The Journey so far

We (My wife, who has the cancer, Son & Daughter[in-law], and myself) attended the San Francisco Patient Forum, and considered it one of the most valuable things that we've done. Thought it might be just a bunch of boring scientists/doctors speaking in a foreign language-WRONG! It was fabulous, and so educational. It's especially encouraging to look out and see 159 other people that are going through the same thing, with the trials, emotions, and success stories to overcome this.

Now to All;

If note was taken that I referred to our Daughter-In-Law, as Daughter[In-Law], then here is the explanation – Lori has been an absolute god-send for us, inasmuch as she has been just about the main core of our support (along with our son) EVERY appointment, surgery, waiting room, prescriptions, etc. After Debs surgery, she was at the hospital when visiting hours started, until in the evening when I got there, and in some cases, until the nurses sent us home. She has been 100% support and confidant to Deb. Always a shoulder to cry on (or cry with), or ear to vent to. Even calls constantly to be sure Deb is eating right, taking her meds, and being sure the appointments are on schedule. She takes her to Chemo, and stays the 6 hours until it’s done. Wherever they go, people cannot believe that they are In-Law. She has been much more to us than I can believe that a true Daughter would be. I am proud beyond words to have her (and her family) as part of ours.

Where we are now;

I have not posted for some time because of the roller coaster ride with the Chemo and all the appointments, and still keeping our business running. After Debs RC, things were very rocky until we got used to the stoma and bag working in concert with one another (seems the stoma was not willing to pee into the bag, and the bag was bent on not adhering correctly, so leaking problems after only a day or so). After careful evaluation, it seems that we've come up with a (almost) foolproof way to make these two play nice together. In fact, we had a power outage, and Deb didn't want to change her bag at the time, so we ended up going for 7 days with no problem, and by the looks of it, could have even lasted longer if absolutely necessary. I can't say what a confidence booster that has been, even though we regularly change on a twice a week cycle (sometimes 3 days, sometimes 4). The way we tilt her bag a bit, so that it comes out of her underwear in a position that's comfortable, necessitates a little notch in the adhesive support to accommodate her belly button. This makes us laugh. We're also sure to use a hair dryer on her skin to be sure it's dry, and then on the bags body adhesive (sorry, don't know all of the bag terminology), before we fasten it. Also, once the hole is cut to size on the bag, rub your finger around the inside of the hole to smooth & taper out, so that a good seal is insured (kind of like a convex bag would do). After the bag is on, Deb keeps pressure against the bag, mainly with 4 fingers at the bottom to keep it warm and insure a good seal, at the same time using the other hand to press against the rest of the bag. She keeps the pressure on for about 5 minutes. By the way, the main reason it seems that we were having so many leak problems at the start, was because whenever we removed the bag, we could see on the back where the compromise was, and noticed that the surgery had left a small concave indentation in her tummy just below the stoma. Concentrating on this area, to be sure the bag is secured and held seems to have been the key to a successful attachment & bond. The little adhesive wipes are a great help as well, to wipe the skin just before we attach the bag.
By the way, we are going through Chemo now, and Deb is having a problem with the needles in her arms, and is considering a port. Any experience, suggestions? Thanks so much.

I hope this information has been of some help, and not to wordy.

George