Don Wood

Amy, prayers comin'.

Sounds like a plan, Don. My prayers are with you all. Don W.

Phyllis, don't give up the battle! Hang in there! You are alive, and there are more options. And you have a lot of people caring about you, supporting you, praying for you. Get back on that horse! Don

Alriiiiiiiiiight, Kate! Great news!

My wife has never smoked, never lived in a house where there was smoking. Usually a chest x-ray would show something, but in my wife's case, the lungs were clear! She had an elevated alkali phosphatase in her blood, which could indicate cancer activity, but could be other things, too. The doctos finally concluded by elimination after many tests that she had a disease that makes too much calcium. That was in the spring. In the summer, she began to lose some dexterity in her left hand. Then her arm started hurting. An MRI of her chest area revealed a tumor on her upper spine. Then further scans showed about five different tumors in various bones of the body. A biopsy of the spine tumor indicated it was an adenocarcinoma, and not bone cancer. A biopsy of the leg bone, where they could get enough tissue, identified it is non-small cell lung cancer. Then when they looked back at the x-rays of the chest area, they could see a small shadow on the top of the left lung --that is all. They surmise the main tumor migrated from the lung right across to the spine, and then out from there. Weird, huh? Best to you. Don

Happy birthday, David!

Thanks, Jack and Cheryl, for posting this. I appreciate you getting in touch with me. I posted elsewhere that I am using a friend's computer for now and will be on infrequently for a while. Trying to get computer problems straigntened out. Don

That is great news, Peggy

Hi, guys and gals! Sorry I have been absent since June 6, but I have had trouble since then connecting to the website. Rick has tried to help me, but he and I can't seem to get SBC off the dime. I am still working at it. I am presently on a friend's computer and overwhelmed at the volume of posts since June 6th. I will be posting infrequently and in a limited mode until I can get things straightened out on my computer. Thanks for missing me. I appreciate that. Lucie is doing fine. The med onc decided to get the rad onc to do more radiation treatments in the area of her right ribs. She started that today. It should keep the beast at bay and give her relief as well. The onc also informed us there may be some activity in the lymph nodes medial to the lungs -- first we knew of that. He is having her get a PET scan next week to see if there is any increase in activity. Please add your prayers for no increase in activity. I will be posting more frequently than every week and a half, but I won't know when. It is good to be back. Don

Nancy, good to see you posting. My prayers are with you. Don

How sweet it is! Dean was right -- it was a no-brainer!

Mark, my heart goes out to you and your family. Please accept my sincerest sympathies. Don

Lulu, I am so sorry at the loss of your brother. I know you were a good sister in trying to get him the best treatment. My heart goes out to you and your family. Don

Shelly, I am so sorry you had to lose both your parents in so short a time. Please know I ache for you and wish you support in your grief. I lost both parents within a year of each other when I was in my early twenties, and I know that lonely feeling. But we do survive, and our best tribute to them is to be the best person we can and to remember them. Don

Hi, Little Mo! Thanks for sharing your story. My wife is a 20-month survivor of NSCLC. We believe in being honest with the children, and telling them as much as their age can grasp. They know something is wrong and they will imagine the worse, so your talking with them will help paint a more realistic picture, and give you a chance to share and grow closer. Definitely recommend support groups. Let your church family help you where they can -- ours helped take Lucie to treatments, etc. If your church has lay pastoral ministers, ask for one. If not, pick out someone you can talk openly with through this. My wife took Taxotere and Carboplatin together, and it worked for her. Keep us posted. Blessings. Don

Hi, Leona! My wife had chemo and radiation together and came through fine. It does sap the strength, and you have to really watch out for dehydration. The treatment was very effective for my wife. Don

Hi! Yep, there are a lot of nonsmokers here, including my wife, Lucie. Let us know how you are doing and what we can do to help. Don

Arlene, thanks! You are an inspiration to us all. Don

Karen, my wife's LC is similar to your husband. My thought and prayers go out to you. Unfortunately, some medical persons, including doctors, think lung cancer is terminal, and soon, and treat the patient that way. Don't give up the fight. There is no way I would pull the plug on Lucie if she could still respond to me. Two months from her diagnosis, she got a staph infection that went systemic and she almost died. She didn't. She recovcred. Last August, she got bilateral pneumonia and almost died. She didn't. She is now doing well. In the latter case, the staff was ready to write her off, but we fought for her. By the way, my wife was allergic to Iressa and it is believed to be the primary cause of her pneumonia. This is rare, but I would be inclined not to take the Iressa while having lung problems. Push the doctors to treat your husband to get well. If they won't, find some who will. Best to you both. Don

Welcome, Tina! Let us know how we may support you. Don

Hi, pgreiman! Congratulations on your one year plus of survivorship. I wish you well on your next scans. Let us know how they turn out. Don

Gidget Chuckle Nose here.

I have a friend who has a home in the country and among his animals is a llama. He named it "Dolly" -- Dolly Llama!

Welcome back, Bruce! Glad you had a good time.

Congratulations! Enjoy!