Drugs That Mum Takes

Been hectic in the past fortnight. People around me got ill, and I wasn't feeling too well either. A spate of diarrhoea hit the city. Bro was getting all the gastric pains and stomach upset. When such happen, we always wonder why. Is it the water? An erratic diet?

Fortunately, Mum escaped all that. Doctor gave Mum a new dosage for the drugs he prescribed. She just completed her first course of radiotherapy and her Cyberknife treatment is scheduled from the week of October 6. There was a little confusion at Wijaya International Medical Centre last week as patients were informed of a later appointment date and then at short notice, they were told the next day to see the doctor within the same day after their radiotherapy/chemotherapy session which resulted in the inconvenience of waiting. One of them got mad and started grumbling all the way to the lift.

What impressed me most while at the hospital was the diligence demonstrated by Audrey, the resident pharmacist. Since Mum has to take different dosages for her steroid on different days and week, Audrey separated them into five courses in different packets to avoid confusion later.

For more than five weeks, she has been on dexamethasone; a potent steroid hormone which acts as an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant because radiotherapy could result in swelling on the affected area. According to Wikipedia, dexamethasone is used in the treatment of brain tumours to counteract the development of edema, which could eventually compress other brain structures. Dexamethasone is also given in cord compression where a tumor is compressing the spinal cord. And since this steroid will increase sensitivity to stomach acid which could lead to gastric and ulcer, Doctor prescribed Zantac, the commercial name of ranitidine which inhibits stomach acid production. To ensure that nausea is managed effectively, he also gave Mum some metoclopramide in the form of Primperan.

With so many drugs she has to take at a certain time, the insulin jabs which Bro helps with twice a day, almost always we have to take matters into hand personally to ensure that she doesn't forget.

Radiotherapy

Was up early this morning. Kept telling myself I have to reach Mum's place by 8.30AM that I forgotten all about breakfast. Thankfully Bro brought down some mooncakes for me. They knew I have the tendency to just forget.

It is Mum's second day of radiotherapy treatment. She is taking it well so far except for the unpleasant vomiting she had to bear with last night. On the first day, we were allowed to be in the control room with the radiologist and operators explaining to us briefly on the processes involved in Mum's treatment. They are relatively friendly and I was able to snap a picture of one CCTV screen of Mum lying down on the LINAC (Linear Accelerator) during the radiotherapy session after getting the permission from one of the operators. Unfortunately, other areas in the control room are not allowed to be on film.

Mum will be on radiotherapy from Mondays to Fridays, for five weeks. That's twenty five sessions in total before she goes for the Cyberknife boost. Her doctor calls this a conformal radiotherapy, which is most useful for treatment on tumours close to critical organs as it helps to avoid radiation damage to healthy body tissues and organs.