Hello again... - 1255478

dkm5859
Posts:89

Just to start off...I again want to thank all of the people on here for the love, caring and support each one has for one another & the input that we have received.
I need some input on a continuing issue which I think is starting to drive my Mother crazy.
My Mom was/is Stage 3A adeno, dx in late August 30th, 2012.
She had an ULL, followed up with six consectutive weekly rounds of chemo(carbo and taxol) & concurrent rad treatment for 35 sessions...she had Prton radiation for the last ten sessions.
She had some serious issues during treatment and is still having some but three major ones were nausea, SEVERE espohagitis, and she lost about sixty five pounds. She has had good scans and in some cases extremely good scans but with disclaimers...mainly due to immflamation we still have to wait until early June and hopefully then.. we will be extemely grateful & get great results at that time also.
But I digress some...she is STILL having nausea at times when she eats, she states that she feels full before she is done eating and she is not really eating a lot in the first place... she had gained about three and half pounds about six weeks ago, remained stable for awhile but last week she apparently lost about four to five pounds.
She had and still has a PEG feeding tube but she has been trying to 'wean' herself off the tube in the hopes of getting it removed.
Her pulsox has been in the high 90's, the visiting nurses and her PCP stated that her lungs sound clear.
She has this CONSTANT drainage from her head ...she adamantly states that it is draining from her head...all of the drainage she spits out has ben clear. The doctors have tried and bunch of different R'xs like Benadryl(in many forms) Claritin, Allegra...NOTHING seems to even begin to slow the drainage down? Also within the past four weeks she has developed a cough that she had not had back in mid February and or mid-January. She does not cough all the time and it does not sound like it is coming fr

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catdander
Posts:

I'm so sorry your mom is having so much difficulty.
I'll ask a doctor to comment on your questions.
I so hope she gets this under control asap.

Janine

Dr West
Posts: 4735

I'm afraid it sounds like she's having some side effects that may be related to the extent of treatment she received. It's not rare to have serious side effects from such harsh treatment, and sometimes they can be very long-lasting.

If she hasn't seen a gastroenterologist, perhaps it would be helpful to have them do an upper endoscopy (esophagogastrojejunoscopy, or EGD) to look at what the lining of the esophagus, stomach, and upper part of the small bowel look like. Sometimes there can be inflammation or infection that can be identified and treated to help her GI symptoms.

I don't know about her drainage, but if she hasn't seen an otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat specialist), perhaps they might offer some insight.

Good luck.

-Dr. West

dkm5859
Posts: 89

Thank you very much. Can the drainage aggravate her other issues to the point of nausea, coughing and so forth along with the possiblity(ies) of radiation pneumonitis and or an infection? Again thank you very much.

Dr West
Posts: 4735

I suppose it's possible to have the drainage cause a cough that becomes so severe that it leads to vomiting (a process called post-tussive emesis), but I wouldn't expect that. This also wouldn't cause a radiation pneumonitis (that's caused by radiation) or an infection in any direct way.

-Dr. West