RandyW

much love and hugs and prayers Dani! good to see you posting!! hang in there!!

that is a new one to me ! Deb was on it for a while but not 2 years though.. you might want to see if Dr West over at CancerGrace has any info for you.. Just my thoughts but..

someone suggested that this dad sleeps with head elevated and water and straw bedside..might try that!!

deleted double post Susan!!

PLEASE consider this trial if you can.. this problem affects everyone with Cancer basically at some point in treatment!!!

Katie hit the nail right on the had... do what you want or can do... enjoy life and have fun now...

hang in there!! Support is the best therapy to haveand glad your doing ok Ron!

sayin prayers for ya!!

I would not have traded those years for anyone else.. Loved my wife to the day she died and still do.. almost 6 and a half years later.. I may have been broke but I was happy yo have someone there by my side who appreciated what all I did for her. we paid the bills when they came in and did what we could when we could...

and if your groomer will take her you can still see and spend some time with her when you want I am sure... I have seen and heard of other and smaller breeds do this and it is out of the ordinary I think but... it would beat the alternative !! That is the important thing.

if only one tumor ask if Cyberknife is an option!!!! try this link. If this is an option quite a few here have had the procedure with great success. Sue Shines 80 year old mom had it several years ago and is still NED !!! so it could help You hopefully. this link might give you some insight into the procedure!! http://www.orlive.com/broward-health/vi ... cyberknife

thanks for the nice words and sorry to hear about Piper the duck...

When you're being treated for cancer, it's more important than ever to eat a healthy diet and get good nutrition -- but it can also be more difficult than ever. Your body is working overtime to fight the cancer, while it's also doing extra duty to repair healthy cells that may have been damaged as a side effect of treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. At the same time, many cancer treatments -- especially chemotherapy -- come with side effects that drain your strength and sap your appetite. So how can you make sure you're getting all the essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals you need? You might assume the answer lies in power doses of vitamin supplements. After all, if you're having trouble keeping food down, wouldn't it be easier to get nutrients from a simple capsule? Not necessarily. "If you want to supplement the nutrition you get from your regular diet, we recommend taking just one multivitamin per day from a reputable manufacturer," says Gary Deng, MD, assistant attending and assistant member in the Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Recommended Related to Breast Cancer Protecting Fertility During Breast Cancer Treatment In many cases, breast cancer treatment involves chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of the two. These treatments can affect your reproductive system and, as a result, your fertility. Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells which divide rapidly. However, these drugs also kill some healthy cells, including those involved in the production of eggs, which also divide rapidly. The type of chemotherapy drug or drugs used, the length of treatment, and the person's age... Read the Protecting Fertility During Breast Cancer Treatment article > > "We suggest that patients avoid high-dose multivitamins, because there is some concern that some of these, especially those with high-dose antioxidants, may interfere with treatment. As long as there remains controversy about this, we think it's prudent not to take high-dose multivitamins." Plus, it's almost impossible to get "too much" of any given vitamin through food alone, while loading up on some vitamins in pill form can cause problems, like dangerous buildup in the liver. If a certain amount of a nutrient is good for you, twice or three times as much is not necessarily better. Certain kinds of herbal supplements, like St. John's wort, can also interact badly with some types of cancer treatment. "Some complex herbal extracts may contain substances that can change drug metabolism, interfering with the way in which your body metabolizes chemotherapy," warns Deng. Talk to your doctor before taking any type of herbal product or supplement during cancer treatment. Get Vitamins In Food, Not Capsules Instead, say experts, focus on what you need most now: calories. When you're being treated for cancer, taking in enough calories to maintain your strength and keep your body going trumps pretty much everything else. "For many people undergoing chemotherapy, we're happy to tell them to eat whatever they like to eat. If it appeals to you and you can keep it down, then eat it," says Deng. "If you ask someone to eat too strict a diet, often they end up not eating enough." If you have trouble eating enough at mealtimes, many experts recommend adding a nutritional supplement nutrition drink to the menu. Check the label to make sure your supplement shake contains a variety of vitamins and minerals. Most 8-ounce nutritional supplement drinks are fortified to provide 25% of the vitamins you need each day. "Go ahead and try to eat a meal, and when you've done your best, you can supplement it with one of these drinks to give you the calories, protein, and other nutrients you can't get in at mealtimes," advises Sally Scroggs, MS, RD, LD, senior health education coordinator at Houston's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Just don't rely on the drinks so much that you don't eat regular meals. "They're called supplements for a reason," she adds. Next to getting enough calories in the first place, the most important nutritional rule for people with cancer is to focus on getting a well-balanced, healthy diet from natural sources, including fruits and vegetables, with a heavy emphasis on protein. "Because the body is under stress from different treatments -- whether you're undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of these -- we really need to emphasize proteins for healing and repair and strengthening of the immune system," says Scroggs. Red meat, fish, and poultry are excellent sources of protein (and iron as well, which is also important), but if you've lost your appetite for these, try other protein options like cheese, beans, peanut butter, eggs, nuts, milkshakes, and yogurt. Some good food-based sources of important vitamins and nutrients for people with cancer: Eggs and nuts are great sources of B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, and protein. Egg yolks are a good source of vitamin D. Peanut butter and crackers are an easy, no-prep snack that pack nutrients and may be easier to keep down. Milk, cheese, meat, fish, and poultry are also good sources of B-complex vitamins, as well as protein. If you're having trouble eating hot dishes (the aroma of cooking food can sometimes trigger chemotherapy-related nausea), snack on mild cheeses, ice cream, yogurt, and other cold snacks. For larger meals, try chilled dishes like chicken, egg, and tuna salad. Beans and other legumes offer plenty of B vitamins while helping meet your protein needs as well. Since chemo-related mouth sores may make it painful to drink citrus juices or eat citrus fruits, which are the most common sources of vitamin C, consider alternative fruits and juices. "Peach and pear nectars, as well as applesauce, are good alternative ways to get vitamin C," Scroggs says. Green, leafy vegetables, of course, are great sources of vitamins like A, E, and K, as well as minerals like iron. Be sure to wash all fruits and vegetables carefully; your immune system can be compromised by cancer treatment and susceptible to contaminants in food. Don't Lose Out on Liquids Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can leave you dehydrated. Some drugs can also cause kidney damage if they're not flushed out of your system, so during cancer treatment, it's particularly important to get enough fluids. "Adequate hydration can't be supplied by a healthy diet alone," says Deng. "Along with drinking more water, patients should try sports drinks, like Gatorade, and other nutritional drinks." Some people find it hard to drink enough water (chemotherapy can even make water taste strange), so Deng suggests getting some of your fluid intake through soups. "For some people, the added flavor of something like chicken noodle soup may make it easier to get the liquid down," he says. Chicken soup has another benefit: It boosts your electrolytes (the collective term for minerals such as sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium), which can often be depleted by the side effects of treatment. "It's very important to make sure that you have adequate electrolyte intake," Deng says. Gatorade and other sports drinks also help maintain your electrolyte balance. The bottom line, according to Deng: "Don't get fixated on any one particular substance. There's no magic food or magic supplement," he says. "Nothing beats a well-balanced, diverse diet."

Alternative medicine By Mayo Clinic staff Living with cancer newsletter Subscribe to our Living with cancer newsletter to stay up to date on cancer topics. If your doctor has told you that your lung cancer can't be cured, you may be tempted to turn to complementary and alternative medicine for answers. Complementary and alternative lung cancer treatments can't cure your cancer. But complementary and alternative treatments can often be combined with your doctor's care to help relieve signs and symptoms. Your doctor can help you weigh the benefits and risks of complementary and alternative treatments. The American College of Chest Physicians reviewed available complementary and alternative treatments and found that some therapies may help people with lung cancer, including: Acupuncture. During an acupuncture session, a trained practitioner inserts small needles into precise points on your body. Acupuncture may relieve pain and ease cancer treatment side effects, such as nausea, vomiting and dry mouth, but there's no evidence that acupuncture has any effect on your cancer. Acupuncture can be safe when done by a certified practitioner. Ask your doctor to recommend someone in your community. But acupuncture isn't safe if you have low blood counts or take blood thinners. Hypnosis. Hypnosis is a type of therapy that puts you in a trance-like state that can be relaxing. Hypnosis is typically done by a therapist who leads you through relaxation exercises and asks you to think pleasing and positive thoughts. Hypnosis may reduce anxiety, nausea and pain in people with cancer. Massage. During a massage, a massage therapist uses his or her hands to apply pressure to your skin and muscles. Massage can help relieve anxiety, distress, fatigue and pain in people with cancer. Some massage therapists are specially trained to work with people who have cancer. Ask your doctor for names of massage therapists in your community. Massage shouldn't hurt. Your massage therapist shouldn't put pressure anywhere near your tumor or any surgical wounds. Avoid having a massage if your blood counts are low or if you're taking blood thinners. Meditation. Meditation is a time of quiet reflection in which you focus on something, such as an idea, image or sound. Meditation may reduce stress and improve quality of life in people with cancer. Meditation can be done on your own, or there may be instructors in your community. Ask for recommendations from your health care team or friends and family. Yoga. Yoga combines gentle stretching movements with deep breathing and meditation. Yoga may help people with cancer sleep better. Yoga is generally safe when taught by a trained instructor, but don't do any moves that hurt or don't feel right. Many fitness centers offer yoga classes. Ask your friends and family for opinions on yoga classes they've taken.

Survival improved among elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) when they received combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy rather than radiotherapy alone, indicated the findings of a study conducted in Japan. To assess whether radiotherapy plus carboplatin would result in longer survival than radiotherapy alone in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC, the Japan Clinical Oncology Group randomized 200 patients older than age 70 years with unresectable stage III disease to chemoradiotherapy or to radiotherapy alone. Specifically, the 100 members of the chemoradiotherapy group received a radiation dose of 60 Gy plus concurrent low-dose carboplatin (30 mg/m2 per day, 5 days per week, for 20 days). At a median follow-up of 19.4 months, median overall survival for the chemoradiotherapy group was 22.4 months, compared with 16.9 months for the radiotherapy-only group. Although chemoradiotherapy was well tolerated, grade 3 and grade 4 hematologic toxic effects were more prevalent among those patients: Leucopenia occurred in 63.5% (61) of the chemoradiotherapy participants, but in none of the radiotherapy patients; neutropenia in 57.3% (55) of the chemoradiotherapy patients and none of the radiotherapy patients; and thrombocytopenia in 29.2% (28) of the chemoradiotherapy patients and just 2.0% (two) of the radiotherapy patients. Grade 3 infection also was more common with chemoradiotherapy (occurring in 12.5%, or 12 patients) than with radiotherapy (4.1%, or four patients). Incidences of grade 3 and grade 4 pneumonitis and late lung toxicity were similar between groups. Seven treatment-related deaths occurred, in three chemoradiotherapy patients (3%) and four radiotherapy patients (4.0%). Shinji Atagi, MD, of the Kinki-chuo Chest Medical Center in Osaka, Japan, and colleagues concluded in their report for The Lancet Oncology that combination chemoradiotherapy does in fact provide a clinically significant benefit over radiotherapy alone for a select group of elderly patients with locally advanced NSCLC, and that the combination treatment should be considered for this population.

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Exhaust from diesel engines causes lung cancer, a World Health Organization agency said for the first time, citing a review of studies. Diesel exhaust also was linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, based in Lyon, France, said in a statement today. The group published the findings after a review over eight days by a panel of scientists. An earlier review, in 1988, classified diesel engine exhaust as "probably carcinogenic." The agency isn't providing guidelines on what level of exposure is carcinogenic, leaving it up to national and international regulatory authorities to weigh its conclusion, Christopher Wild, director of the agency, told reporters today on a conference call. "The scientific evidence was compelling and the working group's conclusion was unanimous: Diesel engine exhaust causes lung cancer in humans," Christopher Portier, chairman of the IARC working group, said in the statement. "Given the additional health impacts from diesel particulates, exposure to this mixture of chemicals should be reduced worldwide.'' The review of older studies may not take into account advances in diesel technology over the last decade, Steve Hansen, a spokesman for the Diesel Technology Forum in Washington, said in an e-mailed statement. The group represents global diesel engine manufacturers, automakers and oil refiners. Members include Deere & Co., Ford Motor Co. and BP Plc. Lower Emissions Nitrogen oxide emissions from heavy-duty trucks and buses have been reduced by 99 percent and particulate emissions by 98 percent over the last 10 years, Hansen said. While the amount of particulates and chemicals are reduced with these changes, it is not yet clear how they may translate into health effects, the IARC said. ''Research into this question is needed.'' Existing vehicles without these modifications will take many years to be replaced, particularly in less-developed countries where regulatory measures aren't as stringent, the IARC said. Gasoline engine fumes are ''possibly carcinogenic,'' the agency said, reiterating its 1988 finding. Cancer killed 7.6 million people worldwide, the leading cause of death globally in 2008, the most recent year available, the WHO said. Lung cancer was the most lethal type, accounted for 18 percent of all cancer deaths, the agency said. The IARC had been planning since 1998 to re-evaluate the cancer-causing potential of diesel fumes. The concern was re- emphasized by the publication in March of results from a U.S. National Cancer Institute study that found exposure to diesel fumes increased risk of death from lung cancer in miners, the agency said. By classifying cancer risks, the IARC provides scientific advice to governments. The agency lists substances as carcinogenic, probably carcinogenic, possibly carcinogenic, not classifiable and probably not carcinogenic. --Editors: Phil Serafino, Andrew Pollack To contact the reporter on this story: Makiko Kitamura in London at mkitamura1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... z1xcEcPlKN

always room for a prayer so its always a good thing. Just scared me thought he had relapsed or something back down hill !!!

this is an older post.. Not sure how it got dredged up but Mitchell is doing better now. He is out of hospital and with the grace of god He is getting better !! and faster and has gotten his Faith back since that March post!!!

wet and rainy but it is a good day..

you rock !! thanks for sharing these with us BTW!!

and a great time was had by all!! Thanks for Sharing them Eric!!

can not help with to much medical but this might help find something.. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ also if you are a member over at Grace Dr West may be able to help. He is a LC oncologist in Seattle that takes care of our medical questions and this is his link. His services to us are free!! http://cancergrace.org/ He may know of something that might help also... Hugs and Prayers !! that is the best I can do right now!!

my condolences to Family and friends!! sorry to read this !!

good thing too..

divorce and death are two entirely different things... Divorced means you can pick up the phone and call and yell at the other party and get a response of some sort...