PERSONALITY CHANGE

Please feel free to read, share your thoughts, your stories and connect with others!
User avatar
MonaL
Posts: 479
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 2:42 am

Re: PERSONALITY CHANGE

Postby MonaL » Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:59 pm

My mom said that Dad got really grumpy and mean on chemo.

I think he just frequently lost his patience, and also didn't care about the stuff that he thought was little and minuscule in the grand scheme of things, stuff that is more important to people not facing the life and death and sick issues that a chemo patients have to deal with just to get through. I did see him get annoyed more easily, he just didn't want to be bothered, and mom, also being older, is pretty needy.
Dad, stage IV CC, mets to liver, 2007-2008
surgery, Xelox, and IP-6
NED summer 2009
surveillance stopped summer 2014, due to age
died 1/2018 at age 88, from Parkinson's and respiratory infection
(Parkinson's triggered by one of his cancer surgeries and/or chemo)

User avatar
surfingon
Posts: 448
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2009 4:11 pm

Re: PERSONALITY CHANGE

Postby surfingon » Wed Mar 17, 2010 1:23 am

Oh, how I wish that we had known about this forum when my husband was walking down the long winding colon cancer road. We had to figure out the answers to questions like this one on our own. I would have been so reassuring for him to hear from you kind people about steroid-induced anger and mania, to know that he wasn't alone in experiencing this. Which is why I started a blog for colon cancer patients after his death, with the hope that sharing what we learned might lessen the suffering of others. How really inspiring that so many other patients are doing that same thing every day in this forum.

I agree completely with Eric, that personalities DO change as a result of chemo-- hopefully for the better. My own experience was that yes, my husband was definitely affected by the Decadron-- it made him unreasonably euphoric for about 24 hours, and then quick to rage in the days that followed. But that was the short-term effect. The long-term effect was that he became SO much more compassionate towards the suffering of others; his focus on himself lessened dramatically and his concern for others grew a hundredfold-- he became a much bigger, kinder person. His heart opened wide.

Judging from what I've seen on this forum, these changes do not seem to be unique to my husband. Yes, the rages ("grumpiness" would be an almost laughable understatement, in my experience) are really hard on the family and loved ones, but when the chemo is over, the compassion that emerges is astonishingly beautiful. I believe that it grew out of the suffering.

Just a long-term perspective from one who has been there...

Aloha,
Rachel
caregiver to husband John
Stage III CC 3-05
liver+ colon resect Nov '06
FolfoxA , FolfiriA
7 liver RFA's, 1 lung RFA
died April 29, 2009
http://sheddinglightonthecancerjourney.wordpress.com/
http://sheddinglightonthewidowsjourney.wordpress.com

User avatar
Bev G
Posts: 5856
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2010 11:19 pm
Facebook Username: Bev Golde
Location: Quechee, VT

Re: PERSONALITY CHANGE

Postby Bev G » Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:21 am

hello Rachel:

What a beautiful note and lovely testament to your beloved husband. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Clearly, he was a lucky guy to have a wife that could see so deeply into his soul.

God bless you, Bev
58 yo Type1 DM 48 years
12/09 Stage IV 2/22 nodes + liver met, colon resec
3 tx FOLFIRI, liver resec 4/10
9/10 6 mos off chemo, Neg PET&CTC CEA nl
2/11 finished total 10 rounds chemo

9/13 ^17th clean PET/CT NED for now

airic
Posts: 37
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:19 pm
Location: Columbia Falls, Mt

Re: PERSONALITY CHANGE

Postby airic » Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:21 pm

My wife said my change came after my surgery in November. I don't think I changed to much. Lets face I have been off work since then, i like to work not sit at home recovering from all 4 surgerys. Hope to go back to work by end of month. On 3rd Flofox 6 cycle seem to be doing good with it. My wife and myself hope getting back to work will help out alot. Hang in there.
Stage IV Colon Cancer
8 inches of Colon removed 11-13-09
Lymph Nodes removed 11-13-09
Liver peice removed 11-13-09
Colosotmy Bag 11-17-09
Start Chomo FLOFOX6 Jan. 4th 2010


Return to “Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum”



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 90 guests