Well, my husband’s final chemo—a combination of cysplatin and gembitacin—was on April 2. I was amazed how much the medicines changed his personality; he went from a talkative, strong man to a quiet, disagreeable, and very dependent person. Following the chemo, he returned gradually to his old self and our friends and neighbors keep commenting on how well he appears. On May 5, following a CT scan, his oncologist said he was in remission.
During this time, he lost thirty pounds off his slender frame and has regained about half to date. We thought everything was going to be great, THEN last week he saw his local doctor for a routine exam. His serum cretinine was elevated to a reading of 2.7! Before he began chemotherapy, it was 1.1. At the time he was pronounced in remission, it was 2.1.
We saw a nephrologists on Monday, a doctor with all the finesse of a sumo wrestler. He bluntly told Cole that he is at Stage 4 of kidney failure and nothing can be done. He blames it on the cysplatin, saying it damaged his kidneys. An ultrasound showed that the kidneys appear perfectly normal.
Now my husband is in a complete funk, staying in bed most of the time, hardly speaking or enjoying anything around him. I don’t know what to do. Has anyone else experienced kidney problems following chemo? Is there anything that can be done?
Thanks for your help.
Judy