Neechi

Mandy~ First, I'm sorry that you are in this position. I must say that I completely agree with Peggy. When I was a kid, I would leave "quit smoking" stuff around the house, articles linking asthma (which I have) to parental smoking...everything trying to guilt my mom and step-dad into quitting. It never worked. The one time she did try to quit she was so emotionally raw that I went and bought her a pack myself. After she was diagnosed, it was VERY hard to see her and my step-dad smoking, but she told me that it was all she had that was "normal", she couldn't hardly eat, she couldn't work, she couldn't get up and garden, but she could smoke. So don't hound your mom too much, (unless by some miracle she was diagnosed early.....) it will just make matters worse. Your mom knows it's not good for her, she's known that for a long time. You can't fix the damage it's caused, so just enjoy the time with your mom. I wish you all the best of luck. Nicki

Elaine, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. It never gets easier to read of someone's passing from this disease. It is obvious from the memorial book, that your mother was a special woman, and the world was better for having her in it. As someone who has also lost a mother to this disease, I wish you the strength to get through this time. It will never heal, but it will get better. Please know many thoughts and prayers are with you. Nicki --Mom dx'd 12/00, died 3/23/01 at age 43.

I am so sorry that you had the need to find us here, but now that you need us, welcome and don't hesitate to ask questions. Everyone is very nice and supportive and very informative as well. It was funny that you mentioned the quitting smoking....my mom never quit she smoked until the last time she went into the hospital, she told me "this is the only NORMAL thing I have left, I can't give it up". At the time it made me mad, but I think most would understand what she meant. I hope your mother's treatment and recovery are quick and as painfree as possible. Keep us posted! Nicki

Welcome Barb! I hope things continue to go well for you as far as the NSCLC goes, I know the infections and things can be extremely frustrating. Welcome to the board, there are a lot of really nice people out here. Nicki

I just wanted to thank all of you for your kind words. I'm currently attending school for a History/Political Science degree. I figure that the biggest potential research funder is the government, so better to know it from the inside out. I wish you all the best in fighting this disease. You all should be commended for your courage, compassion and enduring spirit. Good luck to you all. Nicki

Hi, I found this place because Snowflake responded to my posting on ChooseHope's discussion board, so I thought I'd drop in and poke around a bit. I am the daughter of a martyr to this horrible disease. I am going to school now (after a long absence) in hopes of eventually starting a research foundation to help cure this disease or at least find a reliable screening test.. My mom was 43 when she was diagnosed with Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in December of 2000, being life long Democrats, I had teased her that it was only the election results that was making her sick, but alas it was Cancer. My mom had been pretty close to pack a day smoker for 25+ years when she was diagnosed, that seems to temper peoples' responses to the disease, by that logic I guess we should chastise obese people who develop diabetes, like it was deserved, needless to say there were a lot of mean, hateful people, but luckily there were also a lot of nice people too. In March of 2001, after a couple of different chemos and radiation therapy my mom died. One month and One day shy of her 44th birthday, I was 24 at the time. Currently, two of my very best friend's mom is dying of colo-rectal cancer and it has been really hard for me to handle, because I've been throught it and know what's coming and I have no idea how to help them deal with this. Anyway, I'm glad there is a resource like this out there. Thanks, Nicki