What can my mom, who's receiving chemotherepy, do all day?

Question

My mom is a very active person. Because of her lumpectomy, port surgery, and chemotherepy (starting Monday), she's going to have to remain in the house all day. It's driving her nuts, and not helping her mood. What can she do to occupy herself (alone) and help her depression? Thanks a billion.

Answer 1

We need more information. Why is your mother confined to the house all day? That is not common for cancer patients at all. Most cancer patients can continue doing whatever they want to do unless their blood counts are low or their immune system is low. That only happens for a short period of time. With my son he was restricted only a few times to home when his blood counts had not come up. But that was only for a day or two, he could still have company . . everyone just needed to wash their hands or use purell.

As long as your mother takes precautions and feels well enough she should be able to do just about anything she want to do. Last month my son had 5 days of high dose chemotherapy and two days after getting out of the hospital he flew out to California to visit a friend for a few weeks. He can do anything that he wants as long as he feels well enough.

If your Mom is still being restricted to the house, perhaps she could become interested in using the computer. My son has a laptop and brings it with him to the hospital. He plays online games and keeps in contact with friends.

Good luck.

Answer 2

It seems odd that the doc would confine your mom to the house all day, because exercise and outlook are an important part of fighting cancer. The exposure to germs is not much different inside or out. A woman i work with is in a similar situation, and she goes into work most days for 4-5 hours, which is about all she can do because of fatigue. It might be worthwhile to push the issue with her doc to see how much confinement is really needed, and whether or not its OK for your mom to take walks and run errands if she is up to it. Otherwise, your mom may experience a lot of fatigue, and not feel much like doing anything some times. On those occasions, she might enjoy listening to books that have been recorded on CDs. Most local libraries and some book stores have audio books available, and the Cracker Barrel restaurant also rents them.

Answer 3

I used to have chemotherepy every day after brain tumor and I remember that my mom tell me that I feel tire and yes my skin kind of burn I was white and now I am brown., but now on these day thre is a medication for people Florecense you can find it just in Mexico an example Matamoros, but I thing you could find kit on line try it.

Answer 4

You are so sweet to ask this. She's lucky she's got a kid who is supportive and sensitive to her needs. It's tough on the patient, but it's really tough on the family too, so good on you. You're going through something very hard together right now, I know.

There are lots and lots of types of chemotherapy, so I don't know, but If she is on AC the chemotherapy cycles have high points and low points. During the low points she won't be leaving the house, but she'll also not feel like doing anything other than resting, for real. As she hits the upswing of the cycle she may be able to return to nearly-normal activities and get out of the house. So the downswings would be your biggest problem this way. But I don't think it will be 24/7 the whole time.

Chemo can also affect brain chemistry and cause depression, not to mention what the stress of cancer treatment in general can do to a person's outlook. She's already been through the wringer. Tell her to talk to her oncologist about medication for depression, because it does help. He may also want to give her an anti-anxiety drug to help her sleep and to chill her out on the tough days. There is no reason to tough this out and she certainly doesn't have anything to prove to anyone - there are no trophies being given out for who made it through chemo without Ativan. ANYTHING that will help, do it!!

Stay loose. She hasn't begun her cycles yet, so you don't know what to expect. You are going to have to take this one step at a time and not have any preconceptions.

Don't let anyone load you (or her) up with their scary cancer treatment stories. Everyone's case and everyone's medication is a little bit different, so just concentrate on what her oncologist is saying and ignore all the rest of the babble. I don't know why people share their horror stories, but they do. If you go with her to chemo, ask her if she wants you to run interference for this kind of thing.

Back to your original question -- what to do --
Give her some sculpey clay to make things. It takes your mind off everything else.

Put out the call to your family and friends to send any humor your way that they can - especially funny movies. She may not be up to much other than lying on the couch for the down cycle.

See if any of her friends would be willing to come and sit with her for a couple of hours as long as she says it's OK. This is NOT something she should do alone the whole time.

Get her started collecting something on ebay. This sounds stupid, but it will give her something to concentrate on and something to look forward to with little packages showing up every day. Ceramic frogs, cool hats, antique earrings, beanie babies, whatever. It can be something cheap.

Sudoku. Really.

Talk to her about any light projects she's had around the house that she hasn't had a chance to do in a while because they take time. Baking bread comes to mind and the smell is so mild that it won't make her woozy like some kinds of food smells would. You know her and I don't, so think about what those projects might be.

Don't push anything on her. If she's not up to whatever, fine.

Get her signed up for Look Good, Feel Better. It helps.
http://www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org/index.htm

Just take this one step at a time and don't anticipate anything -- she will get through it and you will too. Give her a huge hug from me and God bless you.

Answer 5

Firstly why does she have to remain inside? Yes her white cell count will go down, but it should rebound. My husband and son are both cancer survivors and neither were told to remain inside while on treatment. We would keep my son in for a few days if his white count was very low, but it never lasted long.

How about a treadmill, good books, movies, a pet, company, etc....

Answer 6

Get her a paint by number painting to do. Buy a how-to book on crocheting, knitting, crafts. Give her some stationery to write her friends. Teach her to email. Buy some albums so she can arrange the photographs. Make sure she has good books to read.

Answer 7

Play games online when she's stuck in the house. www.pogo.com is a good site.

Answer 8

hmmm. tough one! i mean, my dad cannot sit still either! but, your mother has cancer, and my dad doesn't so, big difference! but, does she like to read?
i understand she's active, but resting as much as possible is the best thing!

good luck!

Answer 9

BUY HER SOME GOOD BOOKS AND MOVIES. SHE WON'T WANT TO BE ACTIVE AFTER THE CHEMO.