twodogs

Sandra, Thanks for the reply. Young folks hardly ever get treated at our Cancer Center either. It is usually a case where they are away from their home area or special arrangements have been made. We do perform other procedures for some youngsters with other than Cancer illnesses, "brittle bone syndrome" treatment is one that comes to mind. The process is similar to chemo, using different drugs. No matter to me what their underlying illness is, the kids just crack me up emotionally. I guess that's what makes it so difficult for us, I must be hardened to those who are more mature and I know I might have made some lifestyle changes considering what's going on now. These young children don't even get the options or choices I've had. John

Linda That is certainly a great reaction. I wish I'd thought of that last June when I was hospitalized for the P'monia. It sure puts things in perspective, having something so treatable and relatively quick to cure. Great attitude. Prayers and Best Wishes, John

My January Scans and Chemo were pretty uneventful. My blood counts were good enough to stay on my six week cycle of Chemo with no blood infusions. I think I dropped a few emails but they were general and not a real update. Yesterday we went in for my regular six week checkup and treatment. My blood counts are still good so I got to skip the blood infusions again. My CAT Scan results were also good except for what Doc referred to as just a “Tiny Bit” of fluid left in that area near the right pleural lining that was still there or back there, or whatever. He has increased one of my chemo doses a “Tiny Bit” to address that fluid and he is very happy with the success we and he have had with my treatment. Sometimes he almost embarrasses me with his praise and glee over how well things have gone. He really has done a fantastic job and I had to get him talking about the economy and the Market to bring him back to earth. I jokingly asked him if he was making a killing in this market and he seemed shy about answering “yes”. A year or so he got hooked up with some outfit playing both ends of the game, market up or down he’s still doing fine. I’m going to research some of his clues later and check it out. We were well on the way to having a perfect day in Cancer Clinic when they brought in a frail looking, sixth grade girl and sat her next to me. Her Dad and Mom and Brother were all there with her to give the moral and physical support and family strength to undergo her treatment. We didn’t even get a chance to chat with them because they pulled the privacy curtain but we did get to listen to the whole treatment. The little darling had a port installed which they mentioned was very small and they talked her trough the process with everyone getting into the act. They coached her and consoled her and educated and informed her on everything they were doing and how it would feel. When they got to the part where they were prepping her port and installing the needle she was as frightened as a person could be. Everyone within earshot, family, patients, nurses and visitors, was reduced to tears. I was blubbering right along with the rest of them and any concerns I had for myself just melted away. You guys know it all too well but I’ve just got to say it again. I HATE this disease. I hate it most of all for attacking the young, the innocent and the helpless. They do not deserve it and they did nothing to cause it. I certainly don’t have a clue on how to find a cure but I believe that the faith and prayer and support of family friends and even strangers will make the ultimate difference. RANT>>Obama can spend $5 Billion to fund ACORN, just to get more illegal votes and meanwhile, we have to ask and beg for money to find a cure for this.>>Rant off Oh yes, I broke my Lenten vow on drinking once again, I think that’s an unbroken record of 55 years straight.

For what it's worth, I just plain could not eat for over a year. I started out with chemo and radiation at the same time and the radiation wiped out my esophagus. That problem caused an inability to swallow hardly anything without pain. Then, I lost my sense of taste to the chemo so all my food tasted just bad. I got through that by basically living on ice cream and cream filled pastries. Through it all, I lost about fifty pounds in that first year. I still have occasional swallowing problems and my taste buds have never really stabilized. I'll enjoy something for perhaps several months and then quit it overnight. I have managed to gain most of my wait back, as much as I want anyway. It really frustrates my wife because we only shop a couple times a month and when we do, we load up. She'll have a freezer or refrigerator full of what I liked last month and then I won't or can't eat it anymore. I kind of got off point here, which I usually do. That point was to understand what's going on and help her choose the things she can eat and not necessarily what she should eat. My oncologist and nutritionists used to argue over my diet. One was trying to keep me alive and the other was trying to make me healthy. I went with the "eat anything I could get in and down" plan. Dairy Queen worked for me. We'll all be pulling for you both. John

I'm sorry that I can NOT tell you what is causing the irritating and persistent hair loss. I can only share that my situation in that regard is nearly the same as you are experiencing. I went from my absolutely white, Buffalo Bill/Wild Bill Hickok, long locks and curls to bald as a cue ball, right after PCI. In less than a month my hair started coming back in and six months later was thicker and darker than it had ever been. Since then it has gradually worked its way back to "mostly white" and it's not thick or long or curly. I'm currently back on chemo , once every six weeks and still have hair but it is gradually diminishing in the fashion you describe. One of my Oncologists did tell me I could try those miracle lotions you see on TV but she wouldn't really say that they work. No matter how we turn out, hair or not, Have a Merry Christmas and happy holidays. John

Geri, I don't know how I missed your post but I'm sorry I did. You have a great attitude and a great story to go with it. Best wishes, happy holidays and a Merry Christmas to you and your family. John

Judy, I am on Avastin too. I don't remember if it's again or the first time but it does give me some concern. I wake up around 4:00 AM the morning after the infusion with serious hiccups that then continue for another day or two. I often get pretty severe intestinal pain along with the hiccups and never know what's going to happen with my bowels. The hand pain you have has been with me for a few years now. I never am sure whether it's drug induced or comes from me sleeping wrong or inadvertently just pinching some nerves. I haven't actually thought much about the Avastin as being a cause of my aches and pains. I'm at the point now where old age is a major player in the game. I don't think there's any way to beat that. My biggest whine these days is that I'm so run down. I have just about zero energy and the same amount of strength. It seems like I'm going downhill a whole lot faster than I was going uphill but I'm still going. The real problem I'm having is that I feel great, until I actually have to do something. I don't know if this is coming across as a pity whine for myself but I don't mean for it to be that. Just sharing what happens along the way and I can guarantee you a lot of our misery does come from the med's. You just hang in there and if you need a whine now and then, just do it. My prayers and best wishes are with you, John

Okay, I apologize. I buzz through once in a while but don't post much anymore. It's NOT because I'm cured and don't care. I never have forgotten, ,or will ever forget, all the caring and wonderful people on this site who have helped me stay in an upbeat and positive mood for so long. I just seem to have gotten back into the treatment routine and lost a lot of the energy I once had. That, and sitting around watching the stock market eat up most of our life's savings lately, has been pretty depressing. This past summer was a pain in the rear. Hospitalized at the end of June with pneumonia and some other cancer complications. Got out of that and then my port failed and had to be replaced. A week later I had a mini stroke which put me back in the hospital where I promptly managed to contract a bacterial blood disease of some sort. Things are going pretty well now. My blood counts are all good, I mean really good. I've gone for a few months now with no blood infusions required and am on a six week treatment schedule. My cancer signs are stable and that's hard to argue with. I'm still gettin' by on the prayers of my friends, neighbors and relatives plus a great team of medical professionals. I'm sorry and ashamed for not stopping in to visit more often. I consider you all to be some of my very best friends and if anyone is close to Devil's Tower you can come on over and kick my butt. John

Kathy, what a great attitude. I've heard it said, " if they don't scare you to death with that initial prognosis you've got a pretty good chance". Keep up the spirit and the fight. Wishes and prayers. John

My nephew's son was very young when he was diagnosed with Infantile Leukemia. He was the only one in the family afflicted with a cancer at that time. We all lived it and prayed through it for him and he has survived and is now healthy and approaching his near pre-teen period. When he found out my cancer had recurred he sent me an email that simply read: "Uncle John, Cancer Sucks. Get well soon. Love Brandon." Nearly broke my heart. John

I'll be emailing this to our local weekly newspaper editor in the morning. John I send out email updates to my family and friends whenever I have any events in my cancer progress or treatment. This is pretty much the latest issue and it may be appropriate, particularly in view of the up-coming Cancer Relays for Life. Cancers of all sorts exist in our community and we meet people suffering from this disease every where we go, young and old. " April Cancer Update April 23, 2008 I had a couple good days at the Gillette Hospital Cancer Center, (The world’s greatest Oncology Clinic), Tuesday and Wednesday. We got there a little early both days and I just flashed through my blood draw and CAT scan on Tuesday. On Wednesday we got a good report from the Doctor. My cancer site size has decreased and so has the amount of fluid in the pleural lining. We started the chemo and blood infusion procedures just before 9:00 AM and got out of there at 5:15 PM. Another full shift but things really went well and we were close to setting a new speed record, even using the lengthier and more drug intensive procedure I'm now on. While there, we met and chatted with a teenage girl who was being treated for causes she did not care to share with us. Her Grandma was there with her and it appears they’re new to this whole situation. They seemed eager for any kind of information and seemed to hang on every word they heard. It didn’t matter to them whether it was from staff or patients or caregivers. We are off-cycle for meeting them again for a while as she’s on an "every - other - week" routine and I’m on that; “go two weeks - skip two weeks routine. That’s too bad because I'd sure like to spend more time talking to them. Everything is so depressing and terrifying early in these cases and everyone I've met has felt so helpless early on. It seems like we’ve always got some young person in there who couldn’t possibly have brought this on themselves. For all the bad things about cancer, one of its worse characteristics is, it often attacks the most innocent among us, our babies and our other kids, (ours of those "other' type are in their 40’s). Thankfully, we all know quite a bit about breast cancer because of the publicity and those who are targeted by that disease. But, did you all know that Lung Cancer, not Breast Cancer, is the leading threat to women in the United States? Lung Cancer actually kills more women than breast cancer. It is the presumption that all lung cancer is brought on by smoking that muddles that issue. And while there is ample cause to make this presumption, it still strikes randomly and without warning. (Okay, there is a warning on the cigarette pack, but not on the air we breathe or all the food and water we consume.) Cancers of all sorts exist in our community and we meet people, young and old, suffering from this disease, every where we go. All successful cancer treatment research eventually benefits the full range of cancers. Two of the drugs I currently take were developed for treating cancer other than lung cancer. Hopefully, you or your family will be spared the horror of finding this out first hand. All cancers are bad cancers. It strikes without discrimination or logic. Many are deadly but many are curable. We can be part of the solution. If you’re having a Cancer Support event of any kind in your area, please throw a couple bucks in the pot or join in the event. I’m going to try to get some of this in my radio bit for a couple sessions. Feel free to use it for whatever benevolent purposes you may have. Beyond that, all U.S. copyright laws, restrictions regulations, prohibitions,. I’ll sue your a** implications, blah, blah, blah and etc., apply. John

Mine are just like Katie's dad's were. They start in the middle of the night following my chemo and then it's off and on for at least a day. Sometimes it goes for a couple days but gets sporadic after the first two. It's new to me this time around. Didn't get them in 2003. Probably my new meds. John

Randy, Thank you. We have a constant parade of bunnies around our place here that we kind of worry over and protect. I'll be looking at them differently now that you've shared your story with us. John

We participate and Marilyn, my wife, is a team captain for the event. The complainers apparently do not understand why there is no "fund sharing" with the relay. It is not a benefit event for local cancer patients. Relay for Life collects money for research which is sent directly to the American Cancer Society for the benefit of all. Some people are just not natural givers and come up with excuses like this. We have some others in our community who think it should be like the Red Cross and also refuse to support us. We prefer the money goes to research as it is currently. Our daughter has had breast cancer and a lumpectomy and my lung cancer is currently being treated with at least two drugs which were originally developed for breast cancer treatment. The beauty of the research we've benefited from is that the drugs don't care who you are or what you have. If they are effective you can use them. John

I hung the flag out for the Pony Express rider. As soon as he sees it and stops by we'll have one on the way from Wyoming. John