Servicemen Needing Support

[ladyleatherneck6]

I hope I do this correctly! If there's anyone in this area, my family would really appreciate your support. Adam is my second cousin, and a great kid! He plans on a full military career, retiring after 30 yrs. He's got quite an uphill battle right now, but with prayers and support, we all hope he'll be the 1 of 3 who make it past 5 yrs and live a full life!!


http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n412/oldswabbie/special/JacksGolfTournament.jpg

[lisalynne10]

I hope I do this correctly! If there's anyone in this area, my family would really appreciate your support. Adam is my second cousin, and a great kid! He plans on a full military career, retiring after 30 yrs. He's got quite an uphill battle right now, but with prayers and support, we all hope he'll be the 1 of 3 who make it past 5 yrs and live a full life!!

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n...Tournament.jpg

LLN6,

Ok, I don't know if it's me (prolly) or if I'm just not "getting it" on the link....help a sista out here! When I see "make it past 5 years" I generally look at that from a nurses point of view, not knowing what it is......but, my prayers are going to go all out for him!

[ladyleatherneck6]

You know it sister, getting ready for school, I've looked at a lot of the terms my cousin has sent me, and all I can do is pray harder everyday! I'd never heard of "filling" someone with chemo and then rinsing him out with saline, but that was part of his surgery! The cancer had returned from his original surgery and also spread along his left side and into his intestines. The one good thing they say is it has not metastisized into his liver or lungs!! In any event this is the first person in our family with cancer, so we're all still numb from seeing what he's going through!! I think Oldswabbie fixed the link for me, so you can read the flyer!! I can be such a brick when it comes to these computers!!

[lisalynne10]

You know it sister, getting ready for school, I've looked at a lot of the terms my cousin has sent me, and all I can do is pray harder everyday! I'd never heard of "filling" someone with chemo and then rinsing him out with saline, but that was part of his surgery! The cancer had returned from his original surgery and also spread along his left side and into his intestines. The one good thing they say is it has not metastisized into his liver or lungs!! In any event this is the first person in our family with cancer, so we're all still numb from seeing what he's going through!! I think Oldswabbie fixed the link for me, so you can read the flyer!! I can be such a brick when it comes to these computers!!

Getting ready for school!!! Are you just getting ever so excited! I remember last year and I was there myself! Oh, and I'm with you on the "brick when it comes to computers!" I just need to know how to point, click and type! lol

Does he have a port or a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) or anything of the such? What's coming to my mind is that after he receives his chemo treatment they have to flush the line out with saline. What exactly did they "fill?" His intestines? I can imagine that if they ran the chemo through his intestines that it'd need to be flushed, but I'm simply guessing. It's good to hear that the cancer hasn't mets in the liver or lungs. How bout the pancreas?

I'm so sorry to hear that he's going through all this. It f-ing bites. PMA...positive mental attitude will take him far as well! This goes for the rest of you all too! I'll be praying for Adam and the rest of your family. God Bless.

[ladyleatherneck6]

He has a port, as I'm told his chemo will start next Wednesday and he will be in Rochester for 4 to 6 hours, then go home with a fanny pack which will administor the chemo over 46 hrs at which time a nurse will come to the house to remove that and flush the port. He has to do this every two weeks for 6 months. There is no pancreatic involvement that was mentioned. The surgery removed cancer from his stomach, left side, colon and pelvic area. They said they then put chemo into his stomach area for 100 minutes then flushed with saline. His counts were low, so he went through 3 transfusions after surgery. They said they will check his counts everytime before chemo as he can't have it if his counts are too low, and they will also be checking his tumor markers every two weeks. No word on remission until after chemo.

Girl I am so excited to start school!! I have to Clep my chemistry, and the periodic table is driving me nuts!! I haven't done chemistry since HS, and I was out 26 yrs in June! Will I really use chemistry all that much as an RN?

[lisalynne10]

He has a port, as I'm told his chemo will start next Wednesday and he will be in Rochester for 4 to 6 hours, then go home with a fanny pack which will administor the chemo over 46 hrs at which time a nurse will come to the house to remove that and flush the port. He has to do this every two weeks for 6 months. There is no pancreatic involvement that was mentioned. The surgery removed cancer from his stomach, left side, colon and pelvic area. They said they then put chemo into his stomach area for 100 minutes then flushed with saline. His counts were low, so he went through 3 transfusions after surgery. They said they will check his counts everytime before chemo as he can't have it if his counts are too low, and they will also be checking his tumor markers every two weeks. No word on remission until after chemo.

Girl I am so excited to start school!! I have to Clep my chemistry, and the periodic table is driving me nuts!! I haven't done chemistry since HS, and I was out 26 yrs in June! Will I really use chemistry all that much as an RN?

Okay, so now I got it about the surgery! Yes, I would think they'd flush with saline after letting the chemo sit in the abdominal area. I would guess that the chemo is pretty "caustic" so flushing with saline would rinse it out. I've seen abdominal washes before, so I get a pretty good idea of what they were doing.

You know, my school didn't require a lot of chemistry...thank goodness. In the units I work in I've never heard any of the nurses go into the chemistry make-up of drugs. With drugs you need to know the action, side effects (not all of the side effects, but what can kill or harm your patient), nursing implications, teaching, and especially with insulin the onset, peak and duration. I'd suggest getting to know the classifications of the drugs ahead of time if you can. Will help you a lot. Kind of like this....drugs that end in "lol" are beta blockers, "pril" ace inhibitor, etc.

[ladyleatherneck6]

I didn't think that I would be involved in the chemistry aspect, so I was surprised when I was told I had to take that. Biology and Algebra, I understand! I have been told by several people to try and study up on the beta blockers etc, and I've have looked at them a bit, but know I'm a long way from knowing! I'm excited, yet know it's going the be 21 very intense months to get my degree, but I don't think once I get into it, I'll want to stop in any way shape or form!

"Yesterday, Adam got his port put in and today he met with his oncologist > at Strong one more time before going to Pittsburgh for his next surgery. > She sounded very positive with the results of his Pet Scan and said > nothing lite up except for some lymph nodes on his aorta, but she said > these could be enlarged due to the surgery he's still healing from."

What do you make of the nodes on the aorta, could that be from the surgery?