We saw the oncologist today...

My sister (Sue) came and picked us up this morning, and drove us to UMSC - it is just before the turn-off to University Malaya, and an area she is very familiar with as that is where she teaches (my baby sister the professor :-D ). Anyway (to get back on track) we had a 9.30am appointment, supposedly, but it was closer to 12 noon before we finally got in to see the onco. Husband was totally exhausted by the time we GOT there, so I asked one of the staff if there was anywhere he could lie down, and they very kindly pointed us to one of the consultants rooms, which was empty. All the rooms have a hospital gurney in it, with pillows and blanket, so Husband was able to lie down while waiting - and thank God for that, as there is no way he could have SAT and waited for so long.

So, as said, we finally got in at 12noon... and, basically, the oncologist told us that until Husband gets the pain under control - ie, the pain in his arm... as the pain in the back IS under control - and until he stops vomiting, and starts eating and gaining some strength, he is too frail at the moment to do any chemo. He is going to make the arrangements with the hospice people to come in to see Husband regularly, to work with him to try various meds, foods, whatever, to get him back on track. That may take a week or so to materialise, as we are heading into Xmas, and quite a lot of people take leave in this season (and not just those who "officially" celebrate Xmas, as EVERYONE in Malaysia celebrates EVERY public holiday). Anyway, the onco also gave me their number and told me to call them by Wednesday if I have not heard from them.

He is also making arrangements for Husband to have a CT Scan done, on the neck and upper spine, and left shoulder/armpit, to see if there is anything there that is causing the pain in the arm. Most likely to be on Tuesday.

I have also made the arrangements for Husband to see the gastro on Monday, first thing in the morning, to do a scope of the stomach, to eliminate any stomach infection or other problem (the colon has already been pronounced "clean" as of two weeks ago).

In addition, I have already emailed to the pain management doctor, to ask her if the pain meds he is on could be causing the puking. I mean, ever since he started chemo at the end of April he has puked off and on, but not very often. He started on morphine at the beginning of Dec, and, apart from the hallucinations, he had no nausea. This week, however, it has gotten to be an almost daily occurrence, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day, whether he eats or not!

So, that's it for now. Nothing new per se, but now we have the hospice people to wait for, and the gastro to pronounce his verdict on Husband's "innards".

Please continue to keep Husband in your thoughts and prayers, that he gain strength, stop vomiting, and the pain in his arm ease up.

Till next time, stay safe, stay HEALTHY.

We stumped the Gastro doc!!

Got to the hospital around 3pm, for our 3.15pm appointment. Since we were the first appointment for the afternoon, the nurse took one look at Husband in his wheelchair and immediately took us into the doctors room so that he could lie down and rest while waiting. :-). HOWEVER, we still ended up waiting till almost 4pm before the doc actually turned up. I wonder what it is about doctors that they are ALWAYS, ALWAYS late? Do they like keeping their patients waiting and cursing in their waiting rooms? And I'm not talking GP (as GP's usually have very little control on the number of walk-in patients turning up every day). I'm talking specialists, who give out specific appointments, and very rarely see walk-in patients!

Anyway, let's just say that Husband completely stumped the doc. He could not find anything wrong with him at all... sigh. We had explained that the puking was either on an empty stomach OR immediately (and I do mean IMMEDIATELY) after eating... which seems to mean that there is something wrong with the stomach instead of the intestines (for a change :-p). So the doc poked, prodded, and listened (how does one interpret stomach gurgles? Is there a special "gurgle" language gastro docs have to learn?), but could find absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. No lumps, no growths, no build up of undigested food, no build up of digested food either! The doc said that if this continues, they he may have to do a scope of the stomach to see if there is any infection there!

So, he gave Husband gastric pills, and also prescribed something called Zofron - which is an anti-vomit pill which he said would be better than the current anti-vomit pill (Maxolon) that Husband takes pretty much daily. Anyway, we had to go down to the hospital pharmacy for the Zofron - drop the prescription in a tray, get a number, and wait. First time they call your number is to pay for the med... so when I went up to pay, and they told me RM550 I almost had a heart attack! I was like "WHAT? RM550? For how many pills?", and they told me TEN pills, I almost fainted from shock. That works out to RM55 FOR ONE PILL!!! That is almost TEN POUND STERLING or SIXTEEN US DOLLARS, for ONE PILL! Anyway, we told them to keep their pills, and walked out.

So, any good news? Well, I guess so - Husband did NOT puke the whole of yesterday. He had rice porridge (chicken flavoured) a couple of times in the evening - just very small portions, just to line the stomach and thereby avoid gatric pains. As for this morning, he had a very tiny puke after eating half his breakfast, but nothing really came out... and he has managed to finish the rest of his breakfast (Quaker oats, in case you are wondering) without any further problem. I have a theory about the morning pukes, which I will put to the test tomorrow. Basically, at 7am, he gets up to take his pain killers... and usually downs it with a swig of the Ensure protein drink. Personally, I think that the drink is a little too rich and sweet for that early in the morning... so tomorrow I shall try and persuade him to have a swig of cold water instead, and we will see what happens after that. Hopefully I am right, as it would make life so much less ICKY for Husband :-).

Anyone coming up from SG in a car? If Yes, could you bring us one carton of the Pink Dolphin peach flavoured water? :-D We'll pay for it - we still have loads of Singapore Dollars :-). Nope, it is not available in Malaysia. The closest equivalent, when it goes warm, tastes like perfumed water which is not very nice... whereas the Pink Dolphin water still has this lovely flavour of peaches even when it is warm.

I guess that's it for today. It is going to be a VERY quiet day today - as it is a public holiday in Malaysia, and I have no errands to run today. Tomorrow we go see the oncologist in the morning. Will update again after that.

So, please continue to keep Husband in your thoughts and prayers, and, remember, till next time, stay safe, stay HEALTHY!