STEAM ROOM FOR ANGER
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Feeling a bit overwhelmed, My daughters two year old lab diagnosed with lymphoma last Monday, died on Friday. Three young grandchildren very upset. I fell and broke my arm last Tuesday, saw the oncologist Friday and they took me off Arimidex as my finger is so swollen, and now the hot flashes that had just settled down have gone berserk and won’t let me sleep. Will maybe start femara later. And I have just had it with all the metastatic drug commercials. At times it just seems too much, I can cope with one or two things but....
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Bennybear - that's so very sad and as we pet parents all know, it's very difficult especially with young grandchildren. They just don't understand and sometimes, we don't either. So sorry for your loss.
And breaking your arm? Good heavens, you have a lot on your plate right now. Have you tried Melatonin for sleep? It's non medicated and I love it. I don't have to worry about waking up feeling drugged.
I hope your issues becomes easier with every passing day.
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When it rains it pours as the saying goes
We found out last month our oldest dog has mouth cancer that only happens in 1% of dogs...of course, right? My hope was for him to be of some comfort to my family when I’m gone since he is my dog and they all love him, but now it will just be a double loss for everyone. We can only handle so much and it’s ok to not be ok sometimes. I’ve thought about going to one of those places where you can break stuff to get out your frustration, but I’m too tired 😆 would probably hurt myself before I broke a small piece of glass. Oh well.
Hope you heal fast (hand and heart). At least it’s cooler now so when you have a hot flash it’s not as bad as full blown summer. I kept an ice pack under my pillow. It helped me a lot! It stays really cold surprisingly through the night and bonus you have a cold side of the pillow you can alternate.
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Parry - that is so very sad. What can they do for him? Yes, it's okay for you not to be okay right now. Do you have a fireplace? Going thru a very difficult divorce years ago, I threw plates (stoneware) and glasses at the fireplace, which was made of stone. It was great therapy for me. Maybe that would work for you. Or if not, just come on BCO and rant and rave as much as you want.
Sending you a huge warmenveloping hug and lots and lots of love and prayers,
Ann
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thanks snickers mom and parry! Just needed to vent a little!
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Parry, try the CBD oil. My whippet was diagnosed last year in October with liver cancer and gien two months to live, tops. I started him on CBD oil and low fat low protein low carb diet and he's still alive and good, his liver enzymes still a bit high but he's ok.
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Snikers, we don't have a fireplace, but I like your thinking! They can do a mandiblectomy (sorry for spelling) where they remove a chunk of his jaw & the cancer. There is also chemo and radiation they can do for dogs although we haven't looked into it for him so I'm not sure how viable that would be for him. If I wasn't sick we could afford it. We have always done whatever was needed for our dogs and have had accidents that have cost thousands of dollars. Now more than ever he is relying on me to care for him and I can't...not the way he deserves. He is 12 and still runs around like a pup. No exaggeration...I thought he would slow down with age, lol. That's what makes me so mad and feeling guilty. Cancer is the witch that said 'and you're little dog too' If I want to make myself cry I think he knows what's going on with me and wants to be there with me for our next journey. Of course it's kind of silly since he has no control over cancer just like me.
Seachain, I didn't think of CBD! I will definitely try this. Right now he isn't in pain and jumps around liken its all rainbows and sunshine. Dogs are so great. I've been looking up a good diet for him (he is on a good grain free kibble atm), but am scared he will miss out on proper nutrition after reading up on making his food at home. Do you buy yours from a pet store or make it at home
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Parrynd, I cook it for him. In liver cancer they need something low protein, low fat, low carb. Initially he was getting boneless skinless chicken breast, boiled, mixed with a mush of coconut flour and hard boiled egg, of course with calcium supplements, as well as salmon oil and vit d3. After a while he couldn't process the coconut flo nomore, so now he gets twice a day grilled chicken breast mixed with boiled sweet potato, and two snacks, one is a hard boiled egg, the second, fat free cottage cheese. Your sweetheart should be able to eat more than mine. It's not hard, I cook once a week and keep his food in Tupperware in the fridge.
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Seachain, that sounds doable and if it helps him it’s the least I can do. Thank you for sharing
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I forgot to give the dosage on the CBD oil. I buy the 250 mg bottles, he gets one full dropper twice a day and that makes 2 bottles a month. He weighs 35 lbs. I hope it helps your baby as much as it helped mine.
Here's a link for the product - I get it a bit cheaper at my local CBD store (only $32) but they don't have an online store
https://www.purecbdvapors.com/product/trublu-cbd-for-dogs-bacon-flavor-30ml-250mg-cbd/
And this is the link for my local store chain, they sell Colorado Cures brand. You might want to give them a call as the guy at my local store said that sometimes they do ship.
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Thanks Seachain! I’m also going to look around locally as I have a state card that takes off the taxes from the cost. I remember seeing some pet stuff there, but dismissed it at the time trying to figure out what the heck I was doing, haha. My old man is about 45lbs so he may need a bit more dosage wise. I’ll watch him and see how he does to adjust as needed. At least cancer has given me the confidence to help him where he needs it. Before I would have been so unsure, but then again I could have gotten him proper treatment. I’m envious of how oblivious he is to it all. He has no idea how little time he has and acts happy as a clam (I think that’s the saying). I miss how untainted everything was before cancer.
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Thanks Seachain! I’m also going to look around locally as I have a state card that takes off the taxes from the cost. I remember seeing some pet stuff there, but dismissed it at the time trying to figure out what the heck I was doing, haha. My old man is about 45lbs so he may need a bit more dosage wise. I’ll watch him and see how he does to adjust as needed. At least cancer has given me the confidence to help him where he needs it. Before I would have been so unsure, but then again I could have gotten him proper treatment. I’m envious of how oblivious he is to it all. He has no idea how little time he has and acts happy as a clam (I think that’s the saying). I miss how untainted everything was before cancer.
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Parrynd1, I have my dog on my own Thorne Meriva Curcumin. Also look up Artemesia which is an oral medication used in dogs AND people for cancer.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4004853/
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/artemisinin-and-canine-cancer/
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Macb, thank you! This sounds very promising for people and pets. I wonder if we should both try it. Something to add to the research pile for sure. At least there are options...I’m glad I posted about this, we just feel overwhelmed as it is and didn’t even know what or where to look.
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OK, so I find out on my own that I should be on medication to stop my bones from disintegrating due to being on aromastase inhibitors, for decades, and now newly on Letrozole. I take the initiative to see a bone specialist that I was referred to by my family doctor. When I meet with her a few weeks ago my oncologists office has made no effort to send her updated reports, she knows nothing about my Stage IV diagnosis and the new medications I am on . The visit is close to a total disaster, I had to wait THREE hours to see her, had to knock on her door to see her, and it turns out someone had conveniently forgotten to add me to her list of patients. But at least she agreed to see me, and said it was very important that I get on Prolia--like yesterday.
So I tell my oncologist a week later, and tell her that there doesn't seem to be much communication between the members of my health care "team.", and could the onc maybe give the bone doc a quick phone call so everyone is on the same page, and there is some patient care coordination. I rehearse with a social worker a tactful way to say this to my onc. I ask the social worker, 'what if my onc says no.' She laughs and says, "no responsible doctor would refuse this perfectly reasonable request." I see the onc. I give my little rehearsed,, oh-so-polite speal, "could you please give the bone doc a quick call to communicate and coordinate my care." I ask her politely twice.. She says NO. No, she will not take 5 minutes to phone the bone doctor. She will not take 5 minutes to make sure I am getting the right medication. No she will not communicate with the bone doctor.
I give up.
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Amica, I am so sorry this happened to you. There are no words to adequately describe your Oncologist’s behavior.
Sending you a huge warm hug💜.
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time to find another onc.
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Amica, find a new MO immediately. You don't need this.
I had to dump my PCP because she was a real b#&*h c%@t and refused to order scans for me so I could get my initial dx. And she had a terrible disposition to boot. Real piece of work
Yhere are good drs out there and bad ones,too.
L
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Problem is in Ontario, you can't pick your oncologist. You are assigned one. I've tried to transfer to two other centers, refused at both because I don't live in their geographic catchment area. I may be able to request a new onc at the the center I am at now, but I don't believe I get any input into it, I don't get to select. It could be even a worse one. But I will see what I can do. Thanks for your words of support though.
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Amica, you definitely deserve better care. I would be the squeaky wheel till you can either get a different MO or till she cracks and does her job the way she should.
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Amica:
I'm sorry you have deal with that. I had a similar situation with a professor once who wouldn't coordinate a test I had to take with the proper office and acted like I had asked of them something unusual in a confrontational way...I hadn't. My request was very usual and I asked nicely. Their refusal and the way they refused was very upsetting and bizarre and I had to go above their head to get the issue addressed.
In my case I think the professor had some mental health issues. Did your oncologist say why she would not put in a call to the bone doctor?
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Amica, I'm so sorry for your situation.
I understand that you are assigned your oncologist. Ask you social worker what are the next steps in changing oncs at your center. Perhaps there is a patient care advocate or nurse navigator who could help?
Agreeing with Parrynd that you should be the (politely) squeaky wheel till you can either get a different MO or till she cracks and does her job the way she should.
Gentle hugs and Good luck
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Amica-
I agree you should ask your social worker what the next step could be so you can change docs in your cancer center. Also, is there a system in place to voice your concerns about this MO's decision? Go over their head, so to speak. Or as Mominator said, a nurse navigator or go-between to advocate for you and find out the "why" that the doc won't make the call. How about you asking the bone doc to make the call to the MO? Would the MO come to the phone if the bone doc initiated the call? Sorry you have to deal with this sh@!. Crazy that the patient has to figure this out. Good luck. Keep us updated.
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Had an annoying trip to urgent care this week. I went to my chemo sessions but we decided to cancel as I had a v bad chesty cough. So I went to the Urgent care in the hospital to get something for it. I checked in and settled down for a wait. Then I realised people were going in before, one even directly from the checking desk. I was exhausted and just wanted to go home. I exclaimed loudly "Why can I not be seen - I've got CANCER" (I have rarely if ever used the Cancer card but it just came out) and then I burst in to horrible tears. I appologised to the lady going in as it wasn't her fault. I was seen next. People were saying they were probably waiting for a specialist to see me. However it was an ordinary visit, Xray in case of pneumonia (negative) and then prescribed Antibiotics, steroids and some strong cough medicine - all by A PA not a doctor - which was all I wanted. No specialist in sight. So wrong they couldn't even take me in and let me lie on a bed, I was exhausted. (with both the cough and the fact we had been evacuated all weekend because of the fires in my area) At home now with meds doing their stuff!.
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I know trips to the ER usually end up being at night, BUT in the case that it isn’t time for bed I’ve called my MO and they put in an order for me to be seen in the ER. I am fortunate enough to see an MO who is at a large hospital so I don’t know if it works differently when they are in different facilities. This has saved us so much time though! Waiting in the cold waiting room around a bunch of miserable people who don’t feel good for hours sucks even on a good day!
Scwilly, I hope you feel better soon and that your house is ok. Don’t feel bad about pulling the cancer card out either. I did once when I was scheduling a dentist appointment and needed it done before starting chemo forever. We should get something good or at least easierfrom cancer right?
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ScWilly, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I had a similar experience at a business and I know it was because I looked like a cancer patient and no one wanted to talk to me. I can't say that was the situation with you, they certainly should have accommodated you though. I hope you feel better very soon. I too was evacuated because of the fires (whoolsey). I hope you and your family and home are all safe.
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Amica, at the very least, I would file a GRIEVANCE against that MO. YOU are the patient and have rights, and a specialist should review what you have.
L
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Amica - I was treated in Ontario and switched up my MO through my PCP. Talk to your PCP
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scwilly~🤲💙🌧 hoping your Home is ok. Hoping rain comes your way in California! I am sorry you had to go to the Er. Not our favorite place. I’m sad to hear you in pain. Ive been so close to going myself with my bad flu. Just wanted you To know I’m thinking of you!
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Scwilly:
There's nothing wrong with playing the cancer card when you have cancer and are not getting your related healthcare needs met!
Your cough could have been from chemo related issues...some chemotherapies can cause fluid in the chest, so it was important someone saw you quickly.
Did you let your chemo nurse know about the cough? At my center the doctors are right next door and they will call one over if a patient is unwell.
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