help me help my sister

sophbail

help me help my sister

sophbail

my sister has been onchemo since july and we are getting ready for double mastectomy.  She hardly eats and lacks in energy to move alot.

She has been so unsteady on her feet that she fell tonight and scared the heck out of me. She is ok but hurt her knee.  Her stabilty on her feet is so wobbly and I feel that I am guarding her every step because I am just waiting for her to fall.

Is thi normal??  Will it go away?? What is going on???  I can't stand seeing what is happening to her.  I can't begin to understand what she may be feeling inside.  Is there anything I can do to help???  I am so scared and sick on my stomach for her it hurts...I am just at a loss..Help!!

ElaineD

Sorry to hear how weak she is. But since she is hardly eating, it's not surprising! It's hard to force ourselves to eat when we are feeling sick/nauseous because of the chemo (assume this is the reason she is not eating?) But she must try-even if it's not particularly healthy food, anything is acceptable at the moment, simply to help give her strength, and give her some calories. If all she wants is chocolate...then eat chocolate...

Please try to get her to have somethng-she needs to build up her strength before surgery. But, at the same time rest assured that the surgery isn't as traumatic as it may sound-yes, it's frightening, and life changing. But in terms of pain afterwards, it's really not too bad, so she should cope reasonably well with this. But, get her in as good shape as possible before having it-roughly how much/what does she eat on a daily basis? We nmay be able to make more suggestions if we have some idea as to her intake.Good luck-and well done for being there for her. This alone is a a huge help.

sophbail

Thanks for your reply Elaine. She is lucky if she eats a piece of toast with some tea, maybe a couple of bites of sometyhing else through the day.  I have been trying to encourage her with ensure.  She was at least drinking 2 of those daily but now she says it is starting to make her sick to even think about it. Will keep on putting small amount of food in front of her.

Do you think her unsteadines and falling are just from weakness??  Or something else??  So very worried..................

ElaineD

I think it's reasonable to assume that it's weakness-she's had a long run of chemo, and is eating very little, so that seems to be a fair explantaion. But it's worth mentioning to her onc-I assume you're worrying about spraed to her brain? This too is a possibilty-and if she was eating well, then I would be more concerned about this being a consideration. I've been on chemo now for 26 months-and it is incredibly weakening-it can just make you feel at times, that putting one foot in front of the other, is so hard.

But, she's clearly not having enough food -she must eat more than this-anything will do. How about having a bowl of fresh fruit salad in the fridge, that she can nibble at (preferably with ice cream!)? Much more appealing than eating an apple or some grapes-and it does slide down...I agree that the ensure drinks are pretty awful-they need forcing down at the best of times. How about forgetting about them and giving her a sweet, milky coffee/hot chocolate? A small cup of soup is also good (with the toast!) Once she starts eating proper food again, she'll find her appetite WILL increase-a small taste may make her realise that she's much hungrier than she thought.. Plus, every day further out from the end of her chemo should see her appetite increasing. But keep at it-don't be afraid to nag her into eating-even a  few spoonfuls will help.

sophbail

Thanks again Elaine,  It sure helps to talk with other people. My sister is one of those that does not want to know anything so I am the one that does research.

This sight has been a gods send for me and I pray for each and everyone of you that has to endure this dreadful disease.

God Bless you, Pam

BooBee

Try this Soph.  I lived on Popsicles through chemo.

http://ensure.com/recipes/article.aspx?q=orange-creamsicle&print=true

Bless you.  You're a great sister.

Hugs

sophbail

Renee,  Thanks so much for the recipe.  I told my sister and she said it sounds yummy!!  Off to the store I go to get ingredients.  I hope it works....Thnx again,Pam

GryffinSong

Unsteadiness can be a side effect of chemo. I was really prone to falls during mine. It was like I'd start to take a step and just keep tipping until I fell. Very disconcerting. A friend gave me a walking stick that I sometimes used. It gave my brain an extra signal about where the ground was, so walking was easier. Don't know if she'd use one, but I found a walking stick was more "normal" for me than the thought of a cane.

I was very sick during chemo, and was hospitalized three times. What I needed most was simply knowing that others cared, help driving me when I was sick, small gifts or cards occasionally to cheer me up (puzzle books were good!), and just offers of company, either in the chemo suite, or whenever.

Hugs and good luck to you and your sister.