On Monday October 7, I transported my brother to the cancer center for his radiation treatment and infusion. He requested to see the Radiation Oncologist prior to his treatment in order to speak to him about the breakdown of the skin on his neck. He was worried that the continued radiation treatments would make his neck worse and he feared an infection.
The doctor he usually sees was out but he was able to see another oncologist named Dr. Low. This doctor took a long time to explain things to him. He went into detail as to what my brother could expect if he discontinued treatment. It's a pretty horrible way to die from head and neck cancer.
He stressed the importance of nutrition. His body needs the protein in order to heal. My brother does not understand that the infusions he receives is not nutrition. However, he is fighting nausea and does throw up his feedings so in order to keep his protein drinks down he needs to feed through his tube a lot slower and more often.
The doctor did mention continuous bag feeding which I had explained to my brother earlier. However, the doctor said that he should wait on that and just try feeding slower and more often.
The doctor said his neck was not infected and gave him a script for Silverdeen cream. Also said that it will get worse as the treatments continue. He said that he could also give him an antibiotic patch that he can put on a couple of times a day. This will all help him get through to his last treatment. He only had 7 left at that time.
My brother will be receiving fluids every other day now - Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The infusion includes nausea meds so this along with the 3 nausea pills he takes should help.
He is looking pretty bad these days. Cheeks sunken in and eyes dark and sad. He said he just wanted to die. He doesn't feel that he is going to make it through this ordeal.
So sorry to read that your brother is having so much difficulty with this treatment.
ReplyDeleteVirtual hugs,
Judie