Don Wood

Jamie, sounds like a good plan there. Hang in there. Don

Tammy, I have prayed for your mom. Hang in there. Don

Welcome to the family, Glenda. My wife also was diagnosed Stage IV lung cancer with bone mets. Does your husband have small cell or non-small cell lung cancer? My wife is an 18-month survivor, so take hope. You might ask the doctor about Zometa -- it is an IV monthly that strengthens bones and helps prevent bone mets. My wife has been on Zometa since her last chemo/radiation last May, and is doing very well so far. Good luck. Don

Always good to call the doctor when the temp is above 100. Glad things seem to be going in the right direction. Don

You didn't mention whether a biopsy had been performed. That is the only way to tell if it is actually cancer. Don

Thanks, David. My prayers are with Bob. Don

Jim (my older son's name), welcome to our little family here. Glad you came out of the ranks of the lurkers and let us know you a bit better. Look forward to your posts. Glad you have a full life going. Don

Wonder if those "tees tickle"!

Ray is an "empty head"! Whoooeeeeee!!!

Welcome back, TBone! So glad you had a great time with your boys. You all needed that, regardless of the fish count. Lucie has a port -- it is put in under the skin just below the collar bone and above the breast -- at least, that is where hers is. It is out-patient and you will be home fairly quickly. You have to watch for infection once it is put in -- like burning, or redness or heat in the area. You have to be sure the attendant who uses it in the future always washes it with saline and heparin after use to keep it clean and flowing. Good luck on that and the radiation -- when Lucie has had radiation for pain, it has worked. Don

Lucie's onc has her get CAT, MRI, x-rays periodically, particularly if she is having pain in a particular area. If something shows up on those, he has her get a PET scan. She has had two PET scans over an 18-month period. Don

An optimistic onc with a good plan is the kind of have. Count your blessings. Don

Go, David!

Good to hear things are progressing, Rosemary. As far as being told ahead of time what to expect, nothing explained ahead of time comes near to the reality of experiencing it. When I had my heart bypass surgery, they explained I would wake up with a breathing tube down my throat. Well, I woke up and it was worse than I could have imagined. I beat on the bed (luckily they had my hands restrained because I in my doped up state probably would have tried to remove it) and motioned them to get that thing out. They put me under and the next time I woke up, the tube was gone. Scared Lucie and my kids when I woke up that first time and was fighting. Good luck, guys. Don

David, is it true blondes have more fun? I think we need to see a full-length picture, don't you agree, gang? Don

Maybe some doctors are not mathematicians and don't understand the significance. So, we educate them. It works both ways. Don

Hi, Kel. Sorry about your dad. The arythmia in the heart can be caused by the lung cancer and treatment. My wife had a minor case of it and now takes medication for it. I send prayers your way. As for grandparents, it would be nice if we all had 4, but life doesn't always provide that. I had none, my children only had 1 (my mother-in-law), and we all did just fine. Unfortunately, life isn't perfect, but we can rise to the occasion of what we get and do our best with it. I wish your dad well in the coming days. Don

Curtis is one special guy.

A friend of mine who has lost two wives to cancer in his lifetime pointed out to me the other day that we think linearly when we talk about tumor shirinkage and that is the most pessimistic view. When we say a tumor has shrunk say from 4cm to 3 cm, we say there is 25% shrinkage. Well, actually it is more than that. When we are talking about dimensions, we are talking about diameters of tumors. So, if we consider the tumor approaches a circle (very flat), then the area of that tumor is 1/4 Pi times the square of the diameter. Don't worry about the math -- when you are comparing tumor sizes, only the diameter matters. So, if a tumor goes from 4cm to 3cm, you compare the squares of those two numbers; that is, 16 down to 9, a shrinkage of 7, or 44% shrinkage! Now, if you consider a tumor is 3-dimensional and may approach a sphere shape, then the volume of the tumor is 1/6 Pi times the cube of the diameter. Again, only the cube of the diameter matters. So a tumor going from a diameter of 4cm to 3 cm -- comparing the volume gives the cubes, 64 down to 27, or a shrinkage of 37, 58% shrinkage! I realize that no tumor is exactly a sphere, but what I am saying is, that if it shrinks from 4cm to 3 cm, it is not 25% shrinkage, but more like 44-58%! We need not think linearly when we are comparing volumes. You might try that one out on your onc! I know some of you may be confused by the math, and I apologize, but I just want us to feel the full benefit of shrinkage of tumors. It is too important not to get closer to the truth. Cheers. Don

Peggy, you all are truly blessed! That is fantastic news! I could see your hubby riding into the sunset and back, and then doing a little dance. So glad you have this good time now. Celebrate! Don

Joanne, we did a 2-week tour of Ireland, Scotland and England three years ago, but were only in Scotland 2 days, primarily Edinburgh. So, May 22-29 we will be in Scotland this year. Looking forward to it, as we enjoyed the earlier trip very much. Don

Welcome, Tiffany. My wife has the non-small cell lung cancer and is doing well so far. She is 18 months from dx. Keep us posted on your progress and let us know what questions you have. Don

Well, we had to wait from Tuesday until today (Friday) to get the report on Lucie's CAT scans. This is unusual for her onc. Anyways, pop the champagne corks! Her brain and her chest are clear! This means the onc gives his blessing for our trip to Scotland at the end of May. Oh, happy day! Do a little dance! Sing a little song! Get down tonight! Don

My wife had bilateral pneumonia last August, 10 months from dx and 3 months from the end of chemo/radiation. She was in the hospital 2 weeks and in the rehab hospital for almost 2 more weeks. But she's a tropoer, and survived the ordeal. It is common for lung cancer patients to get a bout of pneumonia -- guess the lungs are weak from the cancer. Hang in there. Don

It's hard to lose one parent and then have the other in jeopardy so soon. I lost both parents within a year when I was 24-25. Sounds like your mom is doing okay and there is a good plan of attack. Hang in there! My wife was given 9 months to live (statistically) and she is presently 1 1/2 years from dx and clear at this time. So there is always a lot of hope. Don