Hi,my mum was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer just over 18months ago, she also has it in her lymph nodes and rib,she has had immunotherapy and radiation therapy,she seemed to pic up a little bit,but now she is in a lot of pain and lost loads of weight, last few days she has spent most of it in bed, she in 40 mg morphine twice a day plus the liquid when needed, the consultant said he is considering cemo but thinks the side effects would be too much, can anyone tell me if this could be the end or could she pic up again,im at a loss as to what to expect 

Hi Loo1512, I'm sorry to hear that. I can't really help on what could happen next. I know Jolamine will be able to help you more. From my experience with my mum once you are too weak for treatment it usually means that there isn't too much more they can do. I know everybody is different though. Try and savour every moment you can with your mum. All the time you can spend together is special. My thoughts are with you and your mum. X

Simon 

Hi Jolamine, yeah I'm trying not to think about it too much at the moment. Hopefully it goes well. He's starting the treatment this week and it lasts for a month so we will see how it goes. Thank you, that is very kind of you.

The weather was really nice for the Jubilee wasn't it! I hope you had a nice time. It's expecting to be warm again by the end of this week I think. I hope everything is going ok with you Jolamine. I will of course let you know how everything goes. You take care Jolamine.

Simon x

Hi Simon,

I expect that your Dad is feeling quite anxious at the thought of starting radiotherapy, but I hope that all goes well for him. A month is a long time, when he is not very fit, so I hope that it doesn't take too much out of him. 

The weather was a real bonus for the Jubilee . We just enjoyed it - got a lot done in the garden and had our meals outside - a real treat up here!

As you already know, I am always here any time you need to chat.

Regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine, he seems quite relaxed but he's never been one to worry about his health. Even with his diabetes he pretty much ignored it, I sure he is a little worried deep down though but he wouldn't admit it. Yes that's the biggest concern, 20 sessions does seem a lot. With his heath already not being great I'm sure it will be hard. He also has to travel to wythenshae which is about an hour away. They have provided transport to pick him up though which is good.

It was very nice! That sounds good Jolamine, yeah we don't get many opportunities to eat outside in our climate! We have to take advantage while we can! It sounds like you made the most of it. I believe the next few days will be quite warm too. Thank you Jolamine, that means a lot to me. I hope everthing is ok with you. You take care.

Simon x

Hi Simon,

How is your Dad's treatment going so far? It's helpful that they have provided transport for him. but a two hour journey every weekday will take it out of him too.

Thinking of you both.

Regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine, how are you? Everything is going ok thanks. My dad is getting tired now as expected but he is still managing ok. He's had 7 sessions now so still a while to go. I think as you said the travelling is taking a lot out of him. I expect him to get more tired as we go along but he is managing at the moment. Yes the transport is hit and miss, sometimes quite early and other times late, it is all in a morning though so he's usually back by 11:30 which isn't too bad. I hope you are enjoying this hot weather, it's been really warm today hasn't it! Thank you for the kind words Jolamine, I hope you are doing ok. x

Simon

Hi Simon,

I am glad to hear that your dad is managing ok so far. It's a pity that his transport is so hit and miss. This must add extra pressure on him, which he could well do without. I'm afraid that we haven't had the good weather that you've been having - plenty of rain and high winds are the order of the day here.I'm not doing too badly at the moment, thank you.

Keep in touch.

Jolamine 

Hi Jolamine, did you not have the nice weather, that's a shame. It was really warm for a while, back to normal pretty much now though! I hope all is well. He is managing ok but it's taking it out of him now. I think a lot of it is the transport as you said, some days he can be at the hospital an hour early so he is waiting around. We did have a bit of trouble last week where he was coughing up some blood but they said it can happen. They checked him over and said he's fine to carry on with the treatment. He coughs really hard which doesn't help as he could have ended up doing some damage. The cough is a known side effect from radiotherapy I believe. He has done 14 sessions now so just 6 left. I will let you know how he goes on. I hope everything is ok with you Jolamine, you take care. x

Simon

Hi Simon, 

Sorry for the delay in replying. My hubby wasn't well this week and we had to call the heart failure nurse. She came out to the house and took bloods, his blood pressure and has referred him for an ECG.  She phoned me today with the blood results and all is clear, thank goodness. She has advised that we reduce the frequency of taking one of his tablets and she will phone us again next week to see how he is coping. This all seems to have come about as a result of putting him on a new tablet to try and reduce the swelling in his legs

We are still waiting for the nice weather promised this weekend. I am glad to hear that your Dad is managing his treatment, even though it is taking so much out of him. I am sorry to hear that he was coughing up blood last week, but understand that this can happen. It is so good to know that he is almost at the end of his radiotherapy now. I'm sure that he'll be glad to see it all finished.

Take care and keep in touch.

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine, I'm so sorry to hear that. How is he doing now. It is really annoying isn't it when you try and correct the medication and something else goes wrong. I'm glad the results are clear and hopefully he starts to feel better soon. It sounds like you have had a hard time with everything going on. I do hope everything settles down and he feels better. 

Did you get the hot weather Jolamine, it's expected to be really hot this weekend. I must admit I'm not a fan when it gets too warm. We either get no heat or it's boiling! It's never just right! 

Thanks Jolamine, yes he has finished now. He finished yesterday, he seems relieved, I think he is too tired to really know at the moment. He does seem to be glad it's done though. I think it's a 3 week wait now before they get in touch about having another scan done. The coughing up blood wasn't nice  but it is something they had told us about so that made it less of a worry. It hasn't happened again so that's a good thing I think. I will do Jolamine, I hope your husband is feeling better. You take care. x

Simon
 

Hi Simon,

Hubby is a bit better, but still not himself. His blood pressure has risen a little since reducing the dose ofone of his tablets. He is waiting for an ECG and has an appointment at the hospital at the end of this month.

I am glad to hear that your dad has finished the radiotherapy. I understand that the tiredness can last for some time after the radiotherapy stops, so it will take a while to see what benefit he has had from it. I hope that his next scan shows that it has all been worth it. I am glad to hear that there has been no more bleeding.

We got to see what the good weather was like on Sunday last week. However, that was just a teaser, as we haven't seen it since. We've had a few heavy showers today, but we're ever hopeful of seeing the good weather back for another day or two. I hope that it's not too hot for you.

Regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Simon,

Hubby is a bit better, but still not himself. His blood pressure has risen a little since reducing the dose ofone of his tablets. He is waiting for an ECG and has an appointment at the hospital at the end of this month.

I am glad to hear that your dad has finished the radiotherapy. I understand that the tiredness can last for some time after the radiotherapy stops, so it will take a while to see what benefit he has had from it. I hope that his next scan shows that it has all been worth it. I am glad to hear that there has been no more bleeding.

We got to see what the good weather was like on Sunday last week. However, that was just a teaser, as we haven't seen it since. We've had a few heavy showers today, but we're ever hopeful of seeing the good weather back for another day or two. I hope that it's not too hot for you.

Regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope they can get his blood pressure sorted out. It's so difficult when changing tablets isn't it, my dad is like that when they start new medications, it's always difficult to make sure something else doesn't go wrong. I do hope the ecg goes well and they can help him.

Yeah they did warm us thst the tiredness can happen at any time, I think they said the first 3 weeks there's a good chance of some symptoms. I know these can happen at any time though. It is strange that it's just a waiting game now and hopefully there's some good news down the line. Thank you Jolamine, yes he has been fine since then. 

I'm glad you did get a little bit of the hot weather finally! I believe we will all be hot this weekend. There's a warning for very hot weather so hopefully you do get some sun! Thanks Jolamine, I like a bit of sun but that does sound too hot for me! I hope your husband feels better soon Jolamine. You take care. x

Simon

Hi Simon,

I hope that your Dad is doing ok and that he doesn't have too many nasty symptoms. I sincerely hope that he gets some good news when he goes back to the hospital.

We have finally had a few days of continuous hot days, intersperced with light showers and accompanied by a strong wind. This has made the heat bearable. Admittedly our weather is still only in the low 30ies, so nothing like I expect that you have. I hope that you're coping ok.

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine, I hope you are well. Sorry for the late reply. My dad has been doing ok thank you. He has been tired but has been lucky so far with not too many symptoms. Thank you Jolamine, It will be a while before we find out but hopefully it's good news.

Ah that's good, I'm glad you have finally had some nice weather. It was pretty awful last week, far too hot. Once it gets past 30 it's getting too hot for me! How is your husband doing Jolamine, I hope he's feeling a little better. You said he has a appointment at the end of the month didn't you, I hope that goes well. You take care Jolamine. x

Simon

Hi Simon,

I'm delighted to hear that your Dad is doing ok. It is great to hear that he hasn't got too many side-effects, apart from the tiredness. It's now an anxious wait to find out how successful his treatment has been.  As you say, this may take a while but let's hope that it will be good news.

The highest temperature we reached here was 34º, so nothing like the temperatures that you've been having - and this only lasted for one day. Hubby is still not doing well. The heart failure nurse came out to see him when his blood pressure was so low. She was very thorough. She took his blood pressure, discovered that he has an irregular heart beat, took various blood tests and phoned to tell me the results the following day. She said that she would arrange another ECG for him. She then advised him to reduce one of his tablets and said that she would phone back the following week to see how he was coping. Unfortunately, she never phoned back.

I haven't phoned her back, because he has an appointment with the heart failure nurse at the hospital tomorrow, so we'll see what she has to say tomorrow.

Look after yourself Simon.

Regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine, how are you. Yes he is doing ok so far, just fingers crossed now for when he gets the results. I believe they will be in contact next month so we still have a little wait. I'm so sorry to hear your husband is having these problems. How did the appointment go? My dad has an irregular heart beat, he has had heart disease for a while though. I know there is a medication he takes so they can get it under control. Hopefully they can find out what's going on with you husband and try to help. I know it must be stressful for you. It's frustrating isn't it when someone   doesn't ring back, I know they are busy but it does leave you in limbo not knowing what to do. 

I'm glad you did finally get some nice weather! It's been ok here, not a lot of rain which is about as good as we can ask for! I hope the weather has been good for you too. I hope you are managing ok Jolamine. I wish your husband all the best and hope they can help him feel better. You take care of yourself Jolamine. x

Simon

Hi Simon,

Sorry for the delay in replying. I have been away with the family for a few days. It was lovely to catch up with my granddaughters, who have matured so much in the past year - it's sad to see them growing up so quickly!

I am delighted to hear that your dad is doing ok so far, although it will be an anxious wait to see  what his results are. Hubby has had heart trouble for the past 26 years. He first had stents inserted, but they didn't work and he had a quadruple by-pass 26 years ago. He also has diabetes, vascular dementia and vascular Parkinson's, so he is on a lot of medication. His legs were getting very swollen, so his medical team added a new tablet, which seems to have reduced the swelling, but is causing all sorts of additonal symptoms. They have adjusted the doseage of two of his other tablets, but so far, this has just raised other problems. We were back at the hospital just before we went away and saw the heart failure nurse again. She has adjusted his meds again and arranged for him to have an ECG there and then, as he still has an irregular heart beat. We'll see her again shortly.

I am hoping and praying that you get good news when you get the results back.

Regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine, Ah that's nice. I hope you had a good time! Yeah time does go so fast, my sister has 3 sons and everytime I see them they seem to have got a lot bigger! It must have been nice to spend some time with them. He is thank you, I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds like he is having a tough time. That's good that they have managed to control it, I know by-passes are very serious. My dad has heart disease so I do know a little about it. He's also diabetic too which always makes everything difficult. Changing a medication or anything like that is always a big deal. It sounds like they are trying to get your husbands medication just right. I'm sure they will get there but I know that's no consolation for you or him if he is struggling now. I hope he does improve and if not when you do back to see them again they can help. I know it must be very frustrating for you. 
 

Thank you so much Jolamine, I hope your husband starts feeling better soon. You take care. x

Simon

Hi Simon,

We are still struggling with my hubby's medication, but hopefully we'll get there eventually - you know what it's like. It doesn't take much to throw the Diabetes, Parkinsons' and other problems out of sync too. What ages are your nephews? They must surely be an interest for you.

I hope that your dad is continuing to feel well and that the tiredness is lessening.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine, I'm so sorry to hear your husband is still struggling. Hopefully they can sort it out. I do understand how hard it is. It is a delicate balancing act when so many medications are already being taken. My dad is just the same, they don't want to do anything that might affect the medication he is already on. He is doing ok thanks, his appointment is next month so we may doing out something more then.

Yes my nephews are 14,12 and 11. I must admit I don't see them that much, they are always busy or stuck on their computers! It is always nice to see them when I can though! They also have 2 dogs which I love to see. I do want a dog at some point but I know it's an added responsibility and not the best time at the moment. I hope your husband is feeling a little better Jolamine. You take care. x

Simon

Hi Simon,

Sorry for the delay in replying. It has been a particularly busy spell. We are still struggling with hubby's health. We are still struggling with changes of medication, but haven't reached the optimum situation as yet. We managed to catch up with the family for a few days at the beginning of August, which was lovely. We saw a big change in our grandchildren. They are now 11 and 15, so like your nepnews, they are always busy with something or other. Now, we're busy planning our trip to Italy, which is only 2 weeks away. 

A dog would be great, but it is a big responsibility. They are great company, but you'll know when the time is right to get one. 

I am glad to hear that your dad is keeping ok. He should soon be getting his appointment through for this month and, I do hope that he gets some good news. Please let us know how he gets on.

I hope that all is well with you.

Regards,

Jolamine xx