Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

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TinaFish
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:11 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby TinaFish » Sun Aug 18, 2019 8:44 am

Jacques wrote:
boxhill wrote:... Metformin is also somewhat of an issue for those having scans with contrast, since the combo can put a strain on the kidneys. ..

Tina -

I think boxhill, is right. If your upcoming CT scan is to be a "CT scan with IV contrast", then your kidney function tests (e.g., BUN, creatinine/creatinine-clearance) all have to be within the normal range before they will give you a prescription for the IV contrast agent. But your upcoming scan really needs to be a "CT scan with IV contrast" so that the fine detail of your liver and lungs will become visible, otherwise there is hardly any point in having a CT scan right now. Right now what you need is a high-definition scan that will show what is going on in you liver and lungs. You can't afford to do anthing now that's going to damage your kidneys.

More information on contrast materials here:

Contrast materials used in CT scans
https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=safety-contrast


How to Prepare for a CT or CAT Scan
https://www.sjhc.london.on.ca/diagnostic-imaging/ct-computed-tomography-and-cat-computerized-axial-tomography/how-prepare


Possible side effects of an abdominal CT scan

The side effects of an abdominal CT scan are most often caused by a reaction to any contrast used. In most cases, they’re mild. However, if they become more severe, you should call your doctor right away.

Side effects of barium contrast can include:

abdominal cramping
diarrhea
nausea or vomiting
constipation

Side effects of iodine contrast can include:

skin rash or hives
itching
headache

If you’re given either type of contrast and have severe symptoms, call your doctor or go to the emergency room right away.
Ref: https://www.healthline.com/health/abdominal-ct-scan


Alternatives to CT scans. You should be aware that CT scans are not the only kinds of scans used for rectal cancer. Other procedures, such as rectal MRI, or endo-rectal ultrasound (ERUS), can give better, more detailed images of the primary tumor, but they may be more expensive or not ordinarily covered by insurance or not available at small hospitals. (It may be worth asking why they are not using any of these in your case.)

Imaging Rectal Cancer Before Treatment
Before radiation, chemotherapy or surgery for rectal cancer, imaging specialists may use one or more techniques to determine where the tumors are located in the rectum and how far they have spread into surrounding tissue and lymph node. These images help surgeons and radiation oncologists pinpoint exactly where to treat the cancer, how to remove as much of the cancer as possible so that the likelihood of the cancer returning is small, and how to preserve the muscles and nerves of the rectum to give a patient the best quality of life going forward.

Imaging techniques can include:

Rectal protocol MRI: this technique refers to MRI that includes images taken from specific angles to gain the best look at the rectum and surrounding tissue. These images are recommended for patients entering the Johns Hopkins Rectal Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic.

Transanal ultrasound: transanal ultrasound (TRUS), sometimes called endorectal ultrasound (ERUS), creates images of the rectum from high-energy sound waves produced by a probe inserted through the anus.

Transanal endoscopy ultrasound: transrectal endoscopic ultrasounds (EUS), performed with a flexible endoscope inserted through the anus, are often preferred to transanal ultrasounds to view tumors higher in the rectum, closer to the colon.
Ref: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/centers/colorectal_cancer/about_rectal_cancer/treatments/radiationtherapy.html


It's 6:30 AM and I'm in bed, but I'm pretty sure that in my referral paperwork for the scan, contrast was mentioned. However, no one has informed me that I will be ingesting anything specific before the scan. Could it be that they're just going to give me some liquid to drink when I get to the scanning place? Would that require a prescription?
F 45, single mother to son, 7 and daughter, 3
DX: stage 4 Rectal Cancer June 2019
Tumor Location: ? cm above anal verge
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size: 5 cm
Tumor grade: ?
TNM code: ?
Stage : Stage IV-B
# of cancerous lymph nodes: ?
Mets: Numerous mets to liver, lungs
CEA: 22 in July; 11 as of August 15, 7 as of Sept 20
MSI status: MSS
KRAS/BRAF status: KRAS mutation
surgery: TBD
Ostomy surgery: TBD
Radiation therapy: TBD
Chemotherapy : CAPEOX+Avastin, 6 cycles, with CT scans after 3rd and 6th cycle.

annieliz
Posts: 56
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2019 5:13 pm

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby annieliz » Sun Aug 18, 2019 10:39 am

When I went for my scan with contrast they gave me a water bottle filled with the contrast solution and I had to drink it over the course of one hour. During the course of the scan, they also injected me with contrast via and IV line. If you have an implanted port they can use that instead.

Wishing you all the best,
anneliz
66 Female
7/15/19 Colonoscopy
7/26/19 DX: Rectal Adenocarcinoma
CEA 8/8/19-1.9, 12/6/19-2.3, 2/28/20-1.7, 11/27 - 1.9, 2/10/21 - 1.5
8/16/19 - 11/23/19 FOLFOX - 8 rounds
10/9 flex sig ~30% shrinkage 11/27/19-a bit more shrinkage
Neulasta 9/29/19, 10/27/19, 11/24/19
25 days Xeloda and radiation 12/17/2019 - 1/22/20
Robotic LAR 4/14/20 - clear margins - 0/15 nodes
Temp ileostomy - Reversal 7/15 - minor LARS
10/19/20 - clear colonoscopy
2/10/21 - clear CT

boxhill
Posts: 789
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:40 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby boxhill » Sun Aug 18, 2019 10:43 am

I've never been handed an actual written prescription before a CT scan with contrast. The drill is that I am supposed to not eat or drink anything for 3 hours in advance, then when I arrive they hand me 2 bottles of yucky barium stuff that tastes like liquid orange Tums. I have 45 minutes to get it down before the actual scan. Luckily they serve it cold and with a straw, which makes it more tolerable. :)

The second contrast (iodine) is delivered via IV. Unfortunately they are not qualified to access my port.

It is quite possible that they have to write a prescription to dispense the stuff. I know that I have to have had blood work that assesses kidney function within some specific period of the scan...I think it's a week. Typically a non-issue because of the frequent chemo/immunotherapy-related testing. They always ask me about diabetes, and this requirement is associated with it, although my kidneys have always functioned perfectly.
F, 64 at DX CRC Stage IV
3/17/18 blockage, r hemi
11 of 25 LN,5 mesentery nodes
5mm liver met
pT3 pN2b pM1
BRAF wild, KRAS G12D
dMMR, MSI-H
5/18 FOLFOX
7/18 and 11/18 CT NED
12/18 MRI 5mm liver mass, 2 LNs in porta hepatis
12/31/18 Keytruda
6/19 Multiphasic CT LNs normal, Liver stable
6/28/19 Pause Key, predisone for joint pain
7/31/19 Restart Key
9/19 CT stable
Pain: all fails but Celebrex
12/23/19 CT stable
5/20 MRI stable/NED
6/20 Stop Key
All MRIs NED

MeAndMine
Posts: 149
Joined: Mon Aug 05, 2019 2:40 pm

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby MeAndMine » Sun Aug 18, 2019 1:31 pm

I went in for my first scan last week. My papers said it was without contrast & all I was told was to make sure to drink 32 oz of water 1 1/2 hours before my appointment time. They didn't mention food but I decided to skip breakfast to make sure since I had an early appointment. When I got there, they said it was with contrast. I asked about it & they said it was good not to eat because sometimes the contrast makes you feel sick to your stomach.

I was only given the IV contrast & nothing by mouth but they did do a kidney function test before they did the actual CT scan. She said they had to make sure my kidneys were strong enough to get rid of the contrast. She took some blood, put it in a little hand held machine & said I was good to go.
F 56 non-smoker
8/5/2019 - Colonoscopy - 4-5 cm rectal mass, 2-3 cm proximal to anal verge and 6mm polyp
8/13/2019 - CT - No mets
8/19/2019 - Rectum: Adenocarcinoma arising from tubulovillous adenoma. Descending colon: tubular adenoma
8/23/2019 First visit with surgeon
8/26/2019 First visit with oncologist
8/26/2019 MRI
CEA 8/19/19=3.9, 8/26/19=7.1
9/6/2019 - T3N2a
9/11/2019 - Radiation begins - 5.5 weeks along with oral capecitabine

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Jacques
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Location: Occitanie

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby Jacques » Sun Aug 18, 2019 2:19 pm

For your information:

Grades of diarrhea
Doctors use grades established by the National Cancer Institute to describe the diarrhea's severity:

Grade 1. Passing up to 4 more stools a day than a person's baseline.

Grade 2. Passing 4 to 6 more stools a day than a person's baseline.

Grade 3. This may require treatment in a hospital or clinic. It is characterized by several factors:
  • Passing 7 or more stools a day
  • An inability to control bowel movements, known as incontinence
  • Having trouble meeting daily needs without help

Grade 4. This is a life-threatening condition that requires intensive care right away.

Reference: https://www.cancer.net/coping-with-cancer/physical-emotional-and-social-effects-cancer/managing-physical-side-effects/diarrhea


NB: Grade 3 adverse events ordinarily require the temporary suspension of the offending medication until the problem resolves.

TinaFish
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:11 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby TinaFish » Sun Aug 18, 2019 7:25 pm

Jacques wrote:For your information:

Grades of diarrhea
Doctors use grades established by the National Cancer Institute to describe the diarrhea's severity:

Grade 1. Passing up to 4 more stools a day than a person's baseline.

Grade 2. Passing 4 to 6 more stools a day than a person's baseline.

Grade 3. This may require treatment in a hospital or clinic. It is characterized by several factors:
  • Passing 7 or more stools a day
  • An inability to control bowel movements, known as incontinence
  • Having trouble meeting daily needs without help

Grade 4. This is a life-threatening condition that requires intensive care right away.

Reference: https://www.cancer.net/coping-with-cancer/physical-emotional-and-social-effects-cancer/managing-physical-side-effects/diarrhea


NB: Grade 3 adverse events ordinarily require the temporary suspension of the offending medication until the problem resolves.


Yeah, I've read that. I get on the toilet many times each day, but the amount of poop (real poop; not diarrhea) is very small each time. Then when I wipe, it's like diarrhea mixed with mucous. It's translucent and gelatinous. I've told my oncologist about it and she never suggested going to the hospital. I don't have liquid shooting out of me, so I think I can assume I'm not dehydrated. I think what's happening is that since there's a rectal tumor, my body is confusing the tumor + poop/diarrhea for a "normal" piece of poop. So the tenesmus happens whenever there's the slightest bit of excrement in my rectum.

My oncologist kept insisting that the tumor was to blame for the tenesmus, but I told her that's impossible: I never had tenesmus until after I had diarrhea from my first chemo treatment. Obviously, the tumor was there before my first chemo treatment.

Not really sure what the hospital could or would do for me if I were to go there... put me on IV fluids?

Last night, I took no medication/supplements at all, except a Norco. I woke up this morning feeling much better. I took my three Capecitabine pills, and that was it. I was feeling 80% normal throughout the day, until the kids and I went to Target, around noon. Maybe all of the walking did me in, but the tenesmus kicked in again. I had to go to the Target bathroom. After that, I felt extremely gaseous and I just wanted to go home so that I could lie down. Got home and acid reflux kicked in... so now I've taken two Buscopan, one Bentyl, and two Tums. Plus two Imodium and two simethicone tablets. Passing insane amounts of gas. I'm hoping I just need to get these Care Oncology meds out of my system, and maybe I can tolerate the Capecitabene and just feel like a normal person for a change.

As far as the CT scan goes, I think I'd rather just go there and see what happens instead of calling and dealing with that receptionist again.

And maybe, for the first time in my life, I'm lactose-intolerant! I had a latte with whipped cream from Starbucks inside Target. Just trying to get those calories in my body. Has anyone else here become lactose-intolerant due to chemo meds destroying the lactose-digesting bacteria in your gut? I take a probiotic vitamin every day (except not today).
Last edited by TinaFish on Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:15 pm, edited 3 times in total.
F 45, single mother to son, 7 and daughter, 3
DX: stage 4 Rectal Cancer June 2019
Tumor Location: ? cm above anal verge
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size: 5 cm
Tumor grade: ?
TNM code: ?
Stage : Stage IV-B
# of cancerous lymph nodes: ?
Mets: Numerous mets to liver, lungs
CEA: 22 in July; 11 as of August 15, 7 as of Sept 20
MSI status: MSS
KRAS/BRAF status: KRAS mutation
surgery: TBD
Ostomy surgery: TBD
Radiation therapy: TBD
Chemotherapy : CAPEOX+Avastin, 6 cycles, with CT scans after 3rd and 6th cycle.

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Jacques
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Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 10:38 am
Location: Occitanie

O/T Spelling lesson.

Postby Jacques » Sun Aug 18, 2019 8:45 pm

TinaFish wrote:... Capectibene (sp?) ...

To spell capecitabine correctly it might help to learn how it is pronounced. If you have a good auditory memory, then you can just recall the sound of the spoken word, syllable by syllable, and this might help you in deciding which vowels to type where.

https://www.howtopronounce.com/capecitabine/

In the link above, the spoken sound is described as: KAP-e-SYE-ta-been.

Just remember that the 6th letter in the word is an "i" and then work backwards from there. I know it's difficult at first, but eventually it will become second nature.

On this message board it's important to spell words correctly so that other users can later find your past posts by using the Search function. The Search function here doesn't allow any spelling errors. For example, if you search for "tumor" here it will never find the 2,700+ references to "tumour" that have been posted here because "tumor" is not spelled the same way as "tumour".

Another point: The correct spelling for the trade name of loperamide is "Imodium", not "Immodium".

TinaFish
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:11 am

Re: O/T Spelling lesson.

Postby TinaFish » Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:10 pm

Jacques wrote:
TinaFish wrote:... Capectibene (sp?) ...

To spell capecitabine correctly it might help to learn how it is pronounced. If you have a good auditory memory, then you can just recall the sound of the spoken word, syllable by syllable, and this might help you in deciding which vowels to type where.

https://www.howtopronounce.com/capecitabine/

In the link above, the spoken sound is described as: KAP-e-SYE-ta-been.

Just remember that the 6th letter in the word is an "i" and then work backwards from there. I know it's difficult at first, but eventually it will become second nature.

On this message board it's important to spell words correctly so that other users can later find your past posts by using the Search function. The Search function here doesn't allow any spelling errors. For example, if you search for "tumor" here it will never find the 2,700+ references to "tumour" that have been posted here because "tumor" is not spelled the same way as "tumour".

Another point: The correct spelling for the trade name of loperamide is "Imodium", not "Immodium".


I love it! I love when someone schools me like this! Would you believe I'm actually a three-time spelling bee champion? I need to care more about spelling these days :)

It's 8:30 at night now. I just put the kids to bed and I can finally lie down and relax. My gas is *somewhat* better. I'm not taking ANY meds or supplements tonight. I'm just going to hope that everything corrects itself and I can wake up in the morning feeling decent. It's times like this that I really worry about my quality of life. I can't stop taking the chemo meds, but GOD, how much better I felt before I ever took them!
F 45, single mother to son, 7 and daughter, 3
DX: stage 4 Rectal Cancer June 2019
Tumor Location: ? cm above anal verge
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size: 5 cm
Tumor grade: ?
TNM code: ?
Stage : Stage IV-B
# of cancerous lymph nodes: ?
Mets: Numerous mets to liver, lungs
CEA: 22 in July; 11 as of August 15, 7 as of Sept 20
MSI status: MSS
KRAS/BRAF status: KRAS mutation
surgery: TBD
Ostomy surgery: TBD
Radiation therapy: TBD
Chemotherapy : CAPEOX+Avastin, 6 cycles, with CT scans after 3rd and 6th cycle.

stu
Posts: 1613
Joined: Sat Aug 17, 2013 5:46 pm

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby stu » Mon Aug 19, 2019 2:12 am

Hi ,

Hope your tummy settles a bit . Sounds really horrible . My mum struggled through with a sore digestive track. Cleared up once she stopped the chemo . Her oncologist just said everything takes a hammering including the colon , turns out the tumours too .

Having successfully passed on my auditory processing problem to one of my sons who had the added complication of learning phonetically. I see an “ ape” at the start and a “ bin” at the end !!

Wish I could just look at a word and retain it but I have my little mobile now and I let “ autocorrect “ shoulder some of the blame ! :lol:

We would be last in line for a spelling test over here but turns out when you have to depend on your memory more to learn to read it’s a good study aid . My son transformed into a straight A student by the end of his education . Including French . He can only speak one line . I used to tell him everyone else is on a “ motorway” but your on a “ country” road but your going to arrive .

All the very best ,

Stu

Ps . How are you kids doing ?
supporter to my mum who lives a great life despite a difficult diagnosis
stage4 2009 significant spread to liver
2010 colon /liver resection
chemo following recurrence
73% of liver removed
enjoying life treatment free
2016 lung resection
Oct 2017 nice clear scan . Two lung nodules disappeared
Oct 2018. Another clear scan .

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Jacques
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Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 10:38 am
Location: Occitanie

Re: O/T Spelling lesson.

Postby Jacques » Mon Aug 19, 2019 9:35 am

TinaFish wrote:... Would you believe I'm actually a three-time spelling bee champion?

Yes, I can believe it. I noticed early on that you spelled almost all technical words correctly. That's a bit unusual for newcomers around here!

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby NHMike » Mon Aug 19, 2019 9:45 am

You can always blame spelling errors on chemo-brain.

Many of us have temporary ileostomy bags during chemo so the liquidy stuff goes into the bag instead of through your large intestine and the rest. I think that the bag makes things easier (one of the reasons why it's there). The bag has its own problems but solves some problems too.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

TinaFish
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:11 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby TinaFish » Mon Aug 19, 2019 9:55 am

NHMike wrote:You can always blame spelling errors on chemo-brain.

Many of us have temporary ileostomy bags during chemo so the liquidy stuff goes into the bag instead of through your large intestine and the rest. I think that the bag makes things easier (one of the reasons why it's there). The bag has its own problems but solves some problems too.


Oh God, a fear of mine that I haven't even discussed with the doctor at this point. An even bigger fear is that it wouldn't be temporary. And the biggest fear of all is that I just don't make it through any of this.

I want to make the most of every day I have. I want to play with my kids and enjoy them; not have to lie on the couch all day because Mommy's feeling sick again! Poor sweet kids.

Right now, I just want a couple of good days when I can pretend I'm not sick! I can put those horrific thoughts out of my head and just have a nice day with my loved ones! I can't do that with the constant stomach upset, with the frequency with which I have to go to the bathroom! And I'm so worried about the weight I've lost. I'm now 5'7" and 132 lbs. I guess that's still considered normal, but I'm accustomed to being a little meatier, and it's so scary to lose 20 lbs in two months!

Today the plan is to only take my three Capecitabine pills and one probiotic pill when I start my day this morning. After that, I'll try to have a fattening breakfast. Maybe I should go to the store and get those Lactaid pills. I really do think that the dairy in the Starbucks latte was what did me in yesterday. So I'll eat well today and try to keep the lactose at bay. We'll see how it goes.
Last edited by TinaFish on Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:09 am, edited 2 times in total.
F 45, single mother to son, 7 and daughter, 3
DX: stage 4 Rectal Cancer June 2019
Tumor Location: ? cm above anal verge
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size: 5 cm
Tumor grade: ?
TNM code: ?
Stage : Stage IV-B
# of cancerous lymph nodes: ?
Mets: Numerous mets to liver, lungs
CEA: 22 in July; 11 as of August 15, 7 as of Sept 20
MSI status: MSS
KRAS/BRAF status: KRAS mutation
surgery: TBD
Ostomy surgery: TBD
Radiation therapy: TBD
Chemotherapy : CAPEOX+Avastin, 6 cycles, with CT scans after 3rd and 6th cycle.

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby NHMike » Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:01 am

TinaFish wrote:
NHMike wrote:You can always blame spelling errors on chemo-brain.

Many of us have temporary ileostomy bags during chemo so the liquidy stuff goes into the bag instead of through your large intestine and the rest. I think that the bag makes things easier (one of the reasons why it's there). The bag has its own problems but solves some problems too.


Oh God, a fear of mine that I haven't even discussed with the doctor at this point. An even bigger fear is that it wouldn't be temporary. And the biggest fear of all is that I just don't make it through any of this.

I want to make the most of every day I have. I want to play with my kids and enjoy them; not have to lie on the couch all day because Mommy's feeling sick again! Poor sweet kids.


The temp ileostomy is on the right side at the junction of the small and large intestines. A permanent colostomy would be on the lower left side. The main determinant would be the distance to the anal verge of the tumor. I see that you have a ? mark there so you don't have that notation yet. In general, five cm and more usually indicate that you won't get one.

My surgeon told me that a permanent colostomy was unlikely but she would make the decision in surgery.

My GI doctor told me it's tough to get through this but just put one step in front of the other and continue on.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

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ginabeewell
Posts: 565
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2018 10:30 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby ginabeewell » Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:37 am

TinaFish wrote:I want to make the most of every day I have. I want to play with my kids and enjoy them; not have to lie on the couch all day because Mommy's feeling sick again! Poor sweet kids.


If your kids are anything like my kids, they love to cuddle. I don't always have the energy to play with and enjoy my kids - or cook for them, which used to be a big deal in our house. But I almost always have the energy to lie in bed and cuddle with them, and that's allowed us to get some good quality time in. They don't interpret the cuddling as something we do because Mommy is sick. They interpret it as something we do because we love to cuddle!

I recall reading someone else's journal, her mother had passed away from cancer - and she shared the story of how the quiet times she enjoyed in bed with her mother are some of her fondest memories.
49 YO mom of twins (11) lucky stepmom of 16/19 year olds
9/17/18 DX stage 4 CRC w inoperable liver mets CEA 931
Currently NED!

Join me on a lookback of my journey via my Strive for Five on Substack here:
https://ginajacobson.substack.com

All treatment details here:
https://www.weareallmadeofstars.net/col ... nt-journey

My favorite posts here:
https://weareallmadeofstars.net/favorite-posts

TinaFish
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:11 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby TinaFish » Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:38 am

ginabeewell wrote:
TinaFish wrote:I want to make the most of every day I have. I want to play with my kids and enjoy them; not have to lie on the couch all day because Mommy's feeling sick again! Poor sweet kids.


If your kids are anything like my kids, they love to cuddle. I don't always have the energy to play with and enjoy my kids - or cook for them, which used to be a big deal in our house. But I almost always have the energy to lie in bed and cuddle with them, and that's allowed us to get some good quality time in. They don't interpret the cuddling as something we do because Mommy is sick. They interpret it as something we do because we love to cuddle!

I recall reading someone else's journal, her mother had passed away from cancer - and she shared the story of how the quiet times she enjoyed in bed with her mother are some of her fondest memories.


I love that. My daughter won't cuddle for very long (too much energy) but my son will. It would be easier if we could all just hang out in my bed, but my daughter will not allow anything on the TV other than Paw Patrol, and she wants to bring ALL of her "friends" in the bed too! The friends take up too much room, hahaha!

I wish I could cook for them, and for my father. I just can't seem to do anything other than lie down lately. Hopefully I can feel better by getting off the Care Oncology meds and taking probiotics.
F 45, single mother to son, 7 and daughter, 3
DX: stage 4 Rectal Cancer June 2019
Tumor Location: ? cm above anal verge
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size: 5 cm
Tumor grade: ?
TNM code: ?
Stage : Stage IV-B
# of cancerous lymph nodes: ?
Mets: Numerous mets to liver, lungs
CEA: 22 in July; 11 as of August 15, 7 as of Sept 20
MSI status: MSS
KRAS/BRAF status: KRAS mutation
surgery: TBD
Ostomy surgery: TBD
Radiation therapy: TBD
Chemotherapy : CAPEOX+Avastin, 6 cycles, with CT scans after 3rd and 6th cycle.


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