AshStar

Today, she was supposed to go in to start her chemo, when she got there, she told the dr nevermind and decided against it. When my mom was first diagnosed 2 years ago, she was very healthy and active, aside from the obvious cancer. This time is different. She is not strong. She has lost alot of her mobility. She also forgets alot. She can no longer drive. She is VERY weak, like she can't get herself out the bathtub with out assistance. Our first thought was that it was in her brain, they did a scan and its not. Dr told us that the problems she is having is from the cancer being in her adrenal glands and that even with Chemo, she would never regain the strength she once had. The chemo she was going to start my mom on is (forgive the spelling, I will probably butcher this) topecan, or something like that...I have it written down, but its in the car and its late, will go get it in the morning...(mom lives 2 hrs from me, the driving back and forth is harsh)...I think the reason she is not wanting the chemo is she is afraid that she is not going to be strong enough to handle it. Dr seems to think that could be a possibility. I just think that if the dr thought there was hope she would be more persistant in my mom going for the chemo. Its not that we are giving up hope, its a quality of life over quantity of life. I am going to research the chemo in question and hopefully my mom can make a better informed decision from that. Then to top it off today, My hubby, my 4 yr old daughter, and I have the flu. This has been a day from hell and I am ready for it to be over....get up and try again tomorrow.. Oh, and I did, again, beg my mom to get 2nd opinion....she said no, she just wants to leave we enough alone and live out the rest of her days in peace...she said she has 5 daughters and 12 grand children she wants to enjoy some time with before God calls her home.... So, as hard as it may be, I will accept whatever decision she makes and but it in God's hands...I know that he will make sure that the right decisions are made....

Its not that she didn't give my mom anything for her cough (sorry, it was late last night when i posted) she gave her tesslon pearls, but they don't work imediate to stop the coughing...it takes like 3-4 days to work and it has been 6 days and they are still not helping. She is complaining about pain when she coughs (that is what made her go the dr and found out the cancer is back) but it has been 3 weeks and she still has this cold/cough. They said that because the cough is from a cold, they don't want to give her "cough syrup"...and yes, she is an ONCO. One of the only ones in the area she lives and supposedly is the best that we have here. I just don't like her. I have BEGGED my mother to travel down the road a bit to get another opinion. She absolutely refuses. So now I don't know what to do....We were also told that once SCLC moves into the liver that there is no amount of chemo in the world that will help. It might buy her 2-3 weeks at best. I haven't found any information that says anything, either to confirm or deny its truth. I am going insane here!!!! I want my mom to make the best decison. She said she doesn't want to go through the chemo if all its going to do is "make her sick, lose her hair, and kill her anyway"....and I can't say that I blame her. On another note, as far as humor, we have been having alot of that lately in our family...oddly enough we are finding humor in things that most people would think we are insane for...LOL...Like the fact that even though my mother had all of her teeth pulled over 4 years ago and has false teeth, she still carries dental insurance....(and no, the dental insurance does not cover her false teeth)...LOL.... Thank yall so much for responding....I really appreciate the different perspectives and the information.

My mother was diagnosed with SCLC stage I in Nov 2002. She was in remisison until 3 weeks ago. She is now Stage IV metastatic (sp?) SCLC. It has spread to her lymph nodes, adrenal glands, and liver. The liver biopsy confirmed 8 lesions that are SC. The brain scan is negative. The Dr. said my mother has 4-6 months with Chemo. She would not give us a time if my mother choses to not do the chemo. She is already showing signs of weakness. Dr. suspects that its been back undiagnosed for around 5 months. Any thoughts on a time span if she does not do the chemo. Right now, she does not want to do it again. She is having trouble walking, driving, and remembering things....she has no yellowing yet. Other than mother skills and memory, she seems to be doing ok. Also, any thoughts on what to look for? Her dr doesn't seem to be that informative or concerned...won't even give her cough meds for a cough she has right now. I guess what I am really asking is what is your story and what did you decide to do and how did it work for you and if you could go back and do it again, would you have made the same decisions? I just don't know what to do at this point...I am scared out of my mind. Thank you, Ash