update on mom's OC surgery

[petunia0580]

     After a six hour surgery the doctor came out and told us they could not get it all and she was in stage IV.  The doctor (a she) did say she got a lot of it and the parts that she left were attached to things like the liver and a part of the colon that cannot be removed (and the colon is "dotted" with specks of cancer).  They did not have to take any of the colon though which was some good news.  The doctor said that the cancer she left would probably respond to chemo and it was definitely gynecological but they are not sure what.  
     So...two to three weeks then chemo.  I will say she looked fabulous when they finally let us see her out of recovery (7 hours later!).  She thought she was really bad because none of us had seen her.....but they wouldn't let us see her in the recovery room.  There were no beds so they finally put her on an oncology observation floor with people with liver and pancreatic cancer.  I think they are all terminal.  The nurses keep telling us she looks fabulous....but I don't know if she looks fabulous or much better than the rest of the patients.
Any light you can shine on the situation is appreciated.
Patty

[vrw520]

Blood clots are not unusual after a surgery....that is why the doctors often use thinners immediately following surgery. I am sure they did not seem worried because they knew that she was already on thinners. The worst part of a clot is how much the heparin shots can burn. Usually that is what they use  to help break up the clot.  Hope that everything goes well for your mom.

[petunia0580]

I am going to buy cranberry juice and probiotics to start and tell her to just do it.  I may then sneak in some milk thistle and other things as time goes on.  I'm still the baby of the family and no one takes me very seriously (I'm a few months shy of 40!).  Thank you for the good thoughts.

[freshair]

A few women have posted that they have had a blood clot and then it is taken care of. Any kind of surgery can cause a blood clot. Sorry she had this set back. As Angie said the probiotics are really good. This is nothing that will cause an adverse reaction. It is good bacteria in the intestines. It should be a standard in ALL hospitals. It is so much better than yogurt. Prevents intestinal infections.

Let us know how she feels and tell her we're thinking about her.

My Mom is 86 and takes a lot of supplements including the probiotics. She used to be a nurse. Anything she is deficient in such as magnesium.

[petunia0580]

Today looks better.  It's snowing here and mom is worried about everyone coming to see her.  She is sitting up, watching TV and getting antsy to get out of ICU.  Her breathing is better but she has a blood clot on her lung but they don;t seem that worried.  They have to give her special treatment because of the cancer...is a blood clot that normal?

[petunia0580]

Thank you, And I didn't mean to insult with the "old fashion", I think sometimes the "older generation" (I'm a gerontologist so I see a lot of it) has a tendency not to try anything outside the realm of "conventional medicine".  It frustrates me, I've been trying to get them to just take a few suppliments but their GP (who is older) says there is no real need to. - ARG.
Today was a setback...She was moved to ICU because her breathing was so bad and they drained 1.5 liters off from around her left lung.....is that bad?  The doctor did say she had fluid there but they were hoping that it would just be re-absorbed.  At least she's breathing better now.  
PLEASE no backing off....what's the worst people can do, tell me something that works???   I appreciate advice and I try to delve in and get as much information as possible - you are right - knowledge is power and sometimes the doctors appreciate that you know something about the whole process...
I'm trying to be strong but today threw me so ....anyone else have the fluid around the lungs?  They did a new CT scan and maybe we'll know something tomorrow.

[Angie_Lou]

I may be stepping out of line and I apologize if I am, but home remedies & herbs are older than your mother.  Milk Thistle is not a new thing...it's been around for centuries.  I sometimes think of myself as old fashion at the age of 50 (I'm a baby boomer like most of us on this site) because I don't believe in ATM and it took me two months after we finally got email at the office before I would try it out on the world.  Kept testing it out to my co-workers to be sure I was doing it right.  Sh*t, I still have a manual type-writer and dial telephones in the house, just in case.

Call it old fashion or just reluctant to change as far as me.  Whichever the case may be with your mother, she needs to do things that will be good for her (again, with the permission of her doctor.)  I know I had to and it was hard and still is.

At least she will drink the cranberry juice.  By the way, that is what I mixed a teaspoon of the Glutamine powder in, 3 x a day.  You can't taste it... just makes the juice look a little milky.

Yes, it's true her lungs do need exercising, especially since she was under anesthesia for the length of time she was.  Thats why they have that funky blowing apparatus.  The nurses had to make sure I did it at least once an hour (again, reluctancy on my part.)  If the nurses make sure she is doing it, your mother's breathing will get better with each day passing.

Don't hesitate to tell or ask us anything.  Knowledge is power and you can tell me to back off, but... I won't.  LOL

Take care.  Angie

[petunia0580]

My mother is 74 and very old fashion.  I talked to her about the Rutger's university study about cranberry juice helping the chemo and she's all for that but I don't think I can get her to do much else (especially Milk Thistle).  She also has it all over her diaphragm wall (forgot about that one).  She's tough and not taking much pain medication. (this is a woman who just had a block for hip replacement...she didn't want to get put out).  She actually looks great (i didn't mention that)...we prepared ourselves for her looking bad but - wow, looks like she just woke up from a nap very refreshed.  She is not breathing well - the only thing they are really concerned with right now - pulse Oc is at 89 or 90 --i guess she has been breathing very shallowly for a while and needs to exercises her lungs...

[PF_PVD]

I see a naturopath along with all my other doctors, and she and my oncologist both recommended Milk Thistle to protect my liver.  However, I was told to not use it within something like 36 hours either side of my chemo treatment, as sometimes you don't want to protect organs that may benefit from the chemo toxins.  Does that make sense?  It might be worthwhile to do some further digging, this is just what I was told.  I also take many other supplements including probiotics, fish oil, etc.

[rmarie]

Your mom probably looks good for someone who has had 6 hours of surgery to the nurses, but not to you.  She is on pain medication, has an IV and possibly other tubes of course she doesn't look good.  Then they get to tell you it was cancer and she was a stage 4, all of this enters into how you see her.  She will look better each day, as she needs less and less pain medication and builds up her strength.  Make sure she does her breathing exercises and is walking as much as possible.  She will be getting chemo before she has her full strength back from the surgery.  She is a strong lady, and she has a very supportive family there are women on this site that are a stage 4 and going strong.  All my best to you.
Marie

[Angie_Lou]

Dear Petunia,

I very happy to hear your mother came out of surgery looking fabulous.  Although I was stage IIIC, I looked good after surgery too and was released from the hospital three days later.  My doctor had to make a choice while in surgery also; perform a colostomy or scrape what she could off the colon.  She decided to scrape and anything left was treated by the Chemo.  I also had a layer on my diaphragm, which she scraped as well as she could.

At the time I was in the hospital, there were no beds available either and they had to put me in the Cardiology Unit.  I was the only one there without a heart condition.

Chemo will play havoc with her body and her liver needs to stay as healthy as possible.  Ask the doctor if she could take a supplement that contains milk thistle for liver health prior to Chemo and while she is on Chemo.  In addition to a good diet and daily water intake, here is the list of supplements I promised you:

Liver Health (just what it says it does.  This contains the milk thistle)

Glutamine powder (keeps muscles strong and helps relieve numbness in hands/feet she may experience with Chemo)

Probiotic complex with Acidophilus (helps with the digestive tract)

IP-6 & Insitol with Maitake & Cat's Claw (this supports the immune system)

And, vitamin supplements of her choice.

Consult with her doctor before she takes any supplements.  As I mentioned previously, my doctor did not object and I still continue to take these supplements, even after Chemo.

I finished my Chemo in August and am entering my fourth month of remission.  I pray the same results for your mother.  My best to you, your mom and your family...the Holiday season will be different, but your mom is now on the road to recovery and that is what you will be celebrating.  Angie

[freshair]

Best wishes for a good recovery. Did a gyn/onc perform the surgery? Those ice chips are wonderful and as soon as she can "walk the hospital floor " the better. Want to get everything moving again. When they move her off the morphine to other pain killers, my advice is "not on an empty stomach." I saw that with my roommate and she threw up constantly with oxycontin. So when it was my turn for pain killers I told them the lightest one you have. Darvacet worked for me but everyone is different.
The carbo/taxol works wonders and I send my wishes that it takes care of the remaining specks.

All my best for peace and recovery time,
Helen