EARLY DETECTION FOR OVARIAN CANCER
YOU MUST STAY POSITIVE, AND NEVER GIVE UP!!!!
CARING FOR CANCER PATIENTS
CARING FOR CANCER PATIENTS 1) One of the most important items you should have is a notebook to keep key blood tests, various doctor's reports, etc. to keep a running history. Many times there will be a situation where you have to go to an emergency room and know a key blood work statistic and if you do not have this, there will be no easy or quick way to retrieve the information. This was one of the handiest tools I had in caring for my wife. Many times we had to refer to it. The doctors many times resist giving you the test data, but you have patient rights. So demand it! It will pay off. A friend of ours had recommended it to us and it was a very useful tool.
2) The key to beating any type cancer and the hard effects of chemo is nutrition.....nutrition.....nutrition. Chemo is constantly beating down all of the red blood cells, white blood cells, etc. A person does not have a chance of beating cancer without keeping on top of nutrition.
3) All books and information you read says that attitude is the primary factor in beating cancer. There are so many negatives as you go through the treatments, you must keep a positive attitude and believe that you can be the 5-10-40% that are able to beat it. You must be a fighter to even come close to defeating a cancer, especially one like Ovarian Cancer!
4) Seventy-five percent of all cancers have enzymes that make your body's metabolism "race" when you believe you are sitting still and not eating very much. It is called the "wasting away syndrome". A person should read about "cachexia"! Your body starts depleting your muscles, etc. to take care of your engine which is running away while you eat less and think you are resting. In this case protein is so very important!
5) One out of four people diagnosed will have loss of appetite. However, 9 out of 10 in advanced stages will lose their appetite to some extent.
6) Cachexia is more than just loss of appetite. It is a very complex problem. It involves how your body uses things such as carbohydrates, fat, and protein. It leads to many problems. One of which is the "wasting away" of muscles. That is why trying to keep the protein level up is so important. Fighting this effect is difficult especially with all the other things happening with cancers and chemo.
7) Since the patient does not normally want to eat or eat very much it is extremely important that you know which foods are high in nutrients such as protein, potassium, etc. so that when they do eat you are trying to feed them the most beneficial foods.
8) Cancer treatments will cause the patient to have "taste changes". This makes them hate the food they did love, etc. Chemo causes many things of this nature to occur. Because of this it only adds to the problem of lack of appetite and weight loss. But do not get discouraged. You have to educate yourself and do all you can to help fight the various problems which will occur. You, as caregiver, just cannot give up!
9) They will experience fatigue and loss of strength. Many times this is caused by anemia which is caused by the cancer chemo treatments. That is why it is important to stay on top of blood work and tests and be proactive with the doctor. Blood transfusions are a common procedure during most chemo treatments. Sometimes a patient will even have to have platelet transfusions. The more you know of the blood work and what it means will help you stay ahead of many of the problems that occur. However, again, do not give up as caregiver, but educate yourself to handle and try to stay ahead of the problems that occur. I wish I could paint a "rosy" picture, but I cannot. Ovarian cancer can be beaten and is beaten, but it is a tough, tough "fight"!!
10) Possible heart problems can occur that are created by some chemo drugs. In my wife's situation we had such a problem that we handled successfully by watching key items as shortness of breath, erratic heartbeat, and pulse levels. To win this battle, I cannot keep over emphasizing that you must educate yourself about the cancer and chemo effects.
11) The person will probably experience peripheral nervous system changes, neuropathy. This usually occurs in the hands and feet. They will feel some numbness, tingling, and decreased sensation.
12) You must keep HOPE!! When a person loses hope, the body and mind begin to shut down in anticipation of death.
13) All cancer patients have one thing in common.........FEAR!!
14) Today the medical community sees cancer as a chronic, controllable disease. This is good information since there are improvements being made. Unfortunately, ovarian cancer, is one of the "tougher" cancers to beat. This is mainly because they are caught in the later stages of III or IV. That is why finding an "EARLY DETECTION" test is so important!
15) All evidence points to the simple truth.....Your ATTITUDE matters!! This is for the patient and the caregiver. EDUCATION......the more you know about the cancer and the treatments will give you a better chance of "beating this terrible disease"!!!!
16) The "will to live" is always the necessary factor in the healing equation!
17) I found it very beneficial to keep a DAILY CALENDAR WITH ANY CRITICAL NOTES on events, treatments, etc. Many times I had to refer back to an event that, if I had not had this daily calendar with notes, would have created problems for us. It does not take much effort if done daily, and it will have important information over time. Sometimes you have to refer back to things that happened months ago! I just could not keep all of that stored within my head.
2) The key to beating any type cancer and the hard effects of chemo is nutrition.....nutrition.....nutrition. Chemo is constantly beating down all of the red blood cells, white blood cells, etc. A person does not have a chance of beating cancer without keeping on top of nutrition.
3) All books and information you read says that attitude is the primary factor in beating cancer. There are so many negatives as you go through the treatments, you must keep a positive attitude and believe that you can be the 5-10-40% that are able to beat it. You must be a fighter to even come close to defeating a cancer, especially one like Ovarian Cancer!
4) Seventy-five percent of all cancers have enzymes that make your body's metabolism "race" when you believe you are sitting still and not eating very much. It is called the "wasting away syndrome". A person should read about "cachexia"! Your body starts depleting your muscles, etc. to take care of your engine which is running away while you eat less and think you are resting. In this case protein is so very important!
5) One out of four people diagnosed will have loss of appetite. However, 9 out of 10 in advanced stages will lose their appetite to some extent.
6) Cachexia is more than just loss of appetite. It is a very complex problem. It involves how your body uses things such as carbohydrates, fat, and protein. It leads to many problems. One of which is the "wasting away" of muscles. That is why trying to keep the protein level up is so important. Fighting this effect is difficult especially with all the other things happening with cancers and chemo.
7) Since the patient does not normally want to eat or eat very much it is extremely important that you know which foods are high in nutrients such as protein, potassium, etc. so that when they do eat you are trying to feed them the most beneficial foods.
8) Cancer treatments will cause the patient to have "taste changes". This makes them hate the food they did love, etc. Chemo causes many things of this nature to occur. Because of this it only adds to the problem of lack of appetite and weight loss. But do not get discouraged. You have to educate yourself and do all you can to help fight the various problems which will occur. You, as caregiver, just cannot give up!
9) They will experience fatigue and loss of strength. Many times this is caused by anemia which is caused by the cancer chemo treatments. That is why it is important to stay on top of blood work and tests and be proactive with the doctor. Blood transfusions are a common procedure during most chemo treatments. Sometimes a patient will even have to have platelet transfusions. The more you know of the blood work and what it means will help you stay ahead of many of the problems that occur. However, again, do not give up as caregiver, but educate yourself to handle and try to stay ahead of the problems that occur. I wish I could paint a "rosy" picture, but I cannot. Ovarian cancer can be beaten and is beaten, but it is a tough, tough "fight"!!
10) Possible heart problems can occur that are created by some chemo drugs. In my wife's situation we had such a problem that we handled successfully by watching key items as shortness of breath, erratic heartbeat, and pulse levels. To win this battle, I cannot keep over emphasizing that you must educate yourself about the cancer and chemo effects.
11) The person will probably experience peripheral nervous system changes, neuropathy. This usually occurs in the hands and feet. They will feel some numbness, tingling, and decreased sensation.
12) You must keep HOPE!! When a person loses hope, the body and mind begin to shut down in anticipation of death.
13) All cancer patients have one thing in common.........FEAR!!
14) Today the medical community sees cancer as a chronic, controllable disease. This is good information since there are improvements being made. Unfortunately, ovarian cancer, is one of the "tougher" cancers to beat. This is mainly because they are caught in the later stages of III or IV. That is why finding an "EARLY DETECTION" test is so important!
15) All evidence points to the simple truth.....Your ATTITUDE matters!! This is for the patient and the caregiver. EDUCATION......the more you know about the cancer and the treatments will give you a better chance of "beating this terrible disease"!!!!
16) The "will to live" is always the necessary factor in the healing equation!
17) I found it very beneficial to keep a DAILY CALENDAR WITH ANY CRITICAL NOTES on events, treatments, etc. Many times I had to refer back to an event that, if I had not had this daily calendar with notes, would have created problems for us. It does not take much effort if done daily, and it will have important information over time. Sometimes you have to refer back to things that happened months ago! I just could not keep all of that stored within my head.
Has this website been of help to you? If so, please make a donation to the Patricia Lewis South Ovarian Cancer Fund "using the link below". All donations go "directly" to this fund at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center for research toward finding EARLY DETECTION TESTS FOR OVARIAN CANCERS.
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