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brooke0725
New User
Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 3
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 Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 11:16 pm Post subject: advice needed |
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| About 2 years ago, my aunt was diagnosed w/colorectal cancer and it was at a stage where they had to remove her colon and her rectum. She had been bed ridden for about a year before this due to other health issues she had. After her surgery, we all thought she would be fine (my grandma, her mother, had the same disease, only they caught it early on for her so she only had to have a portion of her colon removed.....she has been cancer free for 10 years now), that was until she developed a sore on her rear end where they closed her rectum. For the past two years the sore never went away and eventually grew to be 4 cm wide, 4 cm deep, and 8cm long.......you would think they would have done a biopsy before now, but I digress.....they finally did a biopsy and found that the cancer had returned (or never was completely gone) to the site where her rectum used to be and the reason a sore developed is b/c the tumor that is there was eating all of her good cells preventing the original sore from healing. Since it is reoccurring cancer and b/c of where the tumor is located, surgery was not an option. Radiation was out b/c of the location of the tumor so our last hope was chemo which we thought she had responded well to the first time she was diagnosed. The day after she was admitted to the hospital, the oncologist came to see her and broke the news that even with the chemo, her cancer was so advanced that there would be no cure, but that they might be able to shrink the tumor and slow it down, giving her a few more years. Well, after that they took her in for an MRI and did an ultrasound and that is when we found out that the cancer had metastasized to her uterus and lungs. At that point the doctors told us that the cancer was spreading too fast and that the chemo wouldn't work as well as they had originally told her. Palliative care came in and talked to her about her quality of life and what was important to her and at that point she decided she just wanted to go home and spend the rest of her days w/her family. I just got back from visiting her and I think I am still in shock. She deteriorated so fast.....it was only one month ago that we found out the cancer came back and now she is in and out of consciousness, she has no appetite, and the hospice nurse has already found signs of mottling on her earlobes and kneecaps. It has been really hard to process what is happening and dealing w/it. Mostly it stresses me to see my mom suffering from so much grief. One of my biggest concerns is getting her in to get a colonoscopy as soon as possible. She is 55 and I have been on her for years to get one done and up until a couple of months ago, she didn't have the insurance to get one done but she has had insurance since January and I really think that the reason she hasn't gone to get one yet is b/c she is scared of what she might find out. I am so scared for her and for myself b/c cancer (especially colorectal cancer) runs in our family and right now she is at high risk of developing it. Any advice anyone might have on how I can get in to have that test would be appreciated. I have tried scaring in to going to get one and I even tried to guilt trip her in to getting one but thus far nothing has worked. Like I said any advice on well, on anything, would be appreciated at this point. This is all so overwhelming. |
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goruck
Experienced user
Joined: 22 May 2006
Posts: 51
Location: sarasota florida
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| Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 8:17 pm Post subject: prevention is worth an ounce of cure |
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I am a surgeon. I feel your pain. I think we need to convince your mom of the benefits of prevention. I will be happy to give more ideas as needed.
gbr |
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Lana8
Experienced user
Joined: 19 Jul 2005
Posts: 59
Location: Washington
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| Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 8:46 pm Post subject: Re: advice needed |
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Brooke,
It could be your mom is worried about pain. She can be sedated for such a test. Keep trying. Prevention is the best medicine around.
Lana |
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hospitalhandbook
New User
Joined: 28 Oct 2006
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:30 pm Post subject: you can help others with your story |
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brooke,
it sounds as if the communication between yourself and the hospital in which your aunt was treated wasn't effective enough to make you feel satisfied in terms of the doctors doing all they could. i'm am assisting a woman who is writing a book that will help empower those whose loved ones are being treated in hospitals. it is to be a how-to guide book of sorts to help people navigate through the hospital system to ensure that their loved one is treated properly. if you are interested in telling your story, or simply want to hear more information about the book, feel free to email my boss at hospitalhandbook@yahoo.com
her name is martine. best of luck with your mother and your family.
diana |
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