autumn972

I was under the impression that the PET picked up the entire body and showed "hot spots." I know they've done at least one or more CT scan of her brain and at least one or two of her chest. The initial CT scan of her brain showed a "fogginess" that they said was due to alcohol-induced dementia. We are thinking that at least part of that was also due to the certain chemicals that are sometimes released from end-stage cancer. New note: Mom's second chemo treatment went badly. She apparently had an allergic reaction and they had to stop. I guess they will be changing or at least modifying the meds for her third treatment tomorrow.

Well, she's had multiple CT scans and a PET scan. I can't remember if she's had an MRI of her brain. They talked about it for a long time, but maybe the PET scan was enough. At any rate, they said her brain looks fine. So far, they've just said that most of her memory problem is damage due to the years of drinking.

Cindy, I kind of agree with you about my mom and her coping skills. None of us have looked into any A.A. type progams yet (mom isn't really much of a candidate for talk therapy if she can't remember what was discussed, I would think) but I am looking into local mental health facilities for at least some sort of therapy. Well, one small bit of good news. She had her bone scan last monday and it came back fine. That's something, at least.

Thanks to your posts. My mom has (albeit unwillingly) quit smoking and drinking since December 7th, 2004. That's when she was first admitted to the hospital for severe pneumonia (the doctor said she almost died then). After about 7 to 10 days there, she was transferred to a mental hospital in hopes that we could check her into rehab for her alcoholism and probable depression. The mental hospital, however, couldn't treat her because my mom has developed very bad memory (especially short term) problems and can't remember what she's talked about or who has come to see her or when, etc. Since then, she has been in an assisted living facility and, after two months, we finally got her into a PET scan which revealed the cancer. She's been on antidepressants, vitamins and antibiotics this whole time and seems in better spirits since the start of all this, but she still has very bad memory issues and is often too weak to even get out of her bed or chair. She's always been very stubborn, but she hasn't ever seemed to want to fight for her own survival. So I'm bracing myself for anything. I hope it's okay that I'm continuing to post this in here. Should I be putting it somewhere else?

Don- Thank you for your positive comments. I'm sincerely happy for you and your wife...you sound like strong people. It's inspiring.

Hi everybody. This is my second attempt at posting here, because I guess my first post was on the "test" website or something like that. My mom (58 years old, smoker, alcoholic) was diagnosed last week with NSCLC stage IV, which spread from her right lung to her left to her lymph nodes to her liver. She starts chemo today (Wednesday, Feb. 16) for palliative care. About me: 27, living with significant other 3 hours away from mom and dad, in between jobs and not driving the best car in the world. I feel horrible every time I make a decision, whether it's to go back home or to stay here and continue my job search. My family: dad, 61 years old (also a smoker) and sister, 33, who I am very grateful for. She lives closer to mom and dad and has been working so hard balancing her job and taking time off to be with mom and go with her to her appointments. My dad has taken a lot of time off of work to be with mom and go with her as well, but my sister is the more "take charge, ask questions and take notes" type of person out of all of us. I just heard the words "this will not be a cure" last Friday and have gone pretty much numb ever since with episodes of freaking out and bawling. Anyway...I'm glad to have found this site. It helps a little to know that there are a lot of other people out there that are going through the same thing, as unfortunate as that is.