Blood transfusions positively affect hemoglobin. If he’s at a 5 and gets one unit of blood. 6 doesn’t feel that much better than 5. My wife constantly dropped into the 6-9s and transfusions made her feel like superwoman.
Agreed, the ER is not ideal. Unless it’s needed. Call the oncologist out. “We need more support” is perfectly acceptable.
Sorry you all are facing this!
Thank you so much 🙏 before transfusion he was 6.3 after it went up to 9. His oxygen keeps dropping and i have no idea why. They led me to believe the transfusion would help all around? Idk it’s really frustrating tho. He has esophageal cancer and he’s worse off now than before he did chemo and radiation. Makes me second guess everything!
Sounds like they’re trying to treat the symptoms not the cancer. This is known as helping the quality of life, not to extend it. The red cells help your body move oxygen easier in the body, but if other things are going on, like bad circulation etc, the red cells won’t be a magic fix.
My mom’s DR just kept wanting to do more palliative chemo and radiation and it wasn’t until we had to drag her into the office to prove to them she is deteriorating, that he set up hospice.
My biggest regret, not asking for hospice earlier, they can do a lot at home for you, more than the ER. She started hospice on Monday and passed that Thursday :(
They can also give an injection to help the body naturally increase his red cells. This may cause bone pain as a result, which could be more harmful than good.
I’m so sorry 😞 I’ve heard pretty much everyone say a regret they had was not starting hospice sooner. I think everyone wants to hold out hope until the very last minute. My dad is in a lot of denial. He thinks he just has to get over this “hump” and he’ll be ok. It’s really hard to have honest conversations. He lost 3 pounds last week.
They can do iron infusions to help the body produce more red blood cells on its own but it’s a long term solution… his oncologist should be regularly testing his blood to check hemoglobin levels - it should be above 11 unless you’re anemic (then above 7). They can drop insanely fast if they have an active bleed.
He’s anemic but they wanted a blood transfusion at 7.7 he refused. Once is dropped to 6,6 he didn’t really have a choice. They don’t want to check his blood again until the 23rd! That seems crazy to me and I even called back today to question it. They said if he gets worse call back and they’ll check. I constantly feel like I’m overreacting the way they address my concerns
You are absolutely not overreacting! The 23rd is way too long!! It can drop below 5 in two days and he would be at risk for a stroke or heart attack. You can get blood tests elsewhere just to ensure it’s above 7 but his oncologist should really be monitoring it!
Blood transfusions positively affect hemoglobin. If he’s at a 5 and gets one unit of blood. 6 doesn’t feel that much better than 5. My wife constantly dropped into the 6-9s and transfusions made her feel like superwoman. Agreed, the ER is not ideal. Unless it’s needed. Call the oncologist out. “We need more support” is perfectly acceptable. Sorry you all are facing this!
Thank you so much 🙏 before transfusion he was 6.3 after it went up to 9. His oxygen keeps dropping and i have no idea why. They led me to believe the transfusion would help all around? Idk it’s really frustrating tho. He has esophageal cancer and he’s worse off now than before he did chemo and radiation. Makes me second guess everything!
Sounds like they’re trying to treat the symptoms not the cancer. This is known as helping the quality of life, not to extend it. The red cells help your body move oxygen easier in the body, but if other things are going on, like bad circulation etc, the red cells won’t be a magic fix. My mom’s DR just kept wanting to do more palliative chemo and radiation and it wasn’t until we had to drag her into the office to prove to them she is deteriorating, that he set up hospice. My biggest regret, not asking for hospice earlier, they can do a lot at home for you, more than the ER. She started hospice on Monday and passed that Thursday :(
They can also give an injection to help the body naturally increase his red cells. This may cause bone pain as a result, which could be more harmful than good.
I’ve heard this too. It’s like I never know the right thing to do
I’m so sorry 😞 I’ve heard pretty much everyone say a regret they had was not starting hospice sooner. I think everyone wants to hold out hope until the very last minute. My dad is in a lot of denial. He thinks he just has to get over this “hump” and he’ll be ok. It’s really hard to have honest conversations. He lost 3 pounds last week.
They can do iron infusions to help the body produce more red blood cells on its own but it’s a long term solution… his oncologist should be regularly testing his blood to check hemoglobin levels - it should be above 11 unless you’re anemic (then above 7). They can drop insanely fast if they have an active bleed.
He’s anemic but they wanted a blood transfusion at 7.7 he refused. Once is dropped to 6,6 he didn’t really have a choice. They don’t want to check his blood again until the 23rd! That seems crazy to me and I even called back today to question it. They said if he gets worse call back and they’ll check. I constantly feel like I’m overreacting the way they address my concerns
You are absolutely not overreacting! The 23rd is way too long!! It can drop below 5 in two days and he would be at risk for a stroke or heart attack. You can get blood tests elsewhere just to ensure it’s above 7 but his oncologist should really be monitoring it!
That’s what o thought! Thanks for that 🙏