what does chemotherapy entail?explains further...below?

Question

i am the onkly child and there is noone to help me since my mom need chemo.....can she still work part time and keep her job?..do i need to be home with her to take care of her?......i dont know how much it takes a toll on her health because i dont know anyone that had cancer. i can ask my job to work more so i can earn more money to get her home health care and afford her supplementary insurance...which is better? home or work?

Answer 1

Generally, chemotherapy is used a palliative treatment and to prolong life in patients with terminal cancer. It is never used to cure cancer. It takes a drastic toll on the body, and many people argue that chemotherapy does more damage than the cancer it is supposed to fight. That is because chemotherapy cannot distinguish between cancerous cells and normal cells--it kills ALL cells, making patients extremely sick, weak, frail, and suseptable to infection and secondary illnesses. Chemotherapy is generally stopped when the patient cannot take it anymore. At that point, there is nothing more that can be done for cancer.

She might be able to keep her job the first few rounds, but when this stuff kicks in I highly doubt she will even feel like getting out of bed. It robs you of your taste sensations, too, so eating is difficult, patients lose alot of weight, and vomiting is common. She definately needs someone at home to take care of her, or get a hospice service to come in. It depends on how much money you make--private healthcare is expensive, it runs about $130 a day for a decent stay at a cancer "home", and live in nurses are slightly more. Hospice is free, but they won't come until you agree to STOP treating the cancer (they are primarily a service to cope with death).

Answer 2

How your mom manages her life around chemotherapy will depend on the type of chemo that she is given. Less aggressive treatments will probably enable her to work part time, whereas more aggressive treatments will not. She is going to need some help as with any chemo it will fatigue you, some worse than others, as every body reacts to the chemo differently. Something else to take into consideration with her continuing work or not is the frequency of her treatments. Some treatments are every week, some every 2 weeks, 3 weeks or monthly. Mine were monthly.

If she was able to stay home and rest and not have to work, that would be the best choice. If not, she may be able to work still, or if you would like to take on some extra work that would be a great help to her.

If you have a church or family or friends that could donate some time to helping your mom out while you are at work, so that you don't have to pay someone, that would be great. I went through very aggressive chemo for 9 months and I had someone help me around the house and help me do things that I couldn't do during my weakest points, which was about the first week after chemo. After that first week, I could pretty much do things on my own, although it would take a little bit longer because I was still regaining strength.

I hope that this helps!

Answer 3

There are many types of chemotherapy and depending on your mother's condition and also on how far away you live from the hospital the arrangements can be quite different.

Sometimes they would admit her to hospital and she would stay in for the duration of the chemotherapy and only come home when she is recovered enough to cope at home.

Sometimes they might have her come and visit the hospital and send her home at night. During the day she would get her chemo and be checked by the doctors and then she would go home.

Sometimes the chemo is in fact something easy like some tablets or an implant injected into the skin.

You will have to talk with her and her doctors to find out what sort of condition she is likely to be in at home or if she will stay in hospital the whole time.

If she stays in hospital the whole time, work is better. Get more money.

If she is home, you had better be home to help, I think.

But I've never had cancer or had to look after anyone at home either, so you had better talk with your mom and her doctors.

Answer 4

Depending on the type of cancer she was diagnosed with will be what determines her form of Chemotherapy treatment. She may be able to work and still do her Chemo. Do you know what form of cancer she has? Does you mom talk to you about what is happening? Staying home all the time with her will solve nothing. Work is the better solution to that as it will be a way for you to get you mind off of things even if it is for a little while. I would not suggest working more hours unless she can no longer take care of herself. She may become nauseated, tired and achy. There are things she can be given to help all of these but time and rest are the best. I know you are scared and this is very understandable. And I know it is hard on you as well as your mother. I am in a similar situation with my own child. But unfortunately there is no cure to fix what is wrong with me. I can only hope to live long enough to see my son graduate from high school. Then he will be old enough to be on his own and make it in this world. Give your mom all the support she needs. I don't know how old you are so I don't know if you are still in school or not. Ask family members to stay with her if need be while you work...maybe rotate in shifts. If you need to talk...or someone to just listen...you can e-mail me at [e-mail] ok? I am a cancer survivor as well so keep your head up and your faith strong. I have faith that you and your mom will win this fight against cancer. Have your mom tell you everything upfront..cut and dried version...it helps to know what is coming.

Answer 5

It depends on the Chemo she is getting. I am doing Chemo for BC and I am working full time. I miss maybe a day or 2 after if I feel bad, but I found out (and the Oncologist agrees) that working actually gets the mind of things and can make you feel better.
Good Luck to you and your mom.

Answer 6

My prayers are with you and your mom. I did chemo last year. Four rounds, which is pretty small; one round every three weeks. I did still work, but not on a regular basis. I had my chemo on a Wednesday and went to work the following Monday. It does kick your butt. There must be a neighbor or a friend you can ask for help. My husband stayed with me the first day of chemo and went to work the next day.

Answer 7

Chemotherapy refers to drugs that are used to kill microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi) and cancer cells. Most commonly, the term is used to refer to cancer-fighting drugs.
Radiation therapy-A treatment approach that uses radiation to destroy cancer cells.
Metastasis is the movement or spreading of cancer cells from one organ or tissue to another. Cancer cells usually spread via the bloodstream or the lymph system.
Even if the cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy and radiation, cancer will comeback in certain cases and spread to other organs by metastasis.
Please see the webpages for more details on Chemotherapy, Radiation and Metastasis.

Answer 8

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