Support for caregivers: I feel helpless not being able to fix things

Try Premier Protein mix with milk (I use 2% with the chocolate flavor ). It is available @ Walmart. The oncologist from Mayo recommended to increase protein and use protein shakes.

This is my 1st visit to Connect, and I wanted to thank all of you for sharing your stories. Since his Whipple surgery in July, 2024 he has lost 80 lbs and is literally a skeleton at 123 lbs. He is in constant pain and so depressed. He will have a PET scan next week, so hopefully we will know why he is not responding to any of the many drugs his doctors have prescribed. Thank you all for letting me know I’m not alone in this journey.

They tell me that my wife''s Stage 1 Alzheimer's dis-ease is NOT MY FAULT....

No pill will fix this! Go out and enjoy your fun things to do.... - (without any Companion?)

@mnewland99 Thank you. I am 75. I started out at Mayo, Jacksonville and was told to find a "local oncologist". I saw him in Savannah, Ga 2 days later as I had made the appointment when I first found out I had pancreatic cancer at the end of May. I do not know if Anderson @ Memorial Health in Savannah is a "Center for Excellence". The doctor said he has access to Mayo, and he is with AON (American Oncology Network). I have had as of May 8 a total of 69 chemo treatments: 44 until Jan or 2024, then restarted May 2024 with 25 more. All sessions have been Abraxane and gemcitabine. I started with 2 weeks on and one off then my doc changed me to one week on and one off due to increasing fatigue. I have neuropathy of fingers and feet to above ankles. Acupuncture does help. Wish I had known about it sooner. I also take Percocet (generic), Tramadol & Colace 3-4 times a day for neuropathy pain. I do not drive since I did not feel the pressure on the gas and brake & was afraid, I would not react appropriately & timely. Now, I would not drive taking pain meds. I do use a cane when out to lunch with a friend and at night to use the bathroom since I do sometimes feel like I am not so balanced. I do not dust as much as I would like but I do when I get a burst of energy 🙂 I have noticed that my typing is getting worse lately, old age? or neuropathy? I blame most things on chemotherapy 🙂 I still get Decadron (lowered from 10 mg to 5mg) mixed with Aloxi (250 mg nausea prevention) & plain IV for 30 minutes, then Abraxane 200mg followed by gemcitabine 2000mg each over 30 minutes with a line clear of 5 minutes. I have TP53 and KRAS G12D mutations. I do not know of any other mutations. My first cousin, female, on my Dad's side died from pancreatic cancer and my Mom's sister died from pancreatic cancer. I do believe in the power of prayer. When someone asks what they can do for me, I tell them to pray. I think it works! My oncologist told me he uses me as an example & that he also has a 5-year patient still "kicking" with pancreatic cancer. I had been told I was stage I and lucky I found it so early & then got the test results from Mayo & found out it was stage 4, non-operable due to metastasis to my lungs. My oncologist told me I would never be "cancer free" , but there can be times when I can take a "break" like when my CA 19-9 is normal. Stopped black tea after reading study on the internet how CA 19-9 was affected by black tea. What is SBRT? Lung lesions shrank with chemo and CTs show no new evidence of disease. Get CT every 3 months, CBC before every chemo, CA19-9 2x month & complete metabolic panel (CMP) 1x month. Have gained weight with chemo 🙁 Prayers for you too! If you want to talk, let me know. Denise

I’m sorry about you husband; he will be ok. As a cancer survivor myself I would recommend him to drink a lot of fluids, bananas were my best allies since I had nausea and lost my appetite they gave me energy and helped with the upset stomach; also short walks will help him a lot. Wishing you beloved husband a speedy and total recovery!

@199 you are amazing! I was reading through your threads to recall some info about you because you are definitely what I would call a “case study”. If I understand correctly, you are 75, you started out at Mayo, and then continued care with a hospital in your area that was a “Center of Excellence”? Exactly how many sessions of gem- abraxane have you had? You have neuropathy, but even after these many sessions your level of neuropathy is tolerable and hasn’t affected your activities of daily living significantly? Are you still getting the dexatron prior to the abraxane? You receive acupuncture to help lessen the neuropathy? Your mutations are KRAS12D and TP53(which I think is the aggressive one since it has no cure). Did you have any other of the pancreatic CA mutations where there was a base substitution of “unknown significance”? I recall you believe in prayer. I must share your info with my oncologist as I’m a bit annoyed that he keeps repeating “you’ve gone longer than most on the chemo regimen you’re on”. I was diagnosed Sept 2022 as stage 2 and got surgery (distal). I got 5FU chemo 12 sessions in 2023. Cancer came back after 4 months. I got about 24 sessions of gem-abraxane in 2024, but then neuropathy in driving foot started to get pretty bad. I got SBRT in October 2024 with good results that lasted until April 2025. Was on only gemzar from Jan 2025 to present. Gemzar by itself has not been effective for me. I want to say a “new” liver lesion appeared, but my guess is that it’s really the lesion that was identified in December 2023 that shrank with chemo to a size no longer seen on scans and no longer “shedding”, but not decimated. I think it’s the same because it’s in the same segment 5/6 of liver. Anyways, you are a nurse as my mom was (practical nurse, though) and I pray and hope continued good health for you!!

Premier protein powder available at Walmart is what I use in 2% milk every evening & it tastes very good without any aftertaste. I use the chocolate flavor. Been using since June 2022 when I was told my pancreatic (tail) cancer was stage 4, inoperable & I had 11 months with treatment! Still here & fortunately no real issues with nausea or vomiting. On Gemcitabine & Abraxane every other week.

Sounds like a great find. Surely this will help others reading your post. Best wishes.

Since my husband (the Ca pt) hates the taste of Boost and any other prepared Protein drink, (and trust me we have tried everything we can find) I did find that the Can of Boost Powder does not leave the after taste of chalk in any way. So I put that in smoothies, in puddings in anything I dare and he is willing to take that. Means he gets high calorie, Hi Carb,, Hi protein in low volume and it is working so far. Boost Powder , is a large can available on Amazon and in Walmart , I havent seen it anywhere else, Im told it was orginally Carnation Instant Breakfast and has been bought and rebranded as Boost,

Boost or Ensure with ice cream taste really good. You can also add some flavored or unflavored protein powder. Powdered milk in creamy soups, pudding, tapioca, etc. will add protein and creaminess. I also add tofu to my dishes for additional protein, and add salad dressing to chicken, beef and fish for extra flavor and moisture. Hope this helped in some small way!