Newbie desperately needs help!

Hi,

My dad just had lung cancer surgery, removal of one lung. He was out
for a week, developed a fever, labored breathing, accelerated heart
rate, swelling of legs and feet, diarrhea, nausea and no sleep. He
finally went back to the ER. There they had to do emergency surgery
to drain fluid which had built up around his heart (over 2 gallons).
He was a "miracle" they called it. It was discovered his blood
thinner had caused the problem. He also would not eat, everything
made him sick; he can't stand any smells of soap, perfume, food,
etc. I am wanting to know what I could feed him to keep him nourished
that would not induce his nausea and if anyone else had this before
the Chemo treatments??? {He is malnourished now as a result of him
not being able to stand the smell.} I would greatly appreciate any
suggestions in this matter. Please email at trashcoon@verizon.net.

Thanks!

sherr72@gmail.com wrote :

"My dad just had lung cancer surgery, removal of one lung. He was out
for a week, developed a fever, labored breathing, accelerated heart
rate, swelling of legs and feet, diarrhea, nausea and no sleep. He
finally went back to the ER. There they had to do emergency surgery
to drain fluid which had built up around his heart (over 2 gallons).
He was a "miracle" they called it. It was discovered his blood
thinner had caused the problem. He also would not eat, everything
made him sick; he can't stand any smells of soap, perfume, food,
etc. I am wanting to know what I could feed him to keep him nourished
that would not induce his nausea and if anyone else had this before
the Chemo treatments??? {He is malnourished now as a result of him
not being able to stand the smell.} I would greatly appreciate any
suggestions in this matter. Please email at trashcoon@verizon.net"

Dear Sherr,

Hi, and welcome to this group. In my humble (and not medically qualified)
opinion, you are in an emergency health care situation where what you need
is immediate Medical advice from specialists.

It seems strange to me, and disturbing, that you have NOT, apparently, been
given advice of what to do at "home" (assuming your Dad is now at home). And
I have to ask you what's stopping you now from contacting your Dad's primary
phsyician, explaining the acute nature of your Dad's current condition and
asking/demanding immediate help and/or referral to specialists ?

Wish I could say something more helpful, but this does sound like a
life-threatening crisis to me absolutely requiring very medically qualified
assistance. Can you ask your hospital/HMO if they have a medical social
worker in-house or on-call you can talk to : you may need a strong patient
care advocate in your camp.

best wishes, Uncle Sally

sherr72@gmail.com wrote in news:1179031326.668194.161940
@p77g2000hsh.googlegroups.com:

> Hi,
>
> My dad just had lung cancer surgery, removal of one lung. He was out
> for a week, developed a fever, labored breathing, accelerated heart
> rate, swelling of legs and feet, diarrhea, nausea and no sleep. He
> finally went back to the ER. There they had to do emergency surgery
> to drain fluid which had built up around his heart (over 2 gallons).
> He was a "miracle" they called it. It was discovered his blood
> thinner had caused the problem. He also would not eat, everything
> made him sick; he can't stand any smells of soap, perfume, food,
> etc. I am wanting to know what I could feed him to keep him nourished
> that would not induce his nausea and if anyone else had this before
> the Chemo treatments??? {He is malnourished now as a result of him
> not being able to stand the smell.} I would greatly appreciate any
> suggestions in this matter. Please email at trashcoon@verizon.net.
>
> Thanks!
>
Hello. Sherr, & welcome to alt.support.cancer. Sorry if that is not what
you wish to be called here.

The fact that you father had surgery sounds hopeful to me. Have they not
offered an IV? I don't know what to do about the smell issue, but there
are suppositories for nausea (makes sense for when a person can't keep
food/pills down). There is also ginger in any form including ginger ale
that can help nausea. Some people drink nutritious drinks - there is
Ensure but there are also some fruit flavored ones hospice used for my
husband that some people prefer. I understand they are available at
Walgreens but forget the name. Those would probably not have the
objectionable food smell. I'm not sure they would do a feeding tube for
him unless this persists. You really need to make sure he stays hydrated
as there can be serious consequences when a person becomes severely
dehydrated that can include heart problems. Some people find bottled
water appealing & it lacks some of the tastes found in tap water.

Have his doctors formulated a treatment plan since he developed the heart
fluid & other problems?.

The chemo anti-nausea drugs worked very well for my husband, but they do
not work for nausea from other causes. Dehydration can also cause
nausea.

I hope these events are just temporary set-backs & that he can get back
on track.

Can you please share what you know of his diagnosis, age & health status
other than the cancer? And posting your email address is probably not a
good idea. You can munge your address or use a free address through
yahoo or google.

You will probably hear from others soon. Our group oncologist is Steph.

Hang in there & others may come up with other suggestions.

Figgertoes

On May 13, 12:42 am, sher...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> My dad just had lung cancer surgery, removal of one lung. He was out
> for a week, developed a fever, labored breathing, accelerated heart
> rate, swelling of legs and feet, diarrhea, nausea and no sleep. He
> finally went back to the ER. There they had to do emergency surgery
> to drain fluid which had built up around his heart (over 2 gallons).
> He was a "miracle" they called it. It was discovered his blood
> thinner had caused the problem. He also would not eat, everything
> made him sick; he can't stand any smells of soap, perfume, food,
> etc. I am wanting to know what I could feed him to keep him nourished
> that would not induce his nausea and if anyone else had this before
> the Chemo treatments??? {He is malnourished now as a result of him
> not being able to stand the smell.} I would greatly appreciate any
> suggestions in this matter. Please email at trashc...@verizon.net.
>
> Thanks!

It sounds like you Dad is still in the hospital. He should have a team
overseeing his care. The Dietican can answer your questions regarding
eating. The surgeon can answer questions regarding the fluid removed.
An oncologist can answer the questions regarding cancer issues. If
your Dad has a hospitalist, that doctor is most familar with your
Dad's medical history especially the recent development of not eating.

Also a medical social worker o r nurse can help give you support and
help guide you through this process.
Your dad's case sounds very complex and the best answers will come
from people who can do a clinical exam and have his complete medical
history.

Alex

sherr72@gmail.com wrote:

> My dad just had lung cancer surgery, removal of one lung. He was out
> for a week, developed a fever, labored breathing, accelerated heart
> rate, swelling of legs and feet, diarrhea, nausea and no sleep. He
> finally went back to the ER. There they had to do emergency surgery
> to drain fluid which had built up around his heart (over 2 gallons).
> He was a "miracle" they called it. It was discovered his blood
> thinner had caused the problem. He also would not eat, everything
> made him sick; he can't stand any smells of soap, perfume, food,
> etc. I am wanting to know what I could feed him to keep him nourished
> that would not induce his nausea and if anyone else had this before
> the Chemo treatments??? {He is malnourished now as a result of him
> not being able to stand the smell.} I would greatly appreciate any
> suggestions in this matter. Please email at trashcoon@verizon.net.

Lung surgery is hard on people. Some of the healthiest take 3 months to
recover from a lobectomy, so longer for removal of a lung.
Symptoms of Lung Cancer
http://www.onconurse.com/factsheets/symptoms_lung.pdf
5 pages.
If he stopped smoking for the surgery and/or the hospital was scent-free,
his sense of smell may now be heightened, so avoid flowers, scented
products.
The hospital will help with nutrition.

Replies by email cannot be evaluated by others here.
The way it works, with newsgroups (or anywhere else), is you post your
questions, read the replies, then you comment/answer questions, then we
reply, repeat as many times as necessary or desired.

We'll be here waiting for your update and more details, such as his age,
type of lung cancer (pathology report) and how he and you are doing.
J

In article <1179031326.668194.161940@p77g2000hsh.googlegroups .com>,
sherr72@gmail.com wrote:

> Hi,
>
> My dad just had lung cancer surgery, removal of one lung.
<snip>
>He also would not eat, everything
> made him sick; he can't stand any smells of soap, perfume, food,
> etc. I am wanting to know what I could feed him to keep him nourished
> that would not induce his nausea and if anyone else had this before
> the Chemo treatments??? {He is malnourished now as a result of him
> not being able to stand the smell.} I would greatly appreciate any
> suggestions in this matter. Please email at trashcoon@verizon.net.
>
> Thanks!

BOOST is the name of the fruit flavored drink that Fig suggested. It makes
a good base for smoothies. Ensure and the BOOST version of Ensure suck.
Barbara used many things in my smoothies and milk shakes. She would add
fruit to it and whir it in a blender. She made me milk shakes using whole
milk, ice cream and powdered protein, Carnation Instant Breakfast, and any
fruit she could think of. The idea is to pump the patient with calories.
I gained 30 pounds while on chemo and radiation. The doctors were amazed
and ecstatic

Have your dad pick and choose what foods (if any) he can tolerate and then
load him up with calories. Ice in the smoothies will help soothe a sore
throat. Popsicles are a welcome treat and easy for many people to ingest.
Give him a lot of small snacks that he can tolerate. You will have to
experiment, but there are foods that will agree with his altered taste and
smell. Scrambled eggs was one of the "normal" meals that I could swallow. I
could not stand Chocolate or Coffee (two of my main food groups) during my
chemo daze.

He will also develop extreme fatigue. For me getting out of bed would wear
me out. Walking 6 feet to the bathroom would have me huffin' and puffin'.

I am now creeping up on my 4th anniversary (May 29) since being diagnosed
with Small Cell Lung Cancer. I think only about 20% of us with SCLC make
it to 1 year and, indeed, I was putting my ducks in a row. I've been NED
(No Evidence of Disease) since Jan, 2005.

Hope this helps with your dad. His attitude and sense of humor will go a
long way to helping him recover. Keep your spirits high too. This is
almost as hard on you as it is on him.

Bobert.
--

There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved through a
suitable application of high explosives.

Bob in Central CA

On 13 mei, 06:42, sher...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> My dad just had lung cancer surgery, removal of one lung. He was out
> for a week, developed a fever, labored breathing, accelerated heart
> rate, swelling of legs and feet, diarrhea, nausea and no sleep. He
> finally went back to the ER. There they had to do emergency surgery
> to drain fluid which had built up around his heart (over 2 gallons).
> He was a "miracle" they called it. It was discovered his blood
> thinner had caused the problem. He also would not eat, everything
> made him sick; he can't stand any smells of soap, perfume, food,
> etc. I am wanting to know what I could feed him to keep him nourished
> that would not induce his nausea and if anyone else had this before
> the Chemo treatments??? {He is malnourished now as a result of him
> not being able to stand the smell.} I would greatly appreciate any
> suggestions in this matter. Please email at trashc...@verizon.net.
>
> Thanks!

That's bad news.

"Treat-Cancer.nl" wrote:
<snipped>

Ignore him/ plonk him
J

"Figgertoes" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:Xns992F12739A81figgertoes@216.168.3.44...
> sherr72@gmail.com wrote in news:1179031326.668194.161940
> @p77g2000hsh.googlegroups.com:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> My dad just had lung cancer surgery, removal of one lung. He was out
>> for a week, developed a fever, labored breathing, accelerated heart
>> rate, swelling of legs and feet, diarrhea, nausea and no sleep. He
>> finally went back to the ER. There they had to do emergency surgery
>> to drain fluid which had built up around his heart (over 2 gallons).
>> He was a "miracle" they called it. It was discovered his blood
>> thinner had caused the problem. He also would not eat, everything
>> made him sick; he can't stand any smells of soap, perfume, food,
>> etc. I am wanting to know what I could feed him to keep him nourished
>> that would not induce his nausea and if anyone else had this before
>> the Chemo treatments??? {He is malnourished now as a result of him
>> not being able to stand the smell.} I would greatly appreciate any
>> suggestions in this matter. Please email at trashcoon@verizon.net.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
> Hello. Sherr, & welcome to alt.support.cancer. Sorry if that is not what
> you wish to be called here.
>
> The fact that you father had surgery sounds hopeful to me. Have they not
> offered an IV? I don't know what to do about the smell issue, but there
> are suppositories for nausea (makes sense for when a person can't keep
> food/pills down). There is also ginger in any form including ginger ale
> that can help nausea. Some people drink nutritious drinks - there is
> Ensure but there are also some fruit flavored ones hospice used for my
> husband that some people prefer. I understand they are available at
> Walgreens but forget the name. Those would probably not have the
> objectionable food smell. I'm not sure they would do a feeding tube for
> him unless this persists. You really need to make sure he stays hydrated
> as there can be serious consequences when a person becomes severely
> dehydrated that can include heart problems. Some people find bottled
> water appealing & it lacks some of the tastes found in tap water.
>
> Have his doctors formulated a treatment plan since he developed the heart
> fluid & other problems?.
>
> The chemo anti-nausea drugs worked very well for my husband, but they do
> not work for nausea from other causes. Dehydration can also cause
> nausea.
>
> I hope these events are just temporary set-backs & that he can get back
> on track.
>
> Can you please share what you know of his diagnosis, age & health status
> other than the cancer? And posting your email address is probably not a
> good idea. You can munge your address or use a free address through
> yahoo or google.
>
> You will probably hear from others soon. Our group oncologist is Steph.
>
> Hang in there & others may come up with other suggestions.
>
> Figgertoes

Hi Sherr,
I'm just backing up Fig on the ginger. We didn't get into more than plain
old ginger ale here, but when my hubby finally decided to try it, he loved
it and it also helped with his nausea.

Once I mixed lime sherbet with it, which he enjoyed, too. Many folks here
have such helpful advice. It's like a little subculture with a common vein
streaming through it.

Welcome,
Judy