Donna G

Lynn what about the state and federal government? They are the ones that are really making the money AND CONTINUE to make the money with "sin" taxes.

Welcome and a very Happy Anniversary ( wedding) and a very Happy Anniversary ( 2 yr survival). What great news! and to think you helped educate a kid that saved your life! Please stay with us and share that hope! That verse is very meaningful. Thank you. Keep us posted. Donna

Go Dave Go! You have over 400 chear leaders . Lets all shout!!!!!!!!! Go Dave Go

Just wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine a friend introduced to me just over 5 yrs ago. Believe me it is great to have a partner in prayer especially someone who understands and is close to our father. If you would like to know more of my friend or just read a beautiful prayer visit http://www.saintgeo.com/peregrine.htm He would love to help you too.

I was just doing a google search re: Judy Jarvis, who died of lung cancer. I stumbled across a site talking about how much money the federal ( not including the state) government collects annually in taxes , that they make more money than all the tobacco companys combined make in profit. That would be 6 Billion dollars a year collected in taxes. They made the point that none of this money is ear marked for CTs or lung cancer research, or cessation. It also makes the point that the states settlement with the tobacco companys $250,000,000 ( that is Billion) went into the general fund budget or the vast majority of it. Just something to think about.

This may be a posiblility. We have seen it before. I myself had to have chemo and radiation to shrink the tumor before they did surgery, it was up near the nerves and blood vessels in the apex of my lung. Keep us posted.

Nearly time for surgery, I should have asked her to have her 13 year old to post on how she is doing. Hope she gets back to us soon.

I took this with cisplatin. My hair fell out ( not a big suprise) . During my second round of it after I had surgery I developed neuropathy esp. in my feet. Other than those and instant menopause I did not have any other problems. So far after 51/2 yrs no return, I had NSCLC. I would go to http://www.chemocare.com/splash/splash.sps and read up on it to check out things to look for. Hope that is some help Donna

Ray keep that great news coming. We love it.

People are physical, emotional and spiritual. I vote we have to deal with all three. Our emotions and spiritual life affect our physical, this has been proved scientifically in double blind studies. We must deal with all three. We need peace of mind, happiness, joy, freedom from pain, hope, nutrition, all are needed. Don't neglect!!

I am so sorry Mary

Great suggestions, pinch the skin and see if it stays "up", dark concentrated urine, also dry mucous membranes in the mouth , and nose. Gatoraide is good stuff. If nauseaus and unable to eat etc, be sure to try to drink something with sugar and salts. It is very popular right now to hear "you need 6-8 glasses of water every day" but if this is all you are taking you can get into big trouble with "electrolyte" imbalance. The water washes out your needed salt until finally you get too depleted and are sick from that . If this is all you can get down, drink chicken broth, gatoraide, jello things like that til you feel good enough to eat again.

Gina my incision is in the back. I am nurse and have never seen a thorocotomy scar in the front. I wonder if it feels different. Do you have the nerve damage? The numbness under your breast? The only other incisions I have seen are on people who had VAT surgery , where they don't break ribs, they only make small incisions , one for the video, one for the instruments, and one for the chest tube.

Ask if this surgeon is trained to remove the lobe by VAT ( video assisted thorocotomy) If the tumor is surrounded by good tissue , you have never had radiation to the chest or chemo , you may qualify for this instead of the old way of making a big smiley incision over your back, and breaking a couple of ribs, etc ( that is why a numbing epidural is so wonderful) The VAT procedure only involved making a couple of small incisions, and using a scope to remove the lobe of lung, much less scar, much less post of pain, quicker recovery. More and more doctors are being trained to do this newer procedure. Also after surgery, it has been recommended that you do get chemo therapy because of the significant number of people with micro metastasis the pathologist is unable to identify. Good luck , what ever way this is do able. then you will really join the survivor "club" Please keep us posted how your tests come out and how things are going. I hope you have more family and friends near you, we all need all the support we can get. I bet you son is scared too. Take care and keep us posted. Donna

those first 6 months are really hard, surgery , being told you have the big C, chemo, doctors appointments, etc It is all exausting stressfull, and difficult. Have you had any check up scans, how have they come out? We are glad you are here with us and have shared your story. We are survivors and want to help each other.. Donna

Did you say benefit and cut in the same sentence? I have not heard on the news what you mention but I remember what happened in the 80' s after DRG's where started. Insurance company's said well if a hospital can cure someone 66 yrs old with a broken hip for xxx dollars why do I pay for my 61 yrs old thousands more. Well hospitals could not cure anyone with that amount of money with the standard treatment of the time. Soon you found people leaving the hospital much sooner than before, you cut hospital stays, and many hospital went under and could not survive. We did get same day surgery's from it and care I believe really has improved in many ways. In some ways it is more difficult . trying to teach someone feeling so weak, or sick , sending new Moms home tired and scared , not knowing if they'll be support there for her. We here in the states though have wonderful medical care available to us, please save us from socialized medicine.

Just wanted to share this with all of you. Wind moving in and out of your lungs: breath rising and falling. The world alive with wind The world alive with breath The world alive with Spirit. Wind and breath and spirit blowing at me... uninterrupted vitality Not just wind alone. Not just breath alone. Not just Spirit alone. But windbreathspirit: God! WindBreathSpirit wrap yourself around us engulfing us with uninterrupted vitality!

Welcome . :You could have posted under GOOD NEWS . We love hearing journeys such as yours. Thanks for sharing. I hope you will continue to visit with us. Donna

Connie I took the "program" from the funersal with me to the Relay for life Friday evening. In a this way he made the Survivor Walk. I hope he knows.

Debi, please be sure to do "range of motion" of your shoulder. Have some one help you by moving it for you if need be. Most of us tend to guard and keep that shoulder stiff, which puts you at risk of it "freezing" . I did not realize this and later ended up having to get cortisone injections, and physical therapy. Move the unaffected shoulder and see how many different directions it goes, up, down, forward, backward, sideward etc. Then do the same with the right one. Down the road you will be grateful you did. Keep us posted on your recovery. Donna

What a happy birthday!! Thank you for stopping and sharing that wonderful news with us We love wonderful news. You are right , the hospital is no place to vacation and get rest! Have a wonderful day and enjoy.

Keep that good news coming. Its a beautiful day here in Minnesota how is it next door in Wisconsin? Great , right? My husband is golfing this afternoon. Enjoy today.

News today talks of a new drug Varenicline by Pfizer drug company that is in Phase 3 trials showing great promise to help people overcome their addiction to nicotine. One article is here http://www.kstp.com/article/view/103359/

It has already been 5 weeks! You say you may have to wait a month more? I can see why you are upset. Last evening I worked and I was suppose to be the "resource nurse" I was first asked to by the leaving day nurse to finish an admission on a patient that was rushed off to MRI. I checked to computer and found he had a CT that showed lung cancer ( Needle biopsy -Ct guided-) just prior as an out patient. When it got to be 5 PM I started looking for him . Found out he was already getting a radiation treatment ! We hadn't even finished admitting him! I like that route better. I hope you can get seen quickly, sorry you have to be the in this situation.

At the national convention of Onocologists just recently they are recommending chemo after even Stage 1 surgery with "no" lymph node involvement or metastasis. The reason being as said above "micrometastasis" that the pathologist would not be able to see. A significant number of these people months later are found with tumors again. I would not rule out chemo without careful thought. Having the cancer "come back" is difficult to deal with, although many of us have had to. I have been fortunate enough to go to our local " Thoracic Onocology Consortium" meetings they hold here in Minneapolis twice a year. We have a doctor doing research at the University of Minnesota , trying to develop a blood , tissue test , to accurately identify people with micrometasasis. I hope he is successful because then we will know for sure who those people are who need chemo. I asked him if it possibly could be used as a screening tool and after tilting his head he said perhaps ( but of course who wants to find out they have spreading lung cancer) Even that would be better than no screening test at all which is where we are now. These are difficult decision I know during such a stressfilled time . I wish you well. Keep us posted. Donna