I was a caregiver but these two things annoy me: A. When people say 'if I ever get diagnosed with cancer, I'm not going to get any treatment, I'll just die, it's not worth it." B. People who have never had a colonoscopy (or mammogram) and say "I'll never get one, it's too gross (or it will...

I can tell you from my daughters experience. She had peri mets, found in August 2011. She did chemo which actually was successful in shrinking them. Then she did Hipec and didn't recover well. She was off chemo from August 2012 to have the Hipec. Because of her unrelenting nausea and vomiting, she e...

Do you have copies of your ct scans? If not, get them and all your test results and see what the report says. Maybe some of the new stuff was hinted at before? Rumors under a certain size won't show on CT until larger. If a lesion is small--millimeters in size, it won't show so could be these things...

I volunteer for our local Komen office because my mom and my SIL both died rom BC. I can tell you this, for our race, 75% of the money raised stays in our state and funds local organizations that pay for mammograms, pay rent for patients, help with legal issues, etc. I've met people who've been help...

I just want to say, I think you have to deal with this sooner rather then later. One time my sis-in-law came to stay with us to look for a job. But she had no idea how that works, so she mostly sat around watching tv all day. After about 6 weeks, I had enough and freaked out on her, so she drove off...

I have taken the generic duloxitine for about 2 1/2 years, 30 mg a day, for pain from arthritis. It really helps with that and the side effect is a bit of a dry mouth (for me). Never has made me tired.

There should be a 'waiver of premium' clause in any employer provided group life. I work in payroll/hr. If the hr department doesn't know, call the home office of the insurance co. There will be a form if you are disabled for your doc to complete and you'll be approved for waiver of premium.

Could you have low magnesium or potassium? That can cause leg cramps (all muscle cramps) and chemo knocks those two down.

Heidi, it's perfectly ok for you to A) get something to help you sleep B) talk to a therapist and C) get on an anti depressant with everything going on. Or please vent here or ask advice. But talk to your doctor, you may need help going through all this with your parents.

In general they tell you to start colonoscopies 10 years before the relative was diagnosed. My daughter was 25 so my then 21 year old had a colonoscopy, we all did. We do every 3 years. So your baby probably will not have to do it until age 24 and by that time there should be a way better method tha...

Oh my gosh, that is a ton of stuff to deal with! Usually they do folfiri for metastatic disease. It's got the irinotecan which causes diarrhea but not the neuropathy. Some people find it easier to tolerate. There is also vectibex/erbitux which works on based on her KRAS status, you need to find out ...

You will know way more after surgery and the pathology report. It seems so slow but I'd say that's about right to get the diagnosis, get the tests done and get surgery scheduled probably takes a month. For now just take notes and ask questions. That's all you can do until the surgery and staging hap...

I just knew it had to do with ammonia--great explanation CRGuy. I never knew that could happen so it was surprising.

My daughter was on hospice care at our home for about 10 days. The pain was very manageable with dilaudid. However on the 11th day, her body chemistry started getting messed up and she no longer made sense. She also pulled out her catheter and ng tube a couple times. Hospice sedated her with Ativan ...

Signet ring cell is rare and it's tricky! My daughter had it so I've leaned a lot. You need to stay ahead of it, whatever treatment they offer, do it. There are people who have beat it but it's not easy. You will have to be super vigilant with treatment and follow ups. It tends to lend itself to per...