My father

[ritaxis]

It did not look good last night. He was somnolent, a little confused (he seemed much more confused than he was because he was so somnolent and weak), and could only eat three bites of soup.

He's had a week and a half of radiation.

Is this what we're supposed to expect?

Where can I read about this?

Comments

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it affects a lot of people that way.

National Cancer Institute - Managing Side Effects (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/radiation-therapy-and-you/page5).

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'll read it this afternoon.

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

Oh, Lucy. I don't know what you're supposed to expect. I've been close support through chemo and radiation for someone who died of cancer, close support for someone who is in remission despite having metastasized before beginning chemo, and long-distance support for others with earlier cancers. Fatigue seems to be common from either the cancer or the treatment. So does loss of appetite.

And things I'm sure you know: Do you have a cancer support center there? Of course you do, you're in Santa Cruz. I google them; they're at Dominican Hospital, 462-7770. Because they do support and not just medical care, they may think of a separate list of things from the stuff the medical people think of.

While my friend Anna was dying, we got lots of support from the hospice people and from her doctor and her doctor's nurse and from the Cancer Care Alliance, and there were still things we were surprised by, all the time, because there's so much stuff to deal with when someone is seriously ill.

Tapioca was a good bet for getting calories into her, because it's bland and comforting.

I hope some of this helps some. This is a hard, hard thing to go through, whatever the outcome.

All my best to you.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

I hadn't thought about going to Dominican for information, because he's in the City and I'm here. Thanks: I'll look into that.

[mayakda.livejournal.com]

If he gets nauseous, ginger's very good for that, and not much in the way of side effects, as far as I know*. (When you boil the soup, add a few slices of ginger root, or stick a ginger tea bag in).
(It is blood-thinning in large doses, like aspirin)

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Sympathies. Part of the problem is simple stress on an elder's body; the cancer treatments we have are very hard and debilitating even to a young healthy person. And the treatments take people differently; some people simply tolerate the stress better than others. Generally, like most sick elders, he's going to need a lot of reinforcing of connections and support in staying as active as possible. You might want to try seeking out support groups.