Chemotherapy any advice?

[Dead Money]

One of my dearest best friends has been diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer

Hit suddenly, complained of stomach pains then WHAM...

He has been to MD Anderson in Houston, basically un-operable, chemo his only option.

I know he is looking at a very tough time; his prognosis is not good.
I am going to help him with rides and whatever I can do.



I understand Chemo has come a long way... any advice regarding dos and don'ts and side effects and the like?



I am a non-practicing Catholic, really lost faith in many things after tour of duty in Vietnam.....his name is Matt
in Oklahoma, please add him to your prayer or good thoughts list.


Thanks

 

[vinnie]

will do best of luck to you & your friend

 

[rawli007]

no doubt my thoughts are with you... sorry i cant be of any help.

 

[SixFive]

that's tough, Dead Money. I'm sure u already know pancreatic cancer is very rough and painful.

I'm not too up on chemo, so hopefully others here will have some good advice. Being there for him, giving rides, etc. is a great help to your friend. If u can, take him to a game, fishing, or etc. other stuff that u all like to do. Having good friends and family support is crucial to him having a chance to get better.

 

[McVegas]

Different types of chemo have different side effects (my wife has been battling Hodgkin's lymphoma for over 9 years, in remission now) I've seen it all. Lack of energy, loss of appetite, vomiting are probably the most common that I've seen. Anytime the Dr. told my wife she should handle the treatment well, it kicked her ass....she had a stem cell transplant, Dr. said 4-6 weeks minimum in the hospital, she was out in less than 3, go figure. Best thing you can do is just be there, and take care of all the little everyday things that would normally have to be done, if your friend has the energy, get them out of the house, go anywhere but don't let them sit there staring at the walls, even the most upbeat person will start to get depressed if they have to do that everyday. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[gardenweasel]

sorry to hear it,d.m.....i believe that patrick swayze has pancreatic cancer and seems to making a bit of a comeback...

chemo ain`t easy...went through it with my mother(breast and colon),had some tough patches but she came through it....

i would say for him to be acutely aware of how he feels after treatment......mom dehydrated and her blood count dropped like a rock one time and we had to get her into the hospital to get some i.v.`s....

if he`s by himself,i would try and stay in touch with him...particularly after treatments...

prayers will be said for him...

 

[Morris]

Sorry to hear that. Thoughts and prayers..

 

[VaNurse]

Dead Money:

My thoughts and prayers go out to your friend, his family and you. As I'm sure you're well aware, pancreatic cancer doesn't have the best long term prognosis.

The best thing you can do for Matt is to provide him support in whatever decisions or treatment courses he makes. Encourage him to research and consider all of the options and let him feel reassured of your support in whatever choice(s) he makes.

Everyone, of sound mind, has to make informed decisions for themselves and their friends and loved ones should not be making their personal recommendations at that time. At diagnosis of any potentially terminal disease, no-one should have to worry that their decision, whether it be aggressive or palliative therapy, will be judged incorrect or cowardly by their family and friends.

I've been working as an R.N. Case Manager in Hospice for the last several months. It has helped reinforce my personal beliefs and desires when facing my own mortality and it's made me more comfortable to share my beliefs with my family even though the decisions I've made don't match theirs. That's ok though because I know they would support me regardless of my choice.

Here are two very informative sites where you can get information about pancreatic cancer:

What You Need To Know About Cancer Of The Pancreas

Hirshberg Foundation For Pancreatic Research - Pancreatic Cancer

I hope you (and he) can get some benefit from this information from some of the top researchers in the US who are studying and treating the disease.

 

[Eddie Haskell]

From personal experience with this one, very sorry for your friend. As a friend, focus on his good days and have as much fun as he can tolerate. Life his life with him.

Eddie