Donna G

I took Cisplatin and finished 5 +yrs ago, I started falling down towards the end of chemo, the doctor said right away it was the chemo, neuro toxic. Said the same thing it will either go away or it won't. My feet are still weird. I have some weekness and the info that your feet normally pick up telling you about balance , sensation etc is all screwed up. If I have a tiny piece of sand in my shoe it feels like a piece of glass. I don't usually fall down any more but 2 weeks ago I sure put on quite a show at I Hop restaurant. My knees now have fadded to a light yellow. ( I bruised bothe and abraded one) The good side of the coin is in December I will be a 6 yr survivor since Diagnosis and that not far away!! Donna G

Just got my mail and had another envelope from ALCASE!! Amongst other things is a car window sticker, like we all have our flag etc. I can put it in my back window of my RAV4. ............................................ ..................Increasing Awareness........Offering ...............[]HOPE[] ...............ALCASE Aliance for LUNG CANCER .......................................Advocacy, Support, and Education. ...............Call 1-800-298-2436 or visit www.alcase.org Now I would also like one for lungcancersurvivors.org to put next to it.

Great News Wenna!! We love it!!!!!! Donna G

Hello. Surgery is your best treatment. I wonder if the doctors say you can not have surgery , do they offer chemo? I don't know where you live and therefore don't know the likelyhood of having newer therapies availbable. As- there is a doctor here in Minneapoolis who does surgery through a scope, therefore it is less traumatic, no broken ribs etc and recovery time is shorter. Now grant it the tumor has to be in an area of the lung that is uncomplicated to get at ( as it can not be wrapped around a major vessel, or behind the heart etc) Also there is ablation , radiofrecency, that actually sort of burns the tumor to death. Second opinion my be an option also. Our friend Connie just had a tumor removed from her heart, she only has one lung , and it has some Emphysema, not saying it is easy, but she was home in less than a week. In skilled hands, many things can be done and done well. Have you researched enough? Please keep us posted . Donna G

Jim, sorry to meet you under these circumstances. I was so shocked when I found out we had lost Ada. I had no idea that she was so close to leaving us. She spent her posts encouraging all of us. We will miss her. May you find peace. Donna G

I am very sorry. I pray you find peace. Donna G

Let us also remember that lung cancer is not the only disease that smoking causes.

I bet mhutch1366, alias Mary Ann, who joined 9/10/03 could help you. She described her situation as follows -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, I am a 47 year old woman, mother of two, who three years ago last month had a pancoast tumor a little over 13 pounds removed from my thoracic cavity after radiation and chemo -- cisplatin/vp16. I had my surgery at NIH, chemo locally (Rockville) I lost my collarbone, half a lung, five ribs, and a good deal of weight. BUT I am here, and I have survived what was a grim prognosis. There is hope in strange places, all.

Connie got to go home today and is HAPPY to be there. She wishes she was on her puter. Her heart is clear. She has pink lips . She says she doesnt look like a walking corpse anymore. So far NO heart pain!!! The cardiologist says she will not be so short of breath any more. All good news. Hugs to all from Connie Donna G

Went out for breakfast and picked up the St Paul Pioneer Press , it carries the Parade magazine. It has an article on lung cancer . I think when it said 90 % "are" smokers it was wrong , should have said about 50 % are smokers or 90 % are/ were former smokers. It also emphasized how important it is to have your house checked for Radon gas. I know Radon levels are particularly high in homes in the midwest. Go to http://www.Parade.com and click on health

Welcome CindiB, They have given good advice, you can get copies of your Mom's reports ( with her signiture) , getting a second opinion can make you more comfortable where you are or educate you on other options. Keep us posted Donna G

I hope your husband finds this motivating to quit smoking , for a least something good will come from it. Sadly lung cancer is on the rise in nonsmokers, especially women, and those who live in cities. I hope you find the information you and the family need here and the support also. It is a difficult time, all those screening, staging tests. Soon they will lay out a plan and somehow that seems to make it some what easier, although as you can imagine this is a tough road but doable. Keep us posted on this weeks tests and decisions. Donna G

When I read this topic I said to myself , boy thay should talk to Shirley , I scaned down and there she was! Thanks Shirley for reaching back and helping out.

Welcome Debbiedoo, did your diagnosis and surgery just happen this year? Was that your first CT post op? If all was clear sounds like a good reason to celebrate. Did they give you the big smiley incision? or did they do the wedge by scoped? Those of us that have the "smiley" had to have a couple of ribs broken and a nerve severed so we have some residual "discomfort" , in other works - pain. BE sure to do range of motion of your arm and shoulder on the affected side if you have the smiley to prevent problems in the shoulder. Keep us posted on how things are going Donna G

Sounds like you have a very nice family. I m so sorry that you have to deal with this disease and it is threatening your Mom. My husband and I are heading down to Gautier, Ms the end of the month and check on our house and visit friends, we'll wave as we go by. I'll be thinking of you , your Mom , Dad, and Yap Yap. Donna G

Connie wants to tell everyone that she is feeling better every day. She wants us all to know that she thinks of each and every one of us every single day. I can vouch for that for she asks me about you. They moved her room today, took out the rest of the "Central" lines , she's off Dopamine, BP is fine. She talked with her pulmonologist. As many of you know he is concerned about a "nodule ' in her remaining lung. He says they will CT in december to look for any change, and again in the Spring if still there or larger may do the open thorocotomy and wedge resection then. Connie says looks like she'll be home Sunday. Hopes to be back on line in a couple of weeks. gentle ((((((((hugs))))))))))))

Please remember the words given to us by our fellow member...t_beanes The Ten Commandments for Cancer Survival Paul H. Klein Excerpt from Cancer Shmancer Last Reviewed: February 5, 2002 1. Thou shalt regard the word, "Cancer", as exactly that: a word. Nothing more, nothing less. For its original meaning hast changed mightily over the years, as have such words as Smallpox, Tuberculosis. and Polio, all once dreaded ailments, now no longer fearsome for, to them, hast come The Answer. And thus, too, shall go thy cancer. The Answer shall come to those who shall be present to hear it. Be present to hear it when it comes. 2. Thou shalt love thy chemotherapy, thy radiation, thy monoclonal antibodies, thy vaccines, and thy other treatments even as thyself, for they are thy friends and champions. Although they may exact a toll for their endeavors, they are oft most generous in the favors they bestow. 3. Thou shalt participate fully in thy recovery. Thou shalt learn all the details of thy ailment, its diagnosis, its prognosis, its treatments, conventional and alternative. Thou shalt discuss them openly and candidly with thy oncologist and shalt question all thou do not comprehend. Then, thou shalt cooperate intelligently, and knowledgeably with thy doctor. 4. Thou shalt regard thy ailment as a temporary detour in thy life and shalt plan thy future as though this detour had not occurred. Thou shalt never, at no time, nohow, regard thy temporary ailment as permanent. Thou shalt set long-term goals for thyself. For thou will verily recover and thy believing so will contribute mightily to thy recovery. 5. Thou shalt express thy feelings candidly and openly to thy loved ones for they, too, are stricken. Thou shalt comfort and reassure them for they, too, needest comforting and reassurance, even as thou doest. 6. Thou shalt be a comfort to thy fellow-cancerites, providing knowledge, encouragement, understanding and love. Thou shalt give them hope where there may be none, for in hope lies their salvation. And by doing so, thou providest comfort for thyself, as well. 7. Thou shalt never relinquish hope, no matter how thou may feelest at that moment, for thou knowest, in the deep recesses of thy heart, that thy discouragement is but fleeting and that a better day awaits thee, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps the day after tomorrow. 8. Thou shalt not regard thy ailment as the sum total of thy life but as merely a part of it. Fill thy life with other diversions, be they mundane, daring, altruistic, or merely amusing. To fill thy life with thy ailment is to surrender to it. 9. Thou shalt maintain, at all times and in all circumstances, thy sense of humor, for laughter lightens thy heart and hastens thy recovery. This is not an easy task, sometimes seemingly impossible, but it is a goal well worth the endeavor. 10. Thou shalt have enduring and unassailable faith, whether thy faith be in a Supreme Being, in Medical Science, in Thy Future, in Thyself, or in Whatever. Steadfastly sustain thy faith for it shall sustain thee.

Fay , total simplicity!!. Eligant! Time saving! Economical! I bet I would enjoy the smile. Donna G

Well I walk my dog at the park and in the woods twice a day every day, rain , shine or snow. Does raking leaves up count as gardening? Been doing a lot of that lately. We have bird feeders outside the living room window, am always glancing out to see the cardinal or chickadee etc. Thank God I have never had breast cancer too. Kidding aside my husband has always said that I needed the walks with the dog more than the dog did. Donna G

There have been many articles discussing the need for chemo for stage 1 this past year. I have been fortunate to attend the Twin Cities Thoracic Onocologies Consortium Events held here . It is a day long lecture on different topics held every 6 months. In October 3, 2002 Michael A Maddaus MD, Professor and Researcher at the University of Minnesota spoke on " Molecular Staging of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer" I have saved the book they gave us from that day. Survival after surgical resection of non-small cell lung cancer is determined by postoperative pathologic stage: only 60 to 70 % of stage I patients ( lymph nodes negative) survive 5 years. The standard therapy of patients with stage I NSCLC is surgical resection of the primary tumor without adjuvant therapy. Even after complete resection the poor 5 year survival is mosly attributable to recurrences from distant metastases. This likely underscores the high rate of micrometastases in " early stage " lung cancer that were no appreciated at the time of original resection. Now this lecture was to tell us his research that he is doing to develop more reliable staging. The use of RT-PCR to detect tumor - related mRNA . He also discussed CEA and how it has gained popularity as a marker of micrometastatic disease and lots more Here is a site discussing the new guidelines The following is an article, from Cancer Source, on Adjuvant Chemo for early stage LC, after surgery. http://www.cancersource.com/NewsFeature ... ntID=27197 _________________

The mail man had come when I got home from St. Paul visiting Connie. He delivered my nursing magazine "Nursing 2003" low and behold the cover story is "Get the lowdown on Lung Cancer" p36 I just read the article , it was written by Kristen M. Kreamer, nurse practitioner in thoracic oncology ambulatory care at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia , Pa. Most of it is not news to many of us who have been on the front line for a while. She did not mention this was lung cancer awareness month, it did give Alcase web site. One thing interesting she said was " The rate of lung cancer among nonsmokers, pariticularly young women, is increasing, although the reason is unclear. "' and also" Recent studies have linked increased lung cancer rates in cities to air pollution. Genetic factors may increase susceptiblity . Researchers are currently investigating whether nutritional substances, such as vitamin A or selenium, have a positive or negative influence on lung cancer risk."

Visited Connie this afternoon. The chest tube is out. Great news!. They are giving her a couple more units of blood today. She is still hooked up to the monitors, central presure things etc and is on an IV med to raise her BP but she looks great and is in good spirits. Hope soon she will be able to get up and start walking around. She is still hoping she will get to go home on Saturday. I continue to pray for her steady recovery. Donna G

Tears were the thing. I really wanted to go back and tell the girl at the register " My husband did not push me" or " I have bad feet" or something , but I was bursting into tears and thought "just get out of here or you'll make it worse!" PS they did go through all those beautiful colors before they got to the current yellow.

I am talking about the leaves but now that I think about it two weeks ago I did fall, bruised my pride, skinned one knee and bruised bothe, now they are a very attractive yellow. I believe the totally weird and embarrasing event in the lobby of I HOP Pancakes Restaurant was due to my clutsy feet affected by neuropathy by chemo. Well back to fall in Minnesota, It is very difficult to blow leaves that are falling from the Maple trees into the yard when it is 13 degrees out!

The Lord is good!!! Connie was extubated from the vent yesterday morning and is doing GREAT . She hopes they will be able to take the chest tube out today. She had liquids during the day yesterday and had order supper last evening! Of course she is still on " drugs", those chest tubes are no picnic but she sounds so happy that this time all went well!! I pray for her continued recovery and ask that you join me. This is a tough Lung Cancer Awareness month for Connie , she usually is so busy not only with her support group, telephone buddy, etc but for several years in awareness events but this year she just needs to get herself well. The plan is for her to be able to get the tube out and perhaps be home on Saturday! She wanted me to send lots of (((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))). Donna G