@naturegirl5 where do i even begin...
yes i was taking him to UVA for his pancreatic cancer care and actually got the phone call from my pc when i was in the office of one of his doctors there...i think it was his endocrinologist, and we drove across town to his oncologist appt where HIS oncologist asked what was going on, he told him and he asked to see the CT images.. i pulled them up on my phone, sent to his email and he looked at them on the computer and said "we need to get you in downstairs " his office was on 3rd floor and gyn oncology was on 2nd.. long story short, i applied for Tenncare in TN due to a clerical mistake i was denied However it was because of that, i was accepted at UVA for care with financial assistance really quickly probably due to his doc...which was a HUGE blessing...God at work no doubt. My mother was treated by UVA back in 88 so when they learned that, i had a geneticist put on my care team, was tested for BRCA and it came back positive for BRCA 1... so i was already going to UVA with him for his chemo, so instead of driving him we started having one of my kids most of the time driving us both.. his was on Wed mine on Thurs, but he was finishing his as i was starting mine...he had surgery, stayed up there for radiation, found out it had spread to his liver and nothing more they could do...so he essentially moved into our house for his last months on comfort care while my kids were still taking me for chemo...i was getting better while he was dying and that was hard...i went through a lot in 24...(his memorial video that i conducted is up on my channel on youtube bhale7904 is my user name for those who want to see it )
yes i'm tired of the "platitudes" especially the "you did this once you'll do it again, you're so strong, i couldn't go through what you've been through" etc while looking me dead in the face and often i look at them and say" yes you could, you don't know what you can do til you have to" or my favorite lately.. "at least i'm not Job" Yes i know i'll get through it, i'm not giving up and that is why i appreciate the comments here...because YALL understand...you've been there done that got the tshirt so to speak, so the encouragement from you all means a lot..
As for treatment, i get my port put in next thurs morning ( the crappy part is i JUST had it taken out in Dec) have to be at dr's office by 1:!5 (across the street from IR at the hospital) and then upstairs to chemo by 2:15... then we'll be coming home because my daughter who is driving this time has to be back to work Friday...i'm going Wed for acupuncture because i remember how much it helped before with the nausea etc when i got it day before chemo and then we're driving up to stay in the hotel Wed night...
i honestly believe if more people would advocate for themselves it might be a pain for the doctors but we'd get a lot better care. I did even meeting with the neuro on Monday, i told him i needed something done about the tremors, but if he felt like a different med would stop the tremors i was open to trying it and like he said, if i had a seizure while changing meds it would be better to have it in the next month or two than 3 or 4 months down the line when i was weaker from chemo...
one thing i would like everyone's opinion on is this...how can i keep my blood levels up? as some of you may remember i had to have nulesta or whatever it was called to build white blood cells quicker for the chemo...i often had to go 5 or 6 weeks between instead of 3 because i wasn't building blood fast enough and ended up having 7 units of blood from the red blood cells not reproducing quickly as well... any suggestions appreciated (as long as it doesn't involve eating things like broccoli, or any dark leafy vegetable, ain't never liked them and ain't about to start eating them at 60 lol)
@mommacandy Ah, the way to boost blood levels is a tricky thing. Do you have any dietary limits right now due to other health concerns? If not, here is a list of things to try, in moderation:
To increase blood levels (specifically hemoglobin and red blood cells), focus on consuming iron-rich foods (red meat, spinach, lentils), Vitamin C for absorption (citrus, peppers), and folate/B12 (eggs, fortified foods), stay hydrated, moderate exercise, dark chocolate, nuts, seeds. And even though you don't like 'em, dark leafy veggies are good for you at this point! Tell yourself it's for your own good!
Does this sound doable for you?
Ginger