As some of you may know from my previous posts my MIL was dx a few weeks ago with sbc in her lung, unfortuantly on saturday we have to call for an ambulance as her breathing was getting even more restricted and she has been in hospital since then.
We were given then scan results and it was confirmed that the cancer has so far not spread to any other areas but is in both lungs and there is a large mass pressing against her heart.
whilst in hospital they have been giving her blood thining injections. however this has resulted in a huge bruise spreading over her entire stomach. they are keeping an eye on it and dont seem to appear concerned (to our faces!) but i just wondered if anyone had had experiences of this before and if this is quite a normal reaction.
she has been experiencing a few digestion probelms of late and last night was in extrem pain after a few mouthfuls of dinner and im now scared that things may be getting worse in other areas since the scans on the 2nd april.
A biopsy was taken yesterday from her neck and from this they can hopefully determine treatment plans etc. they have said a week for the results of that biopsy…again is this a normal time frame?
thanks for reading my post.
Lou x
I wouldn’t think that a huge bruise covering the whole stomach is common or ‘normal’ but those injections can cause a lot of bruising and make it much easier to bruise. (I had them for a year.)I’m sure they will keep an eye on it and on her bloods but contact them if anything looks worse to you even if just for reassurance.
The digestion problems do need investigating/treatment because otherwise she will be put off eating. Have you spoken to the doctors about this? Given what happened after her dinner last night I would phone her Onc today. It may be that they want to explore that further and/or they may be able to give her something to relieve this so she isn’t put off eating.
I don’t know about biopsy results for secondaries. When I had my primary diagnosis I had to wait ten days for biopsy results.
It might be a good idea for you to speak to the helpline and talk things through?
I had to have blood thinning injections in stomach for 4 months & the bruising was unbelievable, black, purple,green over my entire stomach & i was told that this was indeed normal, now i am off injections my stomach has returned to normal…
It is reassuing to hear that once off the injection everything went back to normal for you Sarah.
We went and got a doctor the moment we saw it and they are monitoring it. They gave her one in her thigh yesterday as i think she became very anxious that the bruising was linked to the pain she got after eating. They said it wasnt but were happy to do all they could to keep her as calm as possible.
Her becoming put off food Elinda is our biggest worry right now as she seems to be more keen to drink protien shakes than proper food. although she has one day off and one day on so i guess she isnt not eating at all. We all just know how important strength is for her right now.
They gave her some peppermint syrup (im sure theres a medical name for the medicine!) and she said that eased it but i think today we will push for further examination just to be sure.
Its so easy right now to go straight to the extreme worst case senario and assume all side effects or symptoms are because the cancer has spread.
All the waiting is so hard. 10 days for you must have felt like an eternity. My MIL is very anxious right now about reaching all of these milestones and just wants to know all the facts so we can move on and deal with it. We were told saturday that nothing could be done as it was bank holiday…i looked straight over to my other half and gave him the “dont leap on him” look!!! We have to trust the doctors and have faith in them, we have no choice.
Best wishes to both of you and thank you again for taking the time to reply.
Lou x
With regard to the indigestion, I expect your MIL is having something like gaviscon. There are much more effective treatments such as lansoprazole or omeprazole which is a tablet you take once or twice a day. You can have a short course e.g 4 - 6 weeks or take them longer term. I’ve been on them nearly two years.
There is also something called domperidone which you take before meals. I take this as well if my indigestion is particularly bad.
All I take is prescribed.
The aim with both those meds is to prevent that pain and indigestion even starting rather than trying to ease the pain once it’s happened.
As you say it’s the easiest thing in the world to jump to conclusions but many of us have developed problems with indigestion/acid reflux during or since treatment. It’s also very common, so my doctor tells me, in the general population.
Your MIL might be put off eating normal food because she’s worried about the discomfort or pain. I would explain to the doctors what it was like for her when she tried to eat last night. With other major things going on sometimes things like this are pushed to the side but they do affect quality of life immensely. Hopefully they can give her something to prevent such indigestion. Clearly she’ll need to keep her strength up and eating as well as possible is so important.
The waiting is terrible and it’s hard to think about anything else. I was reassured by the docs that in the scheme of things a week or two doesn’t make much difference in terms of starting any necessary treatment but the psychological side of it all is very hard. You sound like a close family and that support is very precious.
take care, Elinda x
Thank you very much for advising those prevention medicines, i will certainly get her to look in to those with her doctor.
She has been told today that she can come home around 4pm and when asking for more of what they gave her last night to go home with they said just to pick some up at boots or holland and barrett so it does sound like she was treated with a “cure” type indigestion remedy from over the counter. I will know more later when i see her as right now im getting updates via text from her daughter who is at hospital with her today.
As her breathing is so restricted due to the locations of the tumors i know it panics her more when experiencing this kind of pain and of course anything that will stop her heart racing is great (large mass found to be pressing on her heart). I think the same goes with eating too, i feel she maybe worried about needing to cough after eating or even being sick which is why she is more prone sometimes to having a milkshake rather than actual food. she have never been sick after eating but again as she is really struggling to breath she maybe avoiding anything that may make things worse. currently she is managing a few words, then it goes to half words and then she just has no energy to talk at all as she can not catch her breath
I think this is the hardest part of it all. in just over 3 weeks she has gone from a normal healthy woman of 58 to one who is scared and can not talk properly. its so heartbreaking to feel so helpless.
What you said about a few weeks not making a real difference in the scheme of things is true i guess.
She has been more of a mum to me than just a MIL for 12 years now and we are all close (she has two sons and a daughter)…and i made sure she knew what she ment to me by putting a few words in a little card for her last week. sounds silly probably but as she is my MIL i dont think words of effection come out as much as they do when they are your actually relative. she seemed to really appriciate it and i never wanted to be left wondering if she knew or not.
Well for now we have to remain positive that the results of the biopsy come back showing signs that treatment can shrink the cancer in her lungs and we can remain a close family for a whole lot longer
Thanks again…i know i started to waffle on then
Lou x
I understand a bit better now. When my FIL had lung cancer he had problems eating due to coughing and it making him want to be sick or even be sick. So you could be right about that. Also it must be very hard to eat if she is struggling to breathe like that.
The medicine you’re describing sounds more like peppermint oil. Obvioulsy they have a much better idea than I do of her symptoms and what they think will help. However, it’s always worth asking, that much I have learnt. Don’t feel you’re badgering the doctors. It’s always best to ask what they are doing and why so you know there is a clear rationale for their course of action.
Giving the type of support you are, even just being there means so much. Having a cancer diagnosis made me feel very alone and when I got very unwell during treatment there wasn’t much anyone could do. But knowing that people cared and loved me was so so important. Even if it was just to sit next to me and perhaps hold my hand so I wasn’t on my own all the time.
Im on blood thinners for life and had to inject myself for a month last year. The bruising was very pronounced - and depended on where I injected. If they are injecting into the same area each time it will cause massive bruising. Top of the leg is quite painful - but she can have it done in the fat just above the knee - or the bingo wings(if she has got any!). Its only superficial though and mine have all gone now. If she has a nose bleed that wont stop, that may require a different injection -but other than that its nothing to worry about. A PE in the lunfs is a lot more dangerous.
Hi kaj
Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. hearing from people unfortunatly going through this themselves really does help rather than using google as those answers can be misleading and scary in some cases!
hehehe im going to go round later and get her to wave at me so i can check out her bingo wings
Im not aware of her having to self inject now while shes back home but i will let her know that she can change areas on her body where she injects it.
Many thanks again for the reassurance
Take care
Lou x
I too am on blood-thinners indefinitely - you’re all right, bruising is horrific but if you press down on it where you’ve injected for a minute or so after, it seems to help?
