ejpritz

My mother lost her job due to missing so much work. We called a Social Security Attorney and he got her placed on Social Security Disability, SSDI. She recieves a nontaxable check every month as well as medical insurance. The best part is Social Security Attorneys do not charge the client, they are paid by the government. Please speak to one as it can take a long time to get the ball moving.

Thanks Muriel.... My Dr. was willing to prescribe me Chantex (sp?) to quit the gum but I have to admit I felt a little weird about taking a pill to get off the gum so I tried qutting on my own. I think I am going to try next week the day after my Birthday... From what I read Nicotine withdrawal only last days so I guess I can be miserable for a few days.

Kasey: I am glad to see you too... I have not posted forever but I am on the site almost every single day. At the time of the Boston Walk my mother was finshing chemo.. she had a really tough time with it, she was very sick and lost her hair (which she had the toughest time dealing with) and I was unable to get involved in the walk because I was emotionally drained. Good news is she is still around and well... She feels good physically, just has a tough time mentally with it and does have periods of depression. Just trying to get her to enjoy life and be well....

I am not sure if this is the best place to post this... has anyone quit smoking by using Nicotine Gum? I quit 2 years and 4 months ago, and have not had on puff in that time, however each month I need more and more nicotine gum (yes I have been chewing it this entire time) I did not know if anyone else is in the same boat . I convince myself that it is much better then smoking is, but did not know if anyone has been told that it is Harmful or if the gum itslef can cause cancer.. I cannot seem to find much info on this topic on the internet.

Has anyone ever developped extremly bad breath during or after chemo treatments? My mother finished her cycle about 2 weeks ago. It is not a matter of hygene I do not believe. The odor reminds me of my grandmother's breath when she was dying, it is unbearable and it is noticeable thoughout the whole room she is in. I did not know if anyone had a similiar experience and new some tips or if this is something to be concerned about. thanks guys

thansk everyone! She has an appointment to discuss the side affects and she is going to ask what options there are as far as lower dosage or different drug all together. I am sure there is soemthing they can do!!

My mother had surgey in October which went great, it was her second lung surgery. They decided for her to do preventative chemo, she goes once every 3 weeks, 6 times. She had her first treatment last Wednesday, she is getting Cisplatin and I cannot remeber the name of the other one. The other one is supposely easier to tolerate, so I do not think its to blame for what she went through. She did not get out of bed for 6 days, and was in extreme pain. She has a very high pain tolerance so when she was in so much pain I could not even imagine. She said her whole body hurt so bad that she cannot go throught that again. She is going to ask if they can lower the dosage. Is this common for people to have such a high level of pain and be sick for so many days after? Its kind of hard to believe that being that sick and not eating for 6 days every 3 weeks will help her in any way. I find it hard to believe that that will not do more harm then good.

I cannot believe how lucky we are with my mother's recent recurrance. She had surgery Tuesday and I just got a call to go and pick her up and take her home. She is walking and eating and breathing fine... She also finally quit smoking , its been 14 days today!! so she feels better from that too. We find out next week if there will be any chemo, but I thought the surgeon told me it was not necessary. That man has found time to visit her twice a day every day she was in there, which I think is great. Some of the nurses told me that he is one of the few who stop in and says hello twice a day. We are so lucky that we ran into him 3 years ago. I am hoping that others can hear these types of stories and get some hope. 3 years ago they told us to expect months, she beat it, and when it came back last month, to be honest I was really thinking things could not work out so well again, and they did. The surgeon told us to expect mnay many healhty years.

My mother had surgery yesterday on her left lung. About a month ago a tumor appeared and we were so nervous that it would be inoperable or in the lymph nodes... Surgery was at 7am yesterady and at 10:30 am the surgeon came to see me and explained that it could not have been better. He said the margins were all clear and he removed the tumor and the surrounding tissue and it was very non=invasive. I was so happy when it was over and they let me see her. I was expecying it to be like the surgery on her right lung when she was in ICU for 3 days after on a breathing tube, but she has nothing except the chest tube, she was pretty awake and I do not think she will be stuck in there for over a week like last time. Such good news!!

Thanks!! I think she will be well on the road to feeling good by then!!

So we went to the Surgeon yesterday and he is doing the surgery on October 24. He said "Its an easy one." He said there will be 3 small incisions, it will not be very invasive, nothing like removing the pancoast one. I guess its very small and non aggressive, right on the tip of her upper lobe so he said it should not affect any lung function, although he can of course never guarntee that. He ordered a bunch of tests that she has to have prior to the surgery and as long as they are all OK it will be removed on the 24th.

When my mom had her surgery 2.5 years ago, the surgeon smelled cigaretts on her when she went under the anesthesia. He told my mother and my uncle that he does not treat current smokers. He was assured that she would never smoke another cigarette again. Well now we have to go see him again next Wed and I am remebering these comments he made. Does he have the right to refuse treatment when he finds out she has been smoking the whole time? I am trying to get myself prepared for this topic with him and I am jsut not sure if its typical for Dr.'s to make these statements and if they have the right to follow through and not perform the surgey.

Thanks Kasey. I should actually be at the walk. One of the people working hard on it is a good friend of mine, Janine. we grew up in the same small town and I was with her Friday night and she was telling me how great they are doing raising money. I am planning on being there. As Long as everything is going ok at that time with my mother I will be at Castle Island.

I am not sure, what lobe the tumor is on. all I know is it is on the bottom edge of the lung. I will be at the appointment with the surgeon on Oct 4th and make sure I get all the details. To be honest, her being on Oxygen permantly is not an option with the smoking, and I do not believe the threat of blowing herself and her house up will make her stop. So If they tell us she will have to be on Oxygen afterwards, I don't know what we will do.

So my suspicions proved correct. My mother's PET scan showed that there is a tumor in the right lung. It was the left lung wich was removed two and a half years ago. The onc is setting up an appointment with the surgeon, she said she thinks it can be removed based on where it is and the size of it. I was not aware that they could operate on a lung when its the only one that you have. Has anyone ever had this same experinece? Any insights on what to expect from the recovery?