Cancer Treatment

Saturday, September 20, 2008

What helps throat discomfort caused from cancer treatment

What helps throat discomfort caused from cancer treatment?
My father is undergoing chemo and radiation treatment for small cell lung cancer (five weeks down with two and a half to go). He has bad throat pain to the point he can't stand to swallow (I think there is swelling as well as pain). He is extremely weak and is loosing a few pounds everyday. He can barely even drink anything and when he does I can see the discomfort on his face. He drops his head and tries to shake it off. He gets treatments through the Veterans Hospital and they don't seem concerned (they never are). He is now so weak he can't walk without help. Any advice on how to ease his discomfort would be greatly appreciated. He is a diabetic and already has to give himself shots daily. He also has alzheimers, heart problems and several other health issues.
Cancer - 4 Answers

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1 :
Cloraseptic or sucking on suckrets (the cough drops for sore throats) could help as will Tylenol. There is also an oral gel that helps with mouth sores (sorry I can't remember what it's called) Your dad could also possibly have Thursh, which cause whitish looking junk in his throat. It is a yeast type infection that is common in Chemo patients. He should get it checked by his oncologist. Chemo plays havoc with all parts of the body, in particular any part that is protected by mucous membranes. If he can eat just a little bit, soft foods with gravy, smoothies, anything high in calories (cream soups, etc) baked potatoes mashed up with lots of butter and sour cream... are what got me through chemo. I wish your dad luck
2 :
His doctor needs to prescribe some oral swish and swallow, sometimes called a slurry. It has lidocaine in it. sometimes pharmacies have their own concoctions they whip up to help their pts with this terrible throat pain, They usually consist of an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory an anti fungal and suspension to keep it all floating together. Remember the lidocaine must be given 1st before the slurry to help relieve the pain and be able to get the slurry down. Most important at this time is pain relief. Your dad can be given SubQ morphine which is injected like an insulin shot. This is totally acceptable in the cancer world because pts who have this much throat pain are not able to swallow oral medications easily. It doesn't take much for a family member to learn how to administer the sub q morphine and it will be useful down the road when your dad has to start taking injections such as neupogen or procrit to stimulate red and white blood cell formation. If he has a morphine allergy, he can be given dilaudid. FYI. while your dad is not able to swallow, he is losing valuable nutrients. Make sure a dietician sees him about his oral intake, He may need supplemental nutrition thru total parenteral nutrition or g tube feedings to get over the hump. I am a cancer nurse.
3 :
Have him ask his Oncologist about viscous lidocaine. It's a numbing medicine, but it's REALLY thick so it will coat his throat. And if he can stand it, gargle with lukewarm salt water. Sorry to hear he's sick, hope he gets to feeling better and has a speedy recovery!
4 :
Read up on glyconutrients. Start with this link glycoresource.com Also read my page.

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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Oncologist treating breast cancer treatment without Tamoxifen

Oncologist treating breast cancer treatment without Tamoxifen?
My mother had a lumpectomy and is undergoing radiation therapy. I thought that typically Tamoxifen is prescribed as well for breast cancer treatment, but he is not prescribing that to her. Any idea why this might be? My mother DOES have ER+ breast cancer. Sorry for leaving that out.
Cancer - 2 Answers
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1 :
Its not required as part of the treatment or otherwise she would be on it.
2 :
Tamoxifen is only used for people with ER+ breast cancer. If your mother's pathology results came back ER- then tamoxifen is of no use to her. Another reason could be that your mother has already been through menopause where another hormone treatment would be used if her cancer was hormone receptive (ER+). ADDED: If your mother is ER+ then maybe she is post menopausal and will be taking another form of hormonal treatment such as Arimidex? Also some oncologists don't like to start their patients on Tamoxifen until after radiotherapy is completed so maybe she will be on it then. Another thing could be that your mother doesn't want to take it. A lot of women refuse to take it because of the possible side effects.

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Friday, September 12, 2008

Pancreatic cancer and best treatment facilities

Pancreatic cancer and best treatment facilities?
A very dear friend of my husband and I was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It has spread to a spot on the liver and lymph nodes. Cancer Treatment Centers of America do not take his insurance. We live near the East Coast. Any suggestions on top notch facilities? Staying in my small town for treatment is not an option. Thanks.
Cancer - 5 Answers

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1 :
Duke and Johns Hopkins are great facilities. However, pancreatic cancer diagnosis is pretty much the kiss of death. I would look into palliative care for this gentleman.
2 :
Johns Hopkins would be my first choice. In fact, I have had consultations there ... they are a leading pancreatic cancer center and an NCI approved cancer treatment facility.
3 :
Johns Hopkins for sure. They ahve a Pancreatic Cancer Message Board where you can ask many questions regarding treatment, either there or at other facilities. Unfortunately, unless he is Stage I, the treatment at any cancer facility is goingot be the same, which is chemo. At this point the idea is to buy as much time as possible while waiting for better therapies to come along. here's the link to JHU: http://www.path.jhu.edu/pancreas_chat/
4 :
The National Cancer Institute has a list of designated comprehensive cancer centers located across the United States. These are among the best cancer hospitals in the world, they share information and are affiliated with research or university teaching hospitals. Among the top rated cancer hospitals are MD Anderson, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Dana Farber (Harvard) You can locate the nearest facility from the NCI site: NCI: Cancer Centers by state http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_centers/cancer-centers-list.html
5 :
My $.02 goes to MD Anderson, as they are active in research in pancreatic caner. Johns Hopkins is a fine institution as well. I would caution against building up emotionally a visit to a center as cancer of the pancreas that has spread to liver is not curable. treatment generally involves gemcitabine, which any oncologist can give. At major centers, there will likely be clinical trials- these would be the preferred option for treatment, but rarely do the trials show that the experimental arm is better than the standard arm (usually gemcitabine) unfortunately. Many times the best option here is to preserve resources and go with local palliative care. Blessings

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