alibass

Thank y'all so much for the information - this post is a godsend. My husband had his second round of Alimta last Tuesday. Since he started, he has had pneumonia, detected blood clots in his lungs and has had major SOB. Extreme weakness and fatigue - he can get up, but can only walk a very short distance (like to kitchen) and then has to rest. He has had a dry cough, SOB, heartburn, hiccups, absolutely no appetite and has lost a great deal of weight in a short amount of time. We do not know yet if it is working. Have been freaking out (on the inside) wondering what is going on and this post provided a lot of answers. Thank you. Am wondering how everyone is still doing and if there are any changes? Also - I found a nutritional supplement called Scandishakes on the web and wondering if anyone has tried itt? They are like 600 calories per serving and believe they were originally developed for csytic fibrosis patients. Just curious.

My husband finished chemo for a break and is on last couple days of whole brain radiation. He is experiencing similar thing - during chemo, everything tasted great. With radiation, taste is dulled and he can't stand a lot of cooking smells and some things taste differently and bad to him, like pork chops, but broiled catfish was good. Found cooking basic stuff like fresh vegetables without a lot of spices and cutting up fresh fruit or making cole slaw is helping him and tastes good to him.

My husband has what he calls 'sick headaches' and blames it on the chemo. What has helped him is eating fruit and nuts in between meals. He especially likes the oranges and bananas. Also, he is drinking a lot of water. We don't know why, but it works, as long as he doesn't skip or eats too late after the headaches start. His blood sugar is fine. Another thing - could it be allergy or sinus? Where we live the pollen is awful right now and have had the splitting headaches behind the eyes. Good luck and let us know how she does.

Former smokers should rest easy Thu Apr 7, 6:11 AM ET By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY Reformed smokers, take a deep breath. You've battled the addiction, knowing that one less puff on that cigarette could make a life-or-death difference. But then you hear about ABC News' chief anchor Peter Jennings, who on Tuesday disclosed his lung cancer diagnosis. Yes, he quit smoking 20 years ago. But he also has said he has struggled with backsliding since Sept. 11, 2001. "Nicotine is an incredibly powerful addiction," says Peter Shields, a professor of medicine at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center. "A lot of smokers 20 years later are still dreaming about smoking." Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. Estimates from the American Cancer Society suggest 172,570 new cases this year, with 163,510 deaths from the disease. Health care officials say factors such as age when you quit, how long you smoked and heredity all play a role in whether someone will develop cancer or another smoking-related disease. "If people have quit smoking, they have done the most important thing they can do to improve the quality of life and their life expectancy," says physician Corinne Husten of the Office on Smoking and Health, part of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research shows that former smokers reduce their risk of developing heart disease and stroke to the risk level of non-smokers within a few years after quitting. It takes about 10 years to reduce the risk for lung cancer and other cancers, but risk never drops to the level of someone who has never smoked, says physician Michael Thun, head of epidemiological research at the American Cancer Society. Genetic damage accumulates "Cancers require multiple bits of genetic damage in a single cell to become malignant and permanent," he says. "What continued smoking does is increases the chances that a genetically damaged cell will continue to accumulate more genetic damage and be transformed into a life-threatening cancer." Risk diminishes with time, physicians say. Former smokers can go a few steps further toward reducing their cancer risk by maintaining a healthy body weight, getting regular physical activity, drinking alcohol in moderation and getting tested for cancers that have screenings. Alexander Prokhorov, a behavioral scientist at Houston's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center who helps physicians counsel patients, understands why Jennings may have lapsed even though he had quit years ago. "There are concerns regarding all these years that people have been smoking and what's going to happen to them as a result," he says. "I tell the physicians to simply explain to their patients that by quitting smoking, you obviously reduce a laundry list of diseases." Smoking-related diseases include a risk for heart disease and stroke as well as cancers of the mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, liver, cervix, colon and stomach. Screening trial underway An interesting finding, says Margaret Spitz, chair of epidemiology at M.D. Anderson, is that less than 20% of long-term smokers develop lung cancer. Still, she says 85% of all lung cancers occur in former or current smokers, which is why the focus of her research is how to identify the subgroup of smokers at highest risk for developing lung cancer. There is currently no reliable way to screen for lung cancer. But a $200 million National Lung Screening Trial is underway with 50,000 patients. Its aim is to determine whether early screening with either X-rays or spiral computed tomography (CT scans) will prevent deaths from the disease. The trial, by the National Cancer Institute, will take several years, says Eva Szabo of the institute's division of cancer prevention. But Thun says screening for lung cancer is a bit of a dilemma because finding and removing growths identified from early screenings might actually do more harm than good. "What's not clear is whether the benefit of removing (small growths) exceeds the harm of the surgery," he says. "It finds them early, but it's a big operation to have your chest cut open and your lung operated on." Despite the screening question, researchers, scientists and physicians all agree on the best way to prevent smoking-related illnesses: "The only thing better than quitting smoking is never beginning," Thun says.

Thanks for the post - just watched the trailer http://www.thecorporation.com/index.php?page_id=46 and it looks very interesting.

My husband is on 6th cycle of carboplatin and gemcitabine and he gets same pain. We joke that its the chemo working on it. The doc said several patients have had similar pain, and have read within this site several mentions as well - not sure which drug seems to be doing it, but think it might be the gemcitabine, since I see carboplatin being taken with other drugs. Can't remember. He gets very tired as well. Have found if he leaves work by about 3pm, goes home and takes a short nap and rests for an hour or so, it helps a lot. Also, he snacks on fruit and nuts inbetween meals to keep his energy level up and if he forgets, he usually pays for it - he gets wiped out. He also had some pain in his arms and legs and they determined it was some of the veins becoming inflamed from the chemo. A heating pad worked like a champ.

My husband had similar situation - no symptoms at all. None. He had a regular dematology appt. and he removed a cyst of his side that turned out was full of lung cancer. He is stage 4. It's in several locations, he's on chemo, he still looks great, still has his hair, and works every day - we and others are amazed. I think that others have given good advice about getting another opinion on your slides. Your doc may even recommend someone if he is hesitant to stage you. Work with your doc if you like him, ask lots of questions, (call his office - don't just wait for next appointment if the questions need to be answered now), and realize that you are going to have to take control in order to get the information you need to make decisions you feel good about. Also, get copies of reports - there should even be a report on the biopsy. Look up terms on ther internet that you don't understand, or call the doc. This made a big difference for us, and made us realize what Jim had and what we had to deal with. You may want to ask your doc why he feels your husband should quit work and do SS disability. It may be cost, it may be the type of treatment he has in mind, or if may be your husband's work situation. I dunno - that just hit me strange, but there may be circumstances not in your post. Ask questions. Ask a lot. If you still don't understand, ask again. This cancer thing is a bear and you don't need to feel uncertain - you need support. Good luck and I'll be praying for you and your family.

thanks beth - what's also pretty wild is that we love key west too (noticed y'all celebrated at mallory square). It was pretty interesting reading your email and all the similarities. My doc put me on a small dose of lexapro - am cutting the smallest dosage in half - its for general anxiety and depression, and imagine I have a bit of both. Anyway, hope everyone has a terrific week and only good news.

Think everyone makes some definite good points. Have been frustrated with the statistics and what I see as a lack of effort of public awareness of lung cancer. I think of it as - statistics are used as a measurement of positive or negative results, not as a gauge. I read somewhere (think it was on the blochcancer.org webiste) something about statistics. If you're alive, then your statistic is 100%. If you aren't then it is 0%. Although I do know some people that I think aren't all there, I do take this to heart - its either 100% or 0% and any other life statistic is meaningless. I do look at percentages for chemical results, but I don't look at life expectancy, just pecentage of people that had tumor reduction. It's probably my naive way of coping, but it has helped. Treatments have changed so much in the last 5-10 years, and even in the past two years that to me skews long-term survival rates. At least my opinion. As for diagnosis, in reading a lot of stories, it does seem like there isn't a certain way to absolutely diagnosis. Our diagnosis was quick and all at once so I had no idea there was a gray area. There are no screenings like for breast or prostate and usually no symptoms. So, how do you know? I'm a former smoker, so how do I do a yearly check-up to make sure I don't get it or its caught early enough? A yearly PET scan? As a group, there are things we can do - request the American Lung Association or ACS to generate and activate a long-term communications plan about raising awareness about lung cancer, the patients and survivors, since they tend to focus on quitting smoking during lung cancer awareness month. We can also ask that they lobby for greater awareness for physicians for uniformed diagnosis guidelines, and to the medical coommunity for an accurate screening device. But this takes a pretty substantial effort and also a pretty cohesive and strong group. That's what happened with AIDs - the community became strongly organized. I will keep the morphine info in mind if we get to that. Good to know.

Thanks for the info, support and help. It really makes a difference. Someone had asked about Keesler - Jim wasn't in armed forces at all so no, we don't get our scans there. Ochsners schedules things all in one (long) day where he gets his scans first thing, then sees the doc early in the afternoon and then chemo. The doc will either get preliminary reports by the time we see him or he'll call and talk to the radiologists(?) if the reports aren't ready. Rebecca, I hope things go well and as fast for you as they have gone for us. Please keep us posted. I will keep all in my prayers.

Hello! Have found this site very helpful - found it last week and decided to join. My 58 yr. old husband was diagnosed with stage 4 nsclc about 4 months ago and is finishing up his 6th cycle (specific info is included in my profile). Feel like we have been lucky, (or maybe just grasping at any straw available) since chemo is working and he hasn't had disabling side effects. He has been tired and washed out and feels ick (he calls it feeling chemically) but have found if he goes home from work around 3pm and naps, it helps some. He's a little depressed but trying to work through that. We found out about the cancer through a fluke, like most. The dermatologist removed a cyst on the side of his ribcage, and assured him it didn't look like anything to worry about. The doc, who is a friend of Jim's was floored to find out it was full of cancer calls (adenocarcinoma nsclc). He had no other symptoms, which I now know is common. The good news is that it was probably the easiest lung cancer biopsy he'll ever have. The bad news we found out was that it was in a whole bunch of places, including possibly his brain. We thought about going to MD Anderson in Houston, but decided to first check out Ochsner Cancer Institute in New Orleans, since the orginal Dr. Ochsner was the one to discover the link between smoking and lung cancer. (Jim used to smoke, but had quit for 5 years). They also participate in clinical trials, which was a factor as well. The doc we saw encouraged us to go to MD Anderson and get a second opinion, especially since they did not have any first line clinical trials open. He did not give us any timeframes for Jim, other than he felt Jim would be ok to take a couple of weeks of deciding before starting anything. He said he felt that a 50% reduction in the cancer and stabilization was possible which has given many patients several years. He also suggested the chemo cocktail Jim is now taking because he felt there were less side effects. We talked a lot and decided not to go to MD Anderson - honestly, we weren't ready mentally to change our life that drastically and wanted to be able to be at home at first. FYI - we feel stabilization is fine, but are going for total elimination of the cancer. So, Jim started chemo, we've been fine with the doc and at this point, think its turned out to be the right decision. We realize that may change. We looked at special diets and supplements and decided there was no silver bullet and that it would take a well rounded approach We changed our diet to fruits, vegetables, lean meats, no junk food, no sugar or white stuff, and no processed stuff. Strong multi-vitamin that the doc checked to make sure nothing messed up the chemo. We bought a treadmill for exercise and are more spiritually active as well. Our approach is to boost up his immune system. What we recognized in the doc's approach (and confirmed it with him) was to keep Jim as healthy as possible for as long as possible so he could fight it as much and as long as possible. Wow, reading over this, it sounds like we think its so easy and like we think we have all the answers - its not that way at all. We make a decision after discussing and researching it to death and then dive into that black hole hoping it was the right one. As we all know, its a fragile house of cards. Its not fun and its not easy. Am 40, he's 58, this 2nd marriage for both of us - we've been married for over 3 years. Both of my children are still at home, their dad died a couple of years ago, and Jim's children are married and live about 3 hours away and are very close to their Dad. Our family has blended very well and has dealt with a lot. Right now, we are in "what's next" mode. I tend to research everything to death. Soon, he'll end up off the chemo he's on now and take a few weeks off to build back up. We're trying to figure out what to do next and discuss with the doc all the available options. Avastin? Alitma? Tarceva? A trial with both Tarceva and Altima? The thing I found most helpful and hopeful were many members in the same shape we are in and have had success for several years. Y'all are my heroes. Have some specific questions that would be helpful to us: 1. It really bothers Jim when he goes to have his scans and everyone is upbeat, and joking and then after the scans they see all the cancer and stuff, they look at him different (he calls it 'dead man walking' syndrome) and act subdued and morose. Part of this could definitely be his imagination, but I can only imagine at least some of it is true and standard human nature. Just wondering if anyone has experience similar and if y'all dealt with it in any way. 2. What is considered stabilization of the cancer? (This is also my next question to the doc) 3. Has anyone had a positive experience with MD Anderson? This kinda sounds like a joke, but really haven't seen much in the way of a psoitive response on this site and others - am being sincere - want to know good and bad stories. 4. For wives and husbands of cancer patients - how do you deal with anxiety and all of this? Am afraid to get on Xanax because I don't want to get addicted, or is that just a joke? Are there other meds you take that help?