Unfortunately Gary has lost a few more pounds since January 17th. The scales at the hospital showed a loss of six pounds, but we think a couple of pounds were due to his wearing lighter clothing this week. We were hoping to at least stabilize his weight, but couldn't make it happen.
He is showing more reactions to the chemo and radiation. He is still nauseous in spite of taking medication to help stop it, has constant diarrhea, has stomach pain quite frequently and always weak. According to Dr Leo, the cancer, chemo and radiation are all causing the weight loss. He is doing better at eating, but so much of the food tastes different than it did before his treatment, so sometimes it is hard for him to eat enough to gain weight. We will continue to try to get as much nourishment down him as we can.
His treatments will last the rest of this week and next week. After that they will wait several weeks before they do another CT Scan to see how the treatments are working. Dr Leo said he could give him testosterone which could help him gain weight. He also wants Gary to work with light weights to help build some muscle back.
Thank you everyone for your comments. He is reading them and feeling good that people care. Some of you he has not seen or talked to in years and it means a lot to hear from you. He really enjoys the cards, phone calls, personal visits, offers of help and food (although I think I appreciate the food more than he does). Thank you also for all your prayers.
Jannis
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Update for January 17
Before I give the updates to Gary's visit to the doctor this morning, I want to let everyone know that you can now post a comment without having to sign in. With some help from a friend, I learned how to open this blog site so anyone can post a comment and Gary will see it in this blog.
Now for the updates: Gary has lost another 7 lbs!!!. He has now lost a total of about 75-80 lbs. He weighs 165 lbs on the hospital scales which is down from his high of about 240-245 lbs. This is not good....so Dr Leo made some changes to his medicines and prescribed a medicine to give him an appetite. Dr Leo said that if he lost much more it would be dangerous.
In addition to taking the appetizer medicine, Gary has to drink Carnation Instant Breakfast (mixed with Almond milk, Soy milk, or Rice milk) after each meal and at bedtime. Dr Leo said he will soon be partially lactose intolerant, so he should not be drinking cow milk. I stopped by Wal-Mart tonight after work and bought him several boxes of Carnation Instant Breakfast and Almond milk. I am going to keep a log of everything he eats so I can keep on top of his food intake.
Gary did not have a good weekend. He got sick several times, had stomach pains again, was very tired and had trouble seeing clear to read the newspaper. I called Dr Nutt about his eyesight and he said Gary will have trouble seeing due to the double dose of chemo and radiation. He also said it should just be temporary, but will need his eyes checked after treatment is over to see if there are any permanent changes.
I will update again next week.
Jannis
Now for the updates: Gary has lost another 7 lbs!!!. He has now lost a total of about 75-80 lbs. He weighs 165 lbs on the hospital scales which is down from his high of about 240-245 lbs. This is not good....so Dr Leo made some changes to his medicines and prescribed a medicine to give him an appetite. Dr Leo said that if he lost much more it would be dangerous.
In addition to taking the appetizer medicine, Gary has to drink Carnation Instant Breakfast (mixed with Almond milk, Soy milk, or Rice milk) after each meal and at bedtime. Dr Leo said he will soon be partially lactose intolerant, so he should not be drinking cow milk. I stopped by Wal-Mart tonight after work and bought him several boxes of Carnation Instant Breakfast and Almond milk. I am going to keep a log of everything he eats so I can keep on top of his food intake.
Gary did not have a good weekend. He got sick several times, had stomach pains again, was very tired and had trouble seeing clear to read the newspaper. I called Dr Nutt about his eyesight and he said Gary will have trouble seeing due to the double dose of chemo and radiation. He also said it should just be temporary, but will need his eyes checked after treatment is over to see if there are any permanent changes.
I will update again next week.
Jannis
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Update on Treatment Jan 12, 2011
Gary seems to be reacting better to his treatments of chemo and radiation this week. He is not as nauseous and has a better appetite. It is a good thing, because he lost an additional 5 lbs last week.
On Monday this week after he got home from getting his chemo started again for another week, he received a call from the dietician at Barnes in St Louis really concerned about his additional weight loss (he has now lost approximately 70 lbs.) Apparently the information from Dr Leo in Bolivar is being sent to Dr. Anderson at Barnes. The dietician told him it was imperative that he get more nourishment and recommended mixing Ensure with ice cream. Our hardest task so far has been figuring out how to get nourisment (that he likes) in him without throwing it up. We also have to watch the sugar (due to his diabetes) and spicy food (due to the chemo that attacks the fast growing cells in the body which is in the mouth).
So far we have found that he likes (not a complete list):
Hopefully that won't change when he gets another CT Scan. Thank you again for all your cards, phone calls, offers of help, and prayers.
Jannis
On Monday this week after he got home from getting his chemo started again for another week, he received a call from the dietician at Barnes in St Louis really concerned about his additional weight loss (he has now lost approximately 70 lbs.) Apparently the information from Dr Leo in Bolivar is being sent to Dr. Anderson at Barnes. The dietician told him it was imperative that he get more nourishment and recommended mixing Ensure with ice cream. Our hardest task so far has been figuring out how to get nourisment (that he likes) in him without throwing it up. We also have to watch the sugar (due to his diabetes) and spicy food (due to the chemo that attacks the fast growing cells in the body which is in the mouth).
So far we have found that he likes (not a complete list):
- scrambled eggs with onions and green peppers, ham, and hash browns
- Carnation Instant Breakfast with banana and ice cream (blended)
- beef fajitas
- potato soup
- chili
- burritoes
- steak
- chicken noodle soup
Hopefully that won't change when he gets another CT Scan. Thank you again for all your cards, phone calls, offers of help, and prayers.
Jannis
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Treatment Started
On Monday, January 3rd, Gary started his chemo and radiation treatments. His chemo is a constant feed of chemo through a tube coming from a pouch that he carries with him constantly...24/7. The tube will be removed Friday afternoon. Next Monday it will be connected again for another week. His radiation treatments are fairly simple and quick.....15 minutes lying on a table. These will be every day. We think these treatments will last for several weeks before they take another CT Scan to see how the tumor is reacting to the treatments.
He is starting to feel some side effects, but not too bad. He needs to stay away from crowds due to the risk of getting sick. That means he will have to be resigned to watching ballgames from his recliner in the living room.
He continues to have a positive attitude which is a tremendous help to me and everyone else around him. We are taking one day at a time and looking forward to a positive CT Scan.
Jannis
He is starting to feel some side effects, but not too bad. He needs to stay away from crowds due to the risk of getting sick. That means he will have to be resigned to watching ballgames from his recliner in the living room.
He continues to have a positive attitude which is a tremendous help to me and everyone else around him. We are taking one day at a time and looking forward to a positive CT Scan.
Jannis
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