ken f.

hi, i think the particular drugs differ in toxicity and their effects. in my instance, as below, i did pretty well for a month or so but then fatigue got to me and i was sleeping 18 hours/day and started feeling pretty sorry for myself. it has taken me as long to get back as the chemo regime lasted. glad you can be there for your loved one. ken

i was dismayed to read your post. she is lucky to have you there as is this list. prayers and light to you. ken

hi, congrats on a year. at my age they can add up fast and i hope you have lost of adding to do. you are the best news i've heard out of texas in some time. keep it up.

hi, we never know what our situation is until we go the process of trying to find out. i hope your situation is happily resolved. they will be time to worry if it isn't so try to stay focused on the big picture of your life. here's hoping all goes well. ken

hi, i started chemo mid february and was so wearied by the process that i stopped looking at this list by mid march and only now am ready take it back up. i can tell you that sleeping 15-18 hours/day doesn't cure the fatigue when you have it. i have taken shots for white and red blood cell promotion and am on the up swing. i was able to garden the last two weekends and filled 6 trash barrels with clippings after 5 months of no yard work so things are picking up. our cancer center had a program put on by a psychologist in which she matched 25 cancer survivors with 25 artists to create an art project and we had a show to reveal what we all could come up with. it was amazing and incredibly touching. tomorrow they come here for an appetizer "potluck" to commerate the program. (hence the need for yard work). nice to see the posts here and i'm glad the list is still here and even reformatted! ken

hi, sounds like you two have been moving quick! sometimes it is all a blurr, eh? i know what you mean about finding more than one cancer. i've had 3 different types of cancer. they have cut two out altogether i hope and i'm figuring how to deal with the third. i just finished chemo so was off this list for a couple months. hang in there. it sounds like you guys are in this for the long haul. yours, ken

hi, welcome here and best of luck! i found it best to make lists. this defined the number of things i had to deal with so they didn't all run around in my head at once! love, ken

hi don, sorry you had this route open up but like you said you don't want to be chronic. i'm 1a or 1b (two independent primaries) and i think a post above is correct that there is not firm showing that chemo benefits 1a at least where tumor size is close to or less than 3. knowing this i have gone for carboplatin/gemzar and a two week on one week off three cycle course. it seems like the thing to do to me and i have been tolerating (but not liking it) into the secord of four rounds. i would just feel so stupid if i hadn't done this and had a recurrance when it was suggested as a cautionary step i had to go for it even though i don't have much confidence in efficacy. best of luck getting a little wind back.

hi, i asked my oncdoc about this. he said that generally the easiest way for the second opinion doc to get in the insurance system was to see the patient. this made sense to me so i traveled. i would seem like a dr. would want to meet a patient at least once to give any kind of meaningful opinion. best of luck with this! and just talking and trying to be with your mom and dad is of great support to them.

hi bev, from your description it sounds like you have been up, over, down, and around LC. you doubtless can be of help to many here. i like the pic too. you fit right in there sunsmile.

hi, well 2 cm isn't that big but not so small either. they can measure down to millimeters. nodule many times refers to a lympt node. perhaps it also refers to an area of unknown type. depending on what the tests show and where the nodule is, they may want to do a needle biopsy to get a piece and examine it under a microscope to see what it is. sometimes this is difficult because the area is too close to the heart or other organs as it was in the case of my lower tumor. but in my case they could get to an upper tumor so it wasn't so much of an issue. sanity is in the mind or the operator! all our problems seem to stem to unpleasant feelings. but we catagorize these unpleasant feelings and they have little to do with what seems like outside events. things that we characterize as negative are not inherently so. for example, i doubt lance armstrong would have won his races as he has if he hadn't had cancer and gotten extra motivation. so was his cancer good or bad? i should think neither. his mind transformed. hope you can find this in your way. and welcome to this list. .

so sorry to hear about your papa. my mother is pretty much sinking under right now and i've been thinking about the "orphan" experience. i have told my mom is that she showed me all these years how to live and that she is now showing me how to die. she's a little impatient with her process. one thing is sure: there will be no excuses for not acting like the adult in the family! i hope you find some new horizons glimmering and bright.

hi, i'm doing carboplatin and gemzar at present. i wasn't given any diet restrictions. i've been eating too much but think i'm indulging myself for personal sympathy or something!!! i'm only 3 days into this but can only complain at this point about being tired and just not feeling right. best of luck to you.

hi, congrats on being a surgery candidate. you are likely a strong block. i am just starting carboplatin/gemzar some 80 after surgery by way of thoracotomy. i just quit the vicodin for the chest lung and back pain. i don't think i would have liked starting chemo much before i had a chance to recover from the surgery but then there are many ways to skin a cat! best of luck with your treatment! love, ken

hi, shocking news can really set one back. we have to keep our perspective and what i find helpful is to try to back away a little bit and watch myself and to try to follow my feelings back to see where they are coming from. it is important to have a clear head when you reach difficult times. i hope you have someone to help steady you and, maybe, to go to medical appointments with you to help get the most useful information. best of luck on any treatment plan you work up. love, ken