints and skin could be from Fiber Myalgia which can occur after treatments. Said to try Advil for that. They will not do the radiation again should the cough come back as it damages the tissues to much to that area. So now, we are definitely going to plan our road trip south! Hope to leave early February. Looking forward to that! Cheers, Penny Vote for Aaron at the London Music Awards Artist/Group of the Year http://www.londonmusicawards.com/vote/vote.lasso?ballot=single&cat=Artist/Group% 20Of%20The%20Year My Blog: http://pensclc.blogspot.com/ Check out Aaron Walpole and the Band www.aaron-walpole.com > Just returned from my visit with the oncologist. Really was nothing to > report. He said the x-ray doesn't really show the tumor, would have to do a [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Cheers, > Penny Penny, That sounds like good news indeed. How things change from one week to another! Here's to concert trips, road trips & lots of fun & new experiences! Time to make hay! I raise my water glass in celebration! Fig > Just returned from my visit with the oncologist. Really was nothing to > report. He said the x-ray doesn't really show the tumor, would have to do a [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Cheers, > Penny Penny, That sounds like good news indeed. How things change from one week to another! Here's to concert trips, road trips & lots of fun & new experiences! Time to make hay! I raise my water glass in celebration! Fig > Just returned from my visit with the oncologist. Really was nothing to > report. He said the x-ray doesn't really show the tumor, would have to do a [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > So now, we are definitely going to plan our road trip south! Hope to leave > early February. Looking forward to that! Hi Penny, Thanks for the links. Remind me about the vote, please. I can't see when the deadline is and I want to check out some of the other category people first. Speaking of voting, have you voted for the Feds? You can vote if you're going to be away - or by mail? http://www.elections.ca/ My card has advance (in person) voting dates on it. Yours probably does as well. Fibro eh? I use http://www.biofreeze.com/ in a rollon format. It does provide a few hours of relief, especially before sleep. One foot doctor in this area sells them (one place to check), but I've also recently noticed that there might be something similar in drug stores. Says "cooling" (might have Ilex as ingredient, but I did not check closely because I still have some of this other stuff left). I think they told Socks the same thing about no more radiation; however, they were able to do more for, I think, his liver and then later for when the lung tumour was pressing on a nerve, so don't totally rule that option out. I see you've got your route planned for down South. Happy planning. :) Hugs J > Hi Penny, > Thanks for the links. Remind me about the vote, please. I can't see [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > Hugs > J Isn't that site terrible (London Music Awards). You'd think for a professionally organization they would have things together a little better. I believe the voting is over in April sometime. I get back in the afternoon of election day so I'll be going out to vote on the way home from the airport. Gotta do my bit for the Country. :) I'm going to talk to the pharmacist and see what I can get. Will ask about that one. I'm a little frustrated as I told the onc. about this over the last couple of months and this is the first he's mentioned Fibro. Thought that was a little strange. How that came out of the blue is beyond me. Not going to dwell on it though. I'm very thankful that the problems I have are the only ones so far. So many have so much more to deal with than I do. I feel like I've been very lucky so far and instead of complaining I should be more grateful. The people in this ng have shown me what strength really is and I take my hat off to them all! Cheers, Penny > Isn't that site terrible (London Music Awards). You'd think for a > professionally organization they would have things together a little better. Well, last year and previous years, it was a 2-pager in a (free) music mag, so presumably they don't have much financing and perhaps it was designed by a newbie and will improve with time. > I believe the voting is over in April sometime. Thanks, good to know. > I get back in the afternoon of election day so I'll be going out to vote on > the way home from the airport. Gotta do my bit for the Country. :) Sounds like a plan :) > I'm going to talk to the pharmacist and see what I can get. Will ask about > that one. I'm a little frustrated as I told the onc. about this over the > last couple of months and this is the first he's mentioned Fibro. Thought > that was a little strange. How that came out of the blue is beyond me. Not > going to dwell on it though. Well, as far as I know, they don't give much for fibro in Canada, although some with co-existing problems do get better. There's side effects to some medicines. Some Americans (just to be clear with fibro only) get MS-Contin which, I think, has some morphine in it. Keep a pain diary? Perhaps he's undestimating how much pain you have or you have to work with your GP or a ..have they put you in touch with palliative care ? http://www.oncology.med.ualberta.ca/faculty/facultymember.cfm?id=82 Keep those addresses/phone numbers somewhere handy, in case the onc is not available and there's an urgent need or crisis that your GP is not allowed to write a script for. I'm surprised they haven't put you in touch with that department even now, even if not required at this time. > I'm very thankful that the problems I have are the only ones so far. So many > have so much more to deal with than I do. I feel like I've been very lucky [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Cheers, > Penny I think our hats are off to you, Penny. Hugs Penny, J >> Isn't that site terrible (London Music Awards). You'd think for a >> professionally organization they would have things together a little [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > Hugs Penny, > J Thanks J, I've bookmarked the site. It was something Michael and I had talked about a couple of weeks ago, to get the info needed for palliative care and hospice, then I started feeling so much better that we just forgot all about it with this visit. I didn't realize that the London Music Awards was so new! In that case, they are doing pretty good I would say. :) Thanks for your help J! Cheers, Penny > Thanks J, I've bookmarked the site. Penny, I would suggest that you print it up. Web pages sometimes get redesigned making it difficult if not impossible, to refind such specific information. And I have to wonder if he's the contact for in-patients.... > It was something Michael and I had > talked about a couple of weeks ago, to get the info needed for palliative > care and hospice, then I started feeling so much better that we just forgot > all about it with this visit. If you're planning on staying at home as long as possible, I don't get the impression that the oncologist nor GP has adequately prepared you/informed you, which makes me wonder if they're waiting for you to ask or they assume you've checked things out yourself (ves) There's another contact here http://www.cbcn.ca/english/resdb.php?show&2508 (the webpage at the bottom just leads to a whole bunch of other links, round and round we go. Geezz...I clicked on various links and ended up here http://www.cbcn.ca/english/resdb.php?show&3205 (list of Alberta resources) There are, at least 4 there, that mention home visits...(for your city) and here (which has a different name - phone numbers) http://www.cbcn.ca/english/resdb.php?show&3205 Here's the deal Penny, then I'll leave you alone on this topic. I don't want you stuck last minute, wandering around (phone calls or web pages) trying to figure out who will be prescribing and monitoring your pain meds, who will help care for you at home, who to call for instance for oxygen, oxygen tank, who to call if a different wheelchair is required and a whole bunch of (possible) other needs. Really it would be nice if everything is seamless. If you're being cared for at home, Michael knows who to call if you need hospitalization for a few days or so. It's not just alberta. We've had others, from other provinces, go through this, not having had enough preparation/information. So if you and Michael don't feel like it, please have family members start acquiring info for you so it's at the ready, then you can move on with the happier issues and know that there'll be no last minute panic needs. And I'll quit bugging you, as well. :) > I didn't realize that the London Music Awards was so new! In that case, they > are doing pretty good I would say. :) Yep :) Things are heating up music-wise. I just heard that the East Coast Music Awards are gearing up. There's a great bunch of singers, musicians, groups down there as well. Hugs Posh Penny :) J >> Thanks J, I've bookmarked the site. > [quoted text clipped - 52 lines] > Hugs Posh Penny :) > J You are extactly right. We need to get these things in order. I guess I just haven't been prepared to look at that and realize that I may need all those things. I've asked the oncologist what I can expect and he really hasn't given me an answer. Just said, do your normal things. So then, somehow I have it in my little brain that one day I'll just be in bed and that will be it. Do not think about it being a slow process. I'll check into these things when we get back from Victoria next week. I think we can certainly start at calling the hospice care center and they can probably begin to answer some of those questions. Funny how I've gotten so many things in order but have done nothing about all this. Possibly a way to not face it? Thanks for bringing it up J. Really important to get those things done! Cheers, Posh P :-) > Funny how I've gotten so many things in order but have done nothing about > all this. Possibly a way to not face it? Thanks for bringing it up J. Really > important to get those things done! > Cheers, > Posh P :-) Well Posh P, I really don't want to get such things in order either :-))) I won't, not while I'm well and feeling okay. Ofcourse we talked about funerals, about what I want and don't want and in my country help from a doctor in the endstage is legal, so I made arrangementents for that months ago, but I'm not ready nor willing to see myself in the endstage right now when I'm feeling rather well and enjoying life. I got much more fun things to do on my to do list. Enjoy your trip and live your life to the fullest. Anne >> Funny how I've gotten so many things in order but have done nothing >> about all this. Possibly a way to not face it? Thanks for bringing it [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Anne Well. I can understand why someone who is nearing end of life but feeling chipper wouldn't want to spend time lining up hospice care, but there are a few compelling reasons to make some preliminary plans. I was surprised to learn a sort of pre-hospice was available to us. They came out for an hour's consultation. We were entitled to unlimited calls 24/7 & I think 12 home visits on demand. This can be a valuable resource if something unusual occurs in the middle of the night, or anytime, but middle of the night or Sunday is when things usually broke loose here. These folks were immediately available, no leave a number & we'll call back. We also had more different types of care available than I had originally thought. If you haven't been through this before, it may be useful & comforting to know how it works & what your options are. You should probably at least decide if you wish to be an in-patient (if available) or if you wish to remain at home. If you're thinking inpatient, you may be surprised to learn of changes to that option with many plans in the U.S. Often, hospice services are administered to the patient in a nursing home setting as there is less to no space in a dedicated bricks & mortar hospice. If at home, decisions need to be made about who will stay with you, who will relieve that person, who will run errands. Will meds be delivered or will someone pick them up? From where (may be different than current)? Many of these arrangements confused Socks, so I did all the investigating & only told him what he needed or wanted to know at any given time. Funny, I don't know when this happened, but complex planning, including travel arrangements became difficult & frustrating for Socks early on. He remained brilliant & handled many complex matters, but not the minutiae of plans with multiple options. If you don't want to do this yourself, enlist the help of the most detailed-oriented person you know & ask that person to gather the facts. Then, just like the funeral arrangements, you can file the info away & continue living life to the fullest. Just my thoughts - take or leave : Figgertoes, who has been there >>> Funny how I've gotten so many things in order but have done nothing >>> about all this. Possibly a way to not face it? Thanks for bringing [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] > > Figgertoes, who has been there I'm a planner, for sure! So I'll be doing some planning and getting information together. It helps to hear from one who's been there. :) Thanks! Penny > Then, just like the funeral arrangements, you can file the info away & > continue living life to the fullest. > > Just my thoughts - take or leave : > > Figgertoes, who has been there I will at stay home and where I live you can get day- and nightcare if you and/or partner need it, that's covered by insurance. I also made arrangements for eutheniasia, which is legal in my country, I won't be needing much care. When I come to think of it, I already made all of the arrangements ;-) Hope I won't be needing them anytime soon. But you are right. I already took care of a lot of things about 7 months ago, but while in hospital during chemotreatments I met people that were told they were dying and they hadn't even thought or talked about the choice between cremation or burial. Anne |
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