Hi Cazza,

I am sorry to hear about your mum's diagnosis. Has she had any surgery for it, or is she just taking Morphine liquid and pills? Where is most of her swelling, how extensive is it and, did she have the swelling before she started taking the pills?

If she is having her biopsy on Thursday, she will have to wait for another 1-2 weeks to get the results back. This is always a worrying time as there are so many unknowns at this stage.

I sincerely hope that they can locate the primary source and also that it doesn't show up in her bones.

Please let us know how she gets on.We are always here for you both.

Kind regards,
Jolamine xx
 

Hi , thank you for the reply it’s in her liver lung spine hip and rib , that was found out from an mri at the hospital she couldn’t stand the pain any longer . She kept going back to the doctors  and the would send her off with stronger pain killers , she was sent home with lots of medication not just the morphine , sickness pills a gastro tablet as well as normal pain killers paracetamol and her other normal daily tablets she has to take . No surgery . The swelling has been the last week we have only known For about 3 1/2 weeks . 

Hi Cazza,

I am so sorry to hear the extent of your mum's cancer. I can understand that surgery is no longer an option, but has any mention been made of chemo, to help shrink lesions and buy her more time? I cared for my mum 21 years ago when she died of metastases from breast cancer. Eventually, it was in her liver, lungs, brain and bones. There was no surgery or treatment for her at that stage and, it was a hard road for all of us.

I am not a doctor, but from my own experience I can tell you that I have swelling in both of my arms. This is the result of Lymphoedema, a condition that usually arises after cancer surgery, where the lymph nodes have been removed. I only had 6 nodes removed on one side and, none on the other, yet it was in the side that didn't have any nodes removed that I first noticed the swelling.

I attend a Lymphoedema clinic for 2 weeks out of every 12 weeks for this. Here I get manual lymphatic drainage from a lymphoedema nurse, who then bandages both of my arms from my finger tips to my shoulders with 5 layers of compression bandage . I attend the clinic twice a week for these 2 week spells. I look like the Michelin Man for these 2 weeks and get some very curious looks and questions at that time. When I'm not attending the clinic I have 2 different types of compression sleeves to wear - one for day and 1 for night.

I cannot be sure that this is what your mum has, especially if she has not had surgery, but it is certainly worth mentioning to her care team. On the whole, the sooner treatment starts for this , the better the response from the patient.  The swelling can get so uncomfortable that it can make it difficult to walk.

Mention the swelling when she goes for her biopsy on Thursday. There are tablets that can be given to reduce the amount of fluid being held in the body, though they will involve going to the toilet more frequently.

I shall be thinking of you both tomorrow and hope that it all goes well.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx