Thursday, March 30, 2017
Day 21st of Radiotherapy
Hello everyone, currently nasa loob na ng MRI room si Cezar. Please pray for him. Please tulungan nyo kaming magpray na maging maganda ang resulta. Day 21 na today ng radiotherapy nya. Monthsary rin namin kaya sana magandang gift ang mareceive namin. Alam ko naman galante si God at tutulungan nya si Cezar. Thank you at sana maging maganda ang araw nyo.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Saturday, March 25, 2017
No visitors allowed
Hi everyone, I know I said na bisita lang kayo dito sa med ward ng uerm. Kaso nagfi fever si Cezar ngayon kaya bawal daw muna puntahan. Hinihintay pa magstabilize temp nya bago sya maichemo. Naghahydrate lang muna sya ngayon. Hopefully tonight makatuloy na kami. Salamat po! God bless us all.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
March 23rd
Update on Cezar's Condition
We finally got an appointment with our pain specialist and he was able to prescribe a mouthwash that helps with the pain and allows Cezar to still eat by mouth (thank you so much Doc Glen sa pagprovide ng remedy habang di pa kami nakakuha ng prescription). Bad news, lalala pa raw ang sores habang tumatagal so kailangan lakasan ang loob.
Hindi maganda ang CBC results nya. Rad onco had to inject meds for his white blood cells to go up and he also gave us immunostimulants to help Cezar cope with the chemo symptoms (compromised immune system). Because of the meds he has a fever. We were just advised to drink plenty of water and do sponge bath because the fever is a sign that his white blood cells are increasing. CBC results tomorrow will tell us whether he can continue with radiotherapy and chemo.
He has really bad withdrawal symptoms because our pain specialist reduced his pain meds significantly. Withdrawal pains are so bad all he wants to do is hug me and sleep.
Last week was great for us. This week has presented a lot of challenges. We are all exhausted and our spirits are very low but we will continue to fight. I ask for prayers for healing and prayers so we can rally on and defeat this disease. I know God is watching over us and He is not blind to our pain. I refuse to be swayed and I refuse to turn my back on Him. He is our savior and I know that he will always look out for Cezar.
We finally got an appointment with our pain specialist and he was able to prescribe a mouthwash that helps with the pain and allows Cezar to still eat by mouth (thank you so much Doc Glen sa pagprovide ng remedy habang di pa kami nakakuha ng prescription). Bad news, lalala pa raw ang sores habang tumatagal so kailangan lakasan ang loob.
Hindi maganda ang CBC results nya. Rad onco had to inject meds for his white blood cells to go up and he also gave us immunostimulants to help Cezar cope with the chemo symptoms (compromised immune system). Because of the meds he has a fever. We were just advised to drink plenty of water and do sponge bath because the fever is a sign that his white blood cells are increasing. CBC results tomorrow will tell us whether he can continue with radiotherapy and chemo.
He has really bad withdrawal symptoms because our pain specialist reduced his pain meds significantly. Withdrawal pains are so bad all he wants to do is hug me and sleep.
Last week was great for us. This week has presented a lot of challenges. We are all exhausted and our spirits are very low but we will continue to fight. I ask for prayers for healing and prayers so we can rally on and defeat this disease. I know God is watching over us and He is not blind to our pain. I refuse to be swayed and I refuse to turn my back on Him. He is our savior and I know that he will always look out for Cezar.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Pain from mouth sores
Ok so here's what we've tried so far:
Magic mouthwash from rad onco
Xylogel
Saltwater rinse
Betadine mouthwash
Swish alcohol free
Woods lozenges
Strepsils lemon sugar free
Difflam lozenges
Zytee RB
Kamillosan
I bought Orahex (currently chilling in the fridge) and will try this later. So far nothing has been able to lessen the pain or speed up the healing of his mouth sores. He says if we don't get results he wants to start using his peg for feeding starting tomorrow.
I've listed down all your suggestions and will try them all one at a time. I refuse to believe that there's nothing that can help him get through this. I'm still praying for a miracle and I hope we find something soon. Please pray for him and his immediate healing.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Tumor shrunk by 10-20%
Update on Cezar's Condition
Cezar has really bad mouth sores caused by radiotherapy. We've tried a lot of mouthwashes and lozenges but they just don't seem to work (we welcome any advice kung may alam kayong pangnumb sa bibig T__T). He had two episodes of nosebleeds from the left nostril this weekend. Our radiation onco says it's because the tumor is getting smaller and is no longer putting pressure on some of his veins (the veins have become weak and are easily damaged hence the bleeding). He checked the tumor that protrudes from Cezar's gums and he believes it has shrunk maybe 10-20% from its initial size (Praise God!). Repeat MRI is scheduled on March 30th (sakto monthsary namin lol) and hopefully operable na sya by then. His second chemo cycle is scheduled this weekend.
Eating is becoming more and more of a challenge as his mouth sores become more severe. But at least we have his PEG tube for when all attempts of oral pain control fail. We are still experimenting with various gels, lozenges, and mouthwashes and I am currently trying to get him an appointment with our pain specialist. Hopefully they'll be able to help us because we want him to avoid using his tube as much as possible (tube feeding is difficult because it takes so long to complete and his pain meds make it hard for him to stay awake for long periods of time).
Tulad parin ng dati, pahingi parin po ng prayers na kayanin nya 'to. Maraming maraming salamat po sa lahat ng tulong at sa lahat po ng dasal ninyo. Naniniwala parin kami na everything is possible with God.
Cezar has really bad mouth sores caused by radiotherapy. We've tried a lot of mouthwashes and lozenges but they just don't seem to work (we welcome any advice kung may alam kayong pangnumb sa bibig T__T). He had two episodes of nosebleeds from the left nostril this weekend. Our radiation onco says it's because the tumor is getting smaller and is no longer putting pressure on some of his veins (the veins have become weak and are easily damaged hence the bleeding). He checked the tumor that protrudes from Cezar's gums and he believes it has shrunk maybe 10-20% from its initial size (Praise God!). Repeat MRI is scheduled on March 30th (sakto monthsary namin lol) and hopefully operable na sya by then. His second chemo cycle is scheduled this weekend.
Eating is becoming more and more of a challenge as his mouth sores become more severe. But at least we have his PEG tube for when all attempts of oral pain control fail. We are still experimenting with various gels, lozenges, and mouthwashes and I am currently trying to get him an appointment with our pain specialist. Hopefully they'll be able to help us because we want him to avoid using his tube as much as possible (tube feeding is difficult because it takes so long to complete and his pain meds make it hard for him to stay awake for long periods of time).
Tulad parin ng dati, pahingi parin po ng prayers na kayanin nya 'to. Maraming maraming salamat po sa lahat ng tulong at sa lahat po ng dasal ninyo. Naniniwala parin kami na everything is possible with God.
Monday, March 13, 2017
March 13th
Update on Cezar's Condition
Despite having had to bring Cezar to the ER last Saturday (due to a discharge in his peg tube site and severe constipation), we still started his therapy this week with a big smile on our faces.
For starters, Cezar has gained 2 kilos since being discharged from the hospital last week. He also managed to make his way to and from the radiation onco clinic without a wheelchair!
He is still exhausted from therapy but he is eating a lot and spending more and more time on his feet.
Please continue to pray for his healing. He has started complaining of pain inside his mouth (his inner cheek has a lot of sores from radiotherapy) and a burning feeling on his skin but he is still the funny and witty man we all know and his disposition has not changed. Sabi nga nya, "cancer lang 'to kayang kaya".
Please include him in your prayers. Alam namin na nothing is impossible with God. Hindi sya gaano nagfe facebook, pero he wants you all to know na sobrang thankful sya and gagawin nya lahat in his power para gumaling sya.
Will update again after ng consult namin with his rad onco on wednesday. Have a great week ahead everyone!
Despite having had to bring Cezar to the ER last Saturday (due to a discharge in his peg tube site and severe constipation), we still started his therapy this week with a big smile on our faces.
For starters, Cezar has gained 2 kilos since being discharged from the hospital last week. He also managed to make his way to and from the radiation onco clinic without a wheelchair!
He is still exhausted from therapy but he is eating a lot and spending more and more time on his feet.
Please continue to pray for his healing. He has started complaining of pain inside his mouth (his inner cheek has a lot of sores from radiotherapy) and a burning feeling on his skin but he is still the funny and witty man we all know and his disposition has not changed. Sabi nga nya, "cancer lang 'to kayang kaya".
Please include him in your prayers. Alam namin na nothing is impossible with God. Hindi sya gaano nagfe facebook, pero he wants you all to know na sobrang thankful sya and gagawin nya lahat in his power para gumaling sya.
Will update again after ng consult namin with his rad onco on wednesday. Have a great week ahead everyone!
Friday, March 10, 2017
Done with the first week of radiotherapy!
Update on Cezar's Condition
Done with the first week of radiotherapy! So far, Cezar's taking things like the champ that he is. We go to the dentist tomorrow for a prophylaxis (for his dental clearance). After that we'll just stay at home to get some needed rest.
He ate by mouth today for the first time in almost two weeks (breakfast and lunch). He has lost some weight and is still nauseous and dizzy, but he's able to move his mouth more and more everyday.
He has stopped taking his rescue morphine pills (praise God) and although he is suffering from withdrawal symptoms, we are glad that his pain can now be controlled with fewer medications.
He spent more time in therapy today since the techs have started targeting the eye, forehead, and neck area (where the suspicious lymph nodes are). To say that Cezar feels exhausted is an understatement. But he is fighting and keeping a positive attitude.
Thank you everyone for always keeping us in your prayers. Please pray for us some more. God willing, Cezar's tumor will have shrunk enough (and ready for surgical removal) on our next scan/evaluation (day 20 or 25 of radiotherapy.)
Happy weekend everyone and may God bless us all!
Done with the first week of radiotherapy! So far, Cezar's taking things like the champ that he is. We go to the dentist tomorrow for a prophylaxis (for his dental clearance). After that we'll just stay at home to get some needed rest.
He ate by mouth today for the first time in almost two weeks (breakfast and lunch). He has lost some weight and is still nauseous and dizzy, but he's able to move his mouth more and more everyday.
He has stopped taking his rescue morphine pills (praise God) and although he is suffering from withdrawal symptoms, we are glad that his pain can now be controlled with fewer medications.
He spent more time in therapy today since the techs have started targeting the eye, forehead, and neck area (where the suspicious lymph nodes are). To say that Cezar feels exhausted is an understatement. But he is fighting and keeping a positive attitude.
Thank you everyone for always keeping us in your prayers. Please pray for us some more. God willing, Cezar's tumor will have shrunk enough (and ready for surgical removal) on our next scan/evaluation (day 20 or 25 of radiotherapy.)
Happy weekend everyone and may God bless us all!
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Guwapo!
Update on Cezar's Condition
Discharge na kami in a few tapos admit naman for chemotherapy. Uuwi rin tomorrow from UERM tapos babalik na lang kami M-F para sa radiotherapy. Magrereassess nung tumor sa day 21 ng radiotherapy kaya ang goal e patabain sya at pahealthy-hin sa mga susunod na weeks para kung lumiit na yung tumor maisalang agad sya sa surgery. Hopefully wala namang excessive side effect yung chemo nya today. Pagpray nyo na lang po ang gwapo kong asawa. Thanks everyone and God bless us all!
Thanks everyone and God bless us all!
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Peg Tube and Radiotherapy
Update on Cezar's Condition
We were just told that radiotherapy will start today. Cezar will be brought down to radio onco in a few for his first rt session. He will have the trial feeding on his peg tube at 6pm tonight. If all goes well, we may be discharged by Saturday. He has a slight fever and the nurses have given him some meds to lower his temperature. Please pray for us, our battle begins today! Praying that he takes this beating like the warrior that he is and surface from this challenge a victorious man of God. Thanks everyone for the well wishes and please pray that everything goes well. God bless you all!
Tumor at 6.7 x 6.3 x 6.1 cm
Update on Cezar's Condition
Hi everyone, Cezar has been transferred to St. Luke's QC yesterday for his radiotherapy planning and PEG tube insertion. He is currently in the operating room for these procedures.
Pain is now controlled with a morphine drip since oral intake is impossible. He wanted to eat so bad last night (he said he wanted to try to eat something soft) but had to fast for his procedure today. He hasn't had anything by mouth since Monday except for a sip or two of water which he eventually threw back up.
Radiotherapy is being fast tracked and they want to give him a dose today but we have yet to receive word on whether this will push through. Latest start date of his radiotherapy is Monday.
The mass is now 6.7x6.3x6.1 cm and causing him unbearable pain when not on heavy pain meds. We are hoping that once the PEG tube is functional, he will be able to continue his oral meds without issues. It hurts to see him begging to be drugged enough to fall asleep just so he can't feel the pain. But he is bravely fighting for his life and so I will fight this disease with him. I always remind him that there are a lot of people waiting for his recovery and he would always answer with a smile and a thumbs up.
Whole body scan showed no cancer anywhere else (praise God!). The lymph node closest to the tumor is being suspected for metastasis or cancer spread but our radiation onco has already mentioned giving low doses on this area as precaution.
His body is weak from having no food for the last 4 days and his mom and I decided to get him a solo private room so as not to compromise his health (xray confirmed that his left lung appears to be compromised due to his breathing difficulty). We are still waiting to be transferred to a much, much cheaper room as soon as there is a vacancy. We had to wait 7 hours yesterday just to get him a room. We just cannot delay the tube insertion and the radiotherapy fitting anymore and I guess we'll just have to try to cut costs somewhere else.
I'm asking for your prayers again. I would also like to ask you to please share our funding page for more people to see. I went to social service but the tumor is growing so fast that it's not possible to wait for the approval of our medical assistance applications (but we are still pushing forward in case we can reimburse).
We have gotten Cezar a PWD ID (right eye is not functional anymore) and this along with Philhealth has gotten us some good discounts but the bills are piling up and we just can't keep up. He needs 24/7 care now because his tumor and the closed up right eye is causing major balance issues and even sitting up is difficult for him. The only relief he gets now is from his morphine drip and even with morphine he is not fully functional. He has also gotten some withdrawal symptoms (chills and excessive sweating) from being unable to take his 3 other oral pain meds. Going to the bathroom is a large challenge and even sleeping is difficult for him.
It is so hard to make a move when his tumor is growing faster than we can ever adjust to. Unfortunately for us, urgency means things are not going to be cheap.But we are not losing hope. We will fight for his life for as long as we can. We will do everything in our power to make sure that he gets through this alive although scarred. I will update you all as soon as he gets back in his room and hopefully this will help him get through chemo and radiotherapy easier.
Hi everyone, Cezar has been transferred to St. Luke's QC yesterday for his radiotherapy planning and PEG tube insertion. He is currently in the operating room for these procedures.
Pain is now controlled with a morphine drip since oral intake is impossible. He wanted to eat so bad last night (he said he wanted to try to eat something soft) but had to fast for his procedure today. He hasn't had anything by mouth since Monday except for a sip or two of water which he eventually threw back up.
Radiotherapy is being fast tracked and they want to give him a dose today but we have yet to receive word on whether this will push through. Latest start date of his radiotherapy is Monday.
The mass is now 6.7x6.3x6.1 cm and causing him unbearable pain when not on heavy pain meds. We are hoping that once the PEG tube is functional, he will be able to continue his oral meds without issues. It hurts to see him begging to be drugged enough to fall asleep just so he can't feel the pain. But he is bravely fighting for his life and so I will fight this disease with him. I always remind him that there are a lot of people waiting for his recovery and he would always answer with a smile and a thumbs up.
Whole body scan showed no cancer anywhere else (praise God!). The lymph node closest to the tumor is being suspected for metastasis or cancer spread but our radiation onco has already mentioned giving low doses on this area as precaution.
His body is weak from having no food for the last 4 days and his mom and I decided to get him a solo private room so as not to compromise his health (xray confirmed that his left lung appears to be compromised due to his breathing difficulty). We are still waiting to be transferred to a much, much cheaper room as soon as there is a vacancy. We had to wait 7 hours yesterday just to get him a room. We just cannot delay the tube insertion and the radiotherapy fitting anymore and I guess we'll just have to try to cut costs somewhere else.
I'm asking for your prayers again. I would also like to ask you to please share our funding page for more people to see. I went to social service but the tumor is growing so fast that it's not possible to wait for the approval of our medical assistance applications (but we are still pushing forward in case we can reimburse).
We have gotten Cezar a PWD ID (right eye is not functional anymore) and this along with Philhealth has gotten us some good discounts but the bills are piling up and we just can't keep up. He needs 24/7 care now because his tumor and the closed up right eye is causing major balance issues and even sitting up is difficult for him. The only relief he gets now is from his morphine drip and even with morphine he is not fully functional. He has also gotten some withdrawal symptoms (chills and excessive sweating) from being unable to take his 3 other oral pain meds. Going to the bathroom is a large challenge and even sleeping is difficult for him.
It is so hard to make a move when his tumor is growing faster than we can ever adjust to. Unfortunately for us, urgency means things are not going to be cheap.But we are not losing hope. We will fight for his life for as long as we can. We will do everything in our power to make sure that he gets through this alive although scarred. I will update you all as soon as he gets back in his room and hopefully this will help him get through chemo and radiotherapy easier.
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