Mom, Cancer and Disney

[cmonty]

My mom is a frequent visitor to the boards and you all have helped her so much with the planning of all her disney trips. Her username is Dyana. Mom was diagnosed with stage IIIB lung cancer and Lymphoma in June. She started radiation and Chemo June 25th, her 61st birthday. Soon after her diagnoses, while laying in ICU, she started planning her next disney trip in fear this would be her last one. Are there any members who have gone through chemo and radiation? How long should we wait to go? I want to take her but I want her to be able to enjoy it. Her last radiation is August 21st and her last chemo is August 28. She's doing good now, not a whole lot of side effects, just hair loss and fatigue. The picture in my signature is mom and dad at Disney December 2011. I sent them for their 50th wedding anniversary 10 years early Just really not sure what to expect once treatment is over.

 

[mommasita]

So sorry to read this.. But very glad she is doing well!!

Perhaps her Dr's could give a good indication of how long after the last treatment would be a good idea?

What a marvelous way to celebrate it!!!!!!

 

[Christine]

Just from knowing people who've been through chemo and radiation, I would say that October might be a good time to go based on late-August treatments. That gives her a 4-6 weeks to kind of get herself back up to speed. November might even be better.

 

[GadgetTheInventor]

There are ways to make the trip easier when dealing with fatigue depending on how much planning you want to do and your comfort level in public.

Intervals of air conditioning can help greatly and can be accomplished at sit-down meals or certain rides.

Naps in the parks...

In the MK: CHH upstairs in the room that goes over the walkway. Just prop yourself up in the corner and snooze for half an hour. It's a very quiet area. CoP is great on the other side of the park. You can always do a few laps.

If you are self-conscious about napping in more public areas, consider wearing a "cancer" shirt of some sort from either a walk or "i'm fighting cancer" to help cut down on nasty comments and stares. I've heard positive comments from the parent's of autistic kids who have done this. The GAC card can be helpful, but wearing a cancer shirt and having a bald head is likely to get you more offers of a seat in the attraction waiting areas.

A scooter could help in some cases with fatigue. You will have to consider the effects of chemo-brain and the fact that driving a scooter takes a lot more brain power than walking. One way to lessen the brain frustration is to drop-off your mom at the entrance and have an able-bodied person park the scooter.

If you do these things, you could probably scoot up the trip a bit vs. going completely unorganized. It just really depends on the stamina of your mom. My fianceé was back working at a job similar to the difficulty of a Disney trip a week after finishing chemo, but being in your 20s can make a huge difference.