Nenette

Hello everyone, It has been some time since I last posted because my family and I have been waiting for all the results. First, let me say THANK YOU to everyone who responded to me. I cannot even begin to tell you how comforting it is to know that so many people from around the world are sharing their stories w/ this horrible disease when it's advanced... and more so people are fighting (and winning!) w/ strong hearts. Now after all the wait we celebrated 1 victory when we found out that the cancer hasn't mets to the liver... THANK GOD. So we can continue to have her on supplements and vitamins w/o worrying that her liver can't handle it. Unfortunately today we received the prelim PET report and it showed that there has been mets to the bones (spine in the lower back and also the neck area) which makes her a stage IV confirmed. She's starting today on chemo (Carboplatin/Taxol) and depending on how that goes the oncologist is considering doing radiation on her back if it starts to bother her (it's never bother her before...) . I haven't told my family yet and am so frightened for my mother.. we just found out about the bone together 1/2 hour before her 1st chemo and she's still at the hospital right now for another 2 hours. I feel like we are living in a horrible nightmare and can't wake up... don't worry, although I am crying as I'm writing this my mom only sees me smiling and encouraging her. My family adores her... I'm 29 years old and my brother is 25 so the thought of my brother losing his mom so young sickens my Dad and I so we haven't told him the full extent of what's going on.. I'm not sure if we should because he's recently graduated and just started a new job. I just keep telling Ma to focus on getting past this and look forward to the Spring/Summer time when we will hopefully have some good news to report. So that's that for now... today is her 1st day of chemo treatment and the 1st among several steps we're taking. Stage 4 NSCLC successful treatments or stories are MUCH appreciated... I will also continue to post any promising treatments I find (there's a Dr. in Germany who's treating cancer w/ heavy therapy and Enzymes... Dr. M. Schedler.. thing is, I heard that he can't treat bone mets, but I have a call/email out to his office anyway to inquire...) thank you again so much! All the best, Nenette

Hello, This is my first time posting to this site and although this is a much dreaded site I can't help but be hopeful because of all the support and information that appears to be flowing back and forth. Recently, my family found out my mom has advanced non small cell adenocarcinoma w/ a mets to a lymph node and possibly the liver. This week she will be completing her PET, liver ultra sound, and MRI tests to see EVERYTHING that is going on in her body. We were shocked about this because she has had a persistant cough and chest pain for 1+ year now and went to her GP about it. He said it was only her blood pressure medication that was causing her to cough and denied her request for a chest x-ray and instead told her to take tylenol. 6 months later she complained about a pain in her breast and he palpitated it and offered her more Tylenol. When she finally started to cough up blood yet 6 months later that is when he finally agreed to a chest x-ray and that is when they found the masses in her left lung w/ mets to a lymph node and 2 suspicious lesions in her liver. Next week we will find out if it is Stage III or IV-the oncologist said that if the lesions on the liver are cancer then it is most likely Stage IV and that she would be considered "uncurable." -Is this true??? The oncologist also said that at Stage III they could do chemo/radiation combo to shrink the tumor and have her then be eligible for surgery (and be cured), but if it's stage IV they could only do chemo to extend her life as long as possible but she would still live w/ the cancer inside of her. Since we discovered the masses I've been doing everything I can to research as much as possible about advanced NSC lung cancer. Does anybody know of any successful treatments for Stage IV (I am prepared for it to be Stage IV) that they can share w/ me? We now have her eating tons of organic fruits/veggies, drinking 4 glasses of home made fruit juices daily (each juice has at least 3 carrots, 1 apple, and either kale or brocolli), pau d'arco tea, purified water, no red meats/refined foods, and lots and lots of vitamins (ester C, magnesium - I heard mag. combats depression-, Epican Forte, Juice Plus, Enzymatic Therapy Cell (boosts killer cells) Forte Max 3, Maitake Mushrooms, Immune Builder, calcium/zinc)- does anybody know if this is too much for her liver to handle? Or should we perhaps put her on IV therapy instead? We also have her practicing visualization techniques (my brother and I getting married for instance!) and will have her listen to all the Bernie Siegel (got that recommendation from this site) audiotapes. I have also requested RFA information from Dr. Sewell at UMMC (I have a feeling he is too busy to see us, but have obtained a list of other doctors in the country that perform RFA treatments if anybody would like a list) and will be scheduling an evaluation for my mom after all the tests are done next week. I apologize for the long email, but my mom is so beautiful and has a lot to fight for! She is only 58 years old, a non-smoker, is in excellent health and has 2 children who will do whatever it takes to kick this disease and see us get married and have her grandchildren. I hope we can all learn from each other and I will update the board with with all the new information I learn from my research. Take care. All the best, Nenette