› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Update on my sister
- This topic has 24 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 10 months ago by
SaveMySister.
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- August 19, 2013 at 10:18 pm
My sister's battle barely got off the ground She was diagnosed July 22nd. She was admitted to Moffit, where she stayed less than a week. They sent her home after 3 days of brain radiation. She received 2 more rounds as an outpatient. But being that her spleen was so swollen and she could barely get any food or drink down her, she was rushed by paramedics to the ER 4 days later due to fever, nausea/vomiting and extreme pain.
My sister's battle barely got off the ground She was diagnosed July 22nd. She was admitted to Moffit, where she stayed less than a week. They sent her home after 3 days of brain radiation. She received 2 more rounds as an outpatient. But being that her spleen was so swollen and she could barely get any food or drink down her, she was rushed by paramedics to the ER 4 days later due to fever, nausea/vomiting and extreme pain. They admitted her to Tampa General where she stayed 5 days, missing the 5 supposedly critical brain radiation treatments on the agenda that week, because Moffitt didn't have a bed for her. They moved her back there just before the weekend, gave her 1 brain radiation treatment on Monday, and then Tuesday she was told they were not going to give her the Zelboraf or the chemo, that they were discontinuing treatment and moving her to hospice that very day. I spoke to her Tuesday for over an hour on the phone. By the time I got back down to see her Thursday morning, she was so much more incoherent. She lost her last ability to interact with anyone by 2 AM Friday morning. Friday evening she died at 9PM. No one could save my sister.
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- August 20, 2013 at 12:17 am
I am so sorry to hear of your sister's passing. My heart goes out to you and to the rest of her family. I have been wondering how she was doing, so thank you for making the effort in this time of grief to let us know what happened.
It amazes me that your sister's melanoma could have progressed so far without her being aware of it. It must have been spreading for at least a year or two– even to her brain– but it was completely silent. Incredible!
I know that you did the absolute best you could for her. You really pulled out all the stops to try to understand what was going on with her and find the best medical care you could. And you succeeded– you got her to Moffitt where at least they knew what they were doing and were able to explain to her and the family what was going on. But because her melanoma was so sneaky and had quietly progressed so far, there was really nothing anybody could do to stop it. I suspect that even if she had been diagoned in May or June, the outcome would have been the same. I am so sorry about that.
I am so glad that you were able to have a long chat on the phone on Tuesday and a final visit on Thursday. You were always "there" for your sister, and I'm sure she took a lot of comfort in that. You have been a wonderful, caring, supportive sister. We should all be so lucky as to have someone like you in our lives.
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- August 20, 2013 at 12:17 am
I am so sorry to hear of your sister's passing. My heart goes out to you and to the rest of her family. I have been wondering how she was doing, so thank you for making the effort in this time of grief to let us know what happened.
It amazes me that your sister's melanoma could have progressed so far without her being aware of it. It must have been spreading for at least a year or two– even to her brain– but it was completely silent. Incredible!
I know that you did the absolute best you could for her. You really pulled out all the stops to try to understand what was going on with her and find the best medical care you could. And you succeeded– you got her to Moffitt where at least they knew what they were doing and were able to explain to her and the family what was going on. But because her melanoma was so sneaky and had quietly progressed so far, there was really nothing anybody could do to stop it. I suspect that even if she had been diagoned in May or June, the outcome would have been the same. I am so sorry about that.
I am so glad that you were able to have a long chat on the phone on Tuesday and a final visit on Thursday. You were always "there" for your sister, and I'm sure she took a lot of comfort in that. You have been a wonderful, caring, supportive sister. We should all be so lucky as to have someone like you in our lives.
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- August 20, 2013 at 12:17 am
I am so sorry to hear of your sister's passing. My heart goes out to you and to the rest of her family. I have been wondering how she was doing, so thank you for making the effort in this time of grief to let us know what happened.
It amazes me that your sister's melanoma could have progressed so far without her being aware of it. It must have been spreading for at least a year or two– even to her brain– but it was completely silent. Incredible!
I know that you did the absolute best you could for her. You really pulled out all the stops to try to understand what was going on with her and find the best medical care you could. And you succeeded– you got her to Moffitt where at least they knew what they were doing and were able to explain to her and the family what was going on. But because her melanoma was so sneaky and had quietly progressed so far, there was really nothing anybody could do to stop it. I suspect that even if she had been diagoned in May or June, the outcome would have been the same. I am so sorry about that.
I am so glad that you were able to have a long chat on the phone on Tuesday and a final visit on Thursday. You were always "there" for your sister, and I'm sure she took a lot of comfort in that. You have been a wonderful, caring, supportive sister. We should all be so lucky as to have someone like you in our lives.
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- August 20, 2013 at 2:43 am
I am so sorry to hear this. I was really hoping for a miracle for her (and you). It's probably not much comfort right now, but you did everything you could and were an amazing advocate for her and support for her family. No one can ask more than that.
My thoughts are with you and your family.
-Eva
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- August 20, 2013 at 2:43 am
I am so sorry to hear this. I was really hoping for a miracle for her (and you). It's probably not much comfort right now, but you did everything you could and were an amazing advocate for her and support for her family. No one can ask more than that.
My thoughts are with you and your family.
-Eva
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- August 20, 2013 at 2:43 am
I am so sorry to hear this. I was really hoping for a miracle for her (and you). It's probably not much comfort right now, but you did everything you could and were an amazing advocate for her and support for her family. No one can ask more than that.
My thoughts are with you and your family.
-Eva
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- August 20, 2013 at 3:47 am
Thank you, all of you, for the support. This forum was a real comfort to me when I was overwhelmed with knowing where to turn or what to think upon learning of my sister's diagnosis. And it is a comfort now to hear your kind words. I wish I could've done more for her, and the doctors she'd seen in the months before her diagnosis would've been better detectives. They suspected she had the melanoma for quite some time, but perhaps it was localized. There are some who believe the ruptured spleen contributed to the rapid spread of the cancer, either by releasing cancerous cells from the spleen into the abdominal cavity where it could take over her other organs, or by simply weakening her immune system so she couldn't fight the disease at all….probably both. Some said it was the most agressive cancer they'd ever seen.
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- August 20, 2013 at 4:07 am
I'm so very sorry. I know the pain of losing a sibling, but for it to happen so quickly had to have made the situation even more unbearable. Thank you for being such an advocate for her.
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- August 20, 2013 at 11:42 am
Dear Sis, I am so sorry to here this news after your fight for you sister. I have heard of far too maany cases where I have chatted with people, often youg people that told me, "My Mother was out playing golf with he friends 2 months ago. Shse was then diagnosed with Melano ma Stage IV. We buried Mom last week. HOW could this happen?" All I can say is that it can. The only thing I can say about these quick death cases is that at east the patient didn't suffer for a l ong time and hopefully had a minimum l of ingering in pains. My sister, a good RN, had a husband that went to a Doctor with a back pain, when he also developed bowl prooblems. (Back in the days before there were PETs or even CT's.) When the they coutdn't determine the source of the pain, they operated. They told my sister that his whole insides were a mass of cancer and there was nothing aanyone could have done to help him. The cancer had spread over the surface of essentilly all his organs before going inside and shutting them down. I cannot answer WHY's. I just kknow that our loved ones do appreciate the fact that we loed them and did the best we could for/with them. I am thankful that your sister had you and is out of pain.
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- August 20, 2013 at 11:42 am
Dear Sis, I am so sorry to here this news after your fight for you sister. I have heard of far too maany cases where I have chatted with people, often youg people that told me, "My Mother was out playing golf with he friends 2 months ago. Shse was then diagnosed with Melano ma Stage IV. We buried Mom last week. HOW could this happen?" All I can say is that it can. The only thing I can say about these quick death cases is that at east the patient didn't suffer for a l ong time and hopefully had a minimum l of ingering in pains. My sister, a good RN, had a husband that went to a Doctor with a back pain, when he also developed bowl prooblems. (Back in the days before there were PETs or even CT's.) When the they coutdn't determine the source of the pain, they operated. They told my sister that his whole insides were a mass of cancer and there was nothing aanyone could have done to help him. The cancer had spread over the surface of essentilly all his organs before going inside and shutting them down. I cannot answer WHY's. I just kknow that our loved ones do appreciate the fact that we loed them and did the best we could for/with them. I am thankful that your sister had you and is out of pain.
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- August 20, 2013 at 11:42 am
Dear Sis, I am so sorry to here this news after your fight for you sister. I have heard of far too maany cases where I have chatted with people, often youg people that told me, "My Mother was out playing golf with he friends 2 months ago. Shse was then diagnosed with Melano ma Stage IV. We buried Mom last week. HOW could this happen?" All I can say is that it can. The only thing I can say about these quick death cases is that at east the patient didn't suffer for a l ong time and hopefully had a minimum l of ingering in pains. My sister, a good RN, had a husband that went to a Doctor with a back pain, when he also developed bowl prooblems. (Back in the days before there were PETs or even CT's.) When the they coutdn't determine the source of the pain, they operated. They told my sister that his whole insides were a mass of cancer and there was nothing aanyone could have done to help him. The cancer had spread over the surface of essentilly all his organs before going inside and shutting them down. I cannot answer WHY's. I just kknow that our loved ones do appreciate the fact that we loed them and did the best we could for/with them. I am thankful that your sister had you and is out of pain.
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- August 20, 2013 at 8:18 pm
Thank you all. I will continue to become more educated about melanoma and will do my best to spread awareness. There needs to be a movement to rival the degree of publicity for breast cancer.
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- August 20, 2013 at 3:47 am
Thank you, all of you, for the support. This forum was a real comfort to me when I was overwhelmed with knowing where to turn or what to think upon learning of my sister's diagnosis. And it is a comfort now to hear your kind words. I wish I could've done more for her, and the doctors she'd seen in the months before her diagnosis would've been better detectives. They suspected she had the melanoma for quite some time, but perhaps it was localized. There are some who believe the ruptured spleen contributed to the rapid spread of the cancer, either by releasing cancerous cells from the spleen into the abdominal cavity where it could take over her other organs, or by simply weakening her immune system so she couldn't fight the disease at all….probably both. Some said it was the most agressive cancer they'd ever seen.
-
- August 20, 2013 at 3:47 am
Thank you, all of you, for the support. This forum was a real comfort to me when I was overwhelmed with knowing where to turn or what to think upon learning of my sister's diagnosis. And it is a comfort now to hear your kind words. I wish I could've done more for her, and the doctors she'd seen in the months before her diagnosis would've been better detectives. They suspected she had the melanoma for quite some time, but perhaps it was localized. There are some who believe the ruptured spleen contributed to the rapid spread of the cancer, either by releasing cancerous cells from the spleen into the abdominal cavity where it could take over her other organs, or by simply weakening her immune system so she couldn't fight the disease at all….probably both. Some said it was the most agressive cancer they'd ever seen.
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- August 20, 2013 at 4:07 am
I'm so very sorry. I know the pain of losing a sibling, but for it to happen so quickly had to have made the situation even more unbearable. Thank you for being such an advocate for her.
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- August 20, 2013 at 4:07 am
I'm so very sorry. I know the pain of losing a sibling, but for it to happen so quickly had to have made the situation even more unbearable. Thank you for being such an advocate for her.
-
- August 20, 2013 at 8:18 pm
Thank you all. I will continue to become more educated about melanoma and will do my best to spread awareness. There needs to be a movement to rival the degree of publicity for breast cancer.
-
- August 20, 2013 at 8:18 pm
Thank you all. I will continue to become more educated about melanoma and will do my best to spread awareness. There needs to be a movement to rival the degree of publicity for breast cancer.
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