Our Experiences

Jean,

You asked about Cyndi’s breathing problems. Yes, she was having considerable difficulty breathing, she was almost panting, which of course made her breathe harder and took more energy which caused her to need more air. ----- In other words, a vicious circle of needing more air and energy to get more air. The initial diagnosis was through stethoscope exam by her onc. and later confirmed with a Pulmonologist. The draining of the lung was a relatively easy procedure although performed in the hospital day surgery department it was done in her room with only the Dr. and a nurse assistant. He said when I remarked about the one liter being a lot that they do not consider it a lot until over a liter. He chuckled when I said that depends on whether it is from my lung or your lung!

The fluid does come back but Cyndi is taking Lasix to control the amount. Recently, after taking the last round of Herceptin, she was having difficulty and accumulating fluid all over as well as her lungs. When the Lasix finally started working she lost twelve pounds in a day. Yes, she spent that day in the little-girls-room. The onc. continues to monitor her with listening to her lungs and if there are questions, he will refer her to the lung specialist.

I am not nearly as helpful as one might think. I am supportive of Cyndi, and I do love and care about her more than anything. However, I work for the State of Texas, as project administration of construction and/or remodeling of prison facilities. I am assigned to various parts of the state currently I am in south Texas and home is in north Texas, about 900 miles away. I carry a pretty heavy guilt burden for not being with her during this time. We have three of our four daughters who live in the same town so they take her to the cancer center each week. I do what I can by trying to assure the treatments are appropriate and that the side affects are consistent with other chemo recipients. Cyndi will retire after this school year, so hopefully she will be off chemo and be able to travel with me. I am pretty much locked into this job because of the insurance… no other insurance company would consider selling us a policy at any price.

I hope I have answered all your questions…. and then some probably.
God Bless You,
ron