With 2 of my grandparents having suffered from cancer, I find the development and research into the improvements of the condition to be impacting our lives dramatically.
My grandmother was diagnosed roughly 2 years ago with terminal cervical cancer, 4 years after having her last smear, and appeared relatively unaffected, despite the tumor having grown to the size of a grapefruit. However, since Christmas, there has been a dramatic decrease in her health.
Originally diagnosed with severe depression; she became increasingly anxious, her concentration and memory was declining which frustrated her immensely. After showing similar symptoms to the condition and portraying signs of dementia, she was prescribed anti-depressant medication by a psychiatric nurse. Weeks later, after being omitted to hospital due to her symptoms worsening, my family received a devastating shock. Recent scans had shown that she had infact developed two brain tumors, one of 5cm in length and the other 3cm. She is currently resting at UCL hospital, transferred from the Lister in Stevenage (our local hospital). It is becoming more difficult for my family to visit her as regularly now that she is in London. To my disappointment I have been unable to visit her since Christmas, as a large amount of visitors would cause her distress. Although, she has had plenty of supporting visits from her children, my Dad has been up for many hours at a time to comfort his mother.
Things really weren't looking very promising, with her speech stuttered and her unable to control one side of her body, she required 2 nurses help her move and take visits to the toilet. As an intellectually engaging individual, the biggest issue for my Gran, was the lack of concentration; this made it too difficult to watch television, read books and even construct a conversation. However some days she appears to have improved; my Dad visited her last night reporting that she was able to stand up without any assistance and her speech had improved.
The hospital have prescribed her corticosteroids (a type of steroids), these are found naturally in the body and are released from the Adrenal Cortex. They can be used as cancer treatment for the following reasons:
- To reduce inflammation
- To increase the patients appetite
- To treat the cancer itself (often along side with Chemotherapy)
- To relieve sickness
As a treatment for cancer, usually steroids only need to be taken short term. They can have side effects such as stomach irritation, mood changes, sleeping difficulties and swollen ankles, hands and feet (from water retention). My grandmother is taking extra medication to prevent the stomach irritation. She is still currently on the anti-depressant drugs, as it takes time to wean the patient off the drug, gradually reducing her dosage.
Today she is having her last session of radiotherapy, and the results should be visible after 2 weeks. Roughly 40% of all cancer patients are treated with Radiotherapy. In internal radiotherapy, a radioactive isotope is placed close to the tumor, either using an implant or drinking/injecting a liquid. Also sometimes the isotope is attached to another substance in order to travel to the affected area. Radiotherapy destroys the cancer cells in the treated area; normal cells are also affects however they can repair themselves. Radiotherapy is usually given over the course of a few days or weeks, giving the healthy cells time to recover.
The doctors have proposed to move her from the hospital soon, although there has been some uncertainty on whether she will be returning to her home, to our local hospital or moving into a care home. This is raising issues of responsibility and the costs associated with her care, within my family. Over the last couple of months, we have all become more anxious for her well-being; there has been too much stress to meet up and celebrate each other's birthdays.
Although we can't be there to see her, i know that we are all thinking of her and wishing for the best.
