Julie in SoCal

Thanks Joe, I misunderstood my doc. I'll be on Tagrisso starting next week sometime. Seems like lots of people are on Tagrisso. Thanks for your response. Trust Viz + Tag will do the trick for you! Julie

Hi there friends, Is anyone on Vizimpro? My Rock Star doc is suggesting this. Does anyone have experience with it? The deets: Stage 4 (T1aN3M1a) NSCLC Adenocarcinoma EGFR exon 21 L858R. Thanks in advance, Julie

Hi Friends, Here's my story. in 2017 I was dx'd with NSCLC 3a Adenocarcinoma , I had left upper lobectomy via VATS, 4 rounds Carbo/Pemetrexed, 39 rounds of radiation. I also have stage 3c melanoma, so we found it in the process of scanning for Mel. Last week I had a PET scan and it has shown hot spots : 1) in my left 2nd rib bone, 2) cervical neck lymph nodes (iv) , 3) in my right shoulder infraspinatus muscle, and 4 ) some noncalcified lung nodules. Here are the deets: New left level IV (lower jugular) hypermetabolic lymphadenopathy. For example there is a new left leve

Hi Linda, I've done 3 rounds of Carbo / Pem. I stayed very close to home for the first 2. It was important for me to get a feel for how I would feel when. After about 10 days into the 3rd cycle I took a long weekend road trip up north of San Francisco. It was wonderful and a needed time of refreshment. I was a little tired, but I was able to do what I wanted to do. I'll have round 4 on Tuesday and 10 days after that I'll take a business trip to the UK. I'm expecting to be tired (and jetlagged!!) but everyone knows I'm in treatment and will give me grace (as long as I do my thing of

Hi Susan, Yes, Chemo Care is awesome! I've used them for various questions I've had and it's been so helpful! I posted here mostly because skin blisters wasn't listed in the side effect lists of Carbo-Pem and so I wondered if this was a "rare" one. Who knows, eh? Rashes are no fun! Trust you've got a handle on yours. Julie

Thanks, Tom! I checked Google too and didn't see anything either. I've talked to my chemo nurse (she's amazing!) and as long as there's no infection, there's no problem. So no problem. And they are slowly healing. Thanks again! Julie

Good morning, friends! Last week I had my second round of Carboplatin and Pemetrexed and have had very predictable side effects (fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, mouth sores). At the end of the first round I started to get small blister type sores on my arms and the back of my hands. The blisters would then pop and become crusty sores. Gross, I know, but they take a long time to heal. Other than being gross, and an ever present reminder of this "time of life" they're not a problem. Should I be concerned? Thanks! Shalom, Julie

Hi JulieG. I'm a Julie G also. How about that! Are you also a JAG? I sure appreciate your insight into the Carbo/Pem cycle. I'm finding a similar pattern Day 2 I'm ok. Day 3-5 I have the hit by truck tiredness, nausea and vomiting (so lovely). Then Day 6-7 my GI track would get involved. But today is day 8 and I feel pretty good. I ate breakfast and am back to work as "normal". I too have an amazing boss and coworkers. So maybe this is doable!!! It's good to know that this will be the normal cycle. I'm planning a getaway next month and want to put it at a time when I can enj

Thanks Tom, Yes, this is the object of the game: safely planning enjoyable activities. So far day 2-4 has been nausea and vomiting and of course not wanting to eat. The nausea is the most alarming as it's fairly unpredictable. Wouldn't mind if that stopped. I haven't hit the joint pain phase, but that's a fairly normal state for me anyway. Thanks again!! Julie

Dear Friends, I started my first round of Chemo (carboplatin and alimta) on Tues. and I'm wondering what the timing is like for the cycle. Obviously, the farther away you get from the poison, the better you'll feel, but how long does it take to feel better? Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks for your help, Julie

HI there, I've had 4 types of immunotherapy for melanoma treatment but have never had a rash. Some of my melahomies have had them, though. Check out this search results page of a melanoma site I'm on. There's lots of posts on immunotherapy and rashes and some possible good ideas. Shalom, Julie

Greetings Friends! We have a plan!!! And it's a good one! Next Tues afternoon I will start my first (of four) rounds of a chemo combo (carboplatin and pemetrexed). The thinking is that this is the treatment that makes treating two cancers comparatively simple. It's quick (only 12 weeks) and very well known. After being in the land of amazing new medicine, it is strangely comforting, knowing that there shouldn't be any mystery side effects to deal with. After chemo I will start 35 or so sessions of radiation. Then Larry the lung cancer will have been cut, poisoned, and burned. T

Thank you Snowflake! This is encouraging to hear. Your signature tag lines are also amazing! Thanks again, Julie

Thanks all. I'll let you know what the Doc says on. Monday. shalom, Julie

Yes, this sounds like another version of blame the patient or maybe a more "sophisticated version" of sell healing to the vulnerable. Maybe I'm more sensitive to this than others, but I hate it when people hear I have lung cancer and then ask if I smoked. Now I get the connection, but why would anyone ask. We wouldn't ask a breast cancer patient if they nursed their babies! How is it socially ok to ask if I smoked? Because if I smoked then in the mind of the theoretical asker, I could be blamed for my lung cancer and if I sun bathed, I can be blamed for my melanoma. And since the asker t