Donna G

Shirley this is true. I worked ICU for years, and talked with people who had just been resuscitated, they say the same happening. Donna G

Prayers going up for Bill's family. Thanks for your post. Donna G

Welcome Nineout. Keep us posted on how things are going. Donna G

Does your clinic, or doctor have a therapist he could refer you and your husband to. Some clinics have either social workers with degrees in psychology who work with families dealing with cancer. My problem was crying- sobbing at the drop of a hat and my doctor refered me (and also put me on an antidepressent) You grieve with this diagnosis. There are 4 stages of grieving-denial, anger, depression, acceptance. Sometimes we need help to "progress". Donna G

May you feel warmth and love throughout this Christmas season. Donna G

I took Cisplatin and Etoposide and never lost all my hair. It did get very thin. When it first started falling out in huge clumps my husband wanted to "help" by shaving it all off. I said no, wait. I was glad I did. Now my legs etc that were shaved never grew back in til later so I had several months of not needing to do that task! Donna G

Prayers going up for Beth and Bill. Donna G

Welcome Char. So sorry to hear about your Dad. Glad you are here. Donna G

Thanks Kasey! Donna G

Wow, I am already another Pancoast tumor poster! on this ribbon. I fortunately was finally able to quit cigarettes for good when they told me I had lung cancer. I had quit many times but always lapsed back. It was not easy. I used Zyban, that helped but even still I would dream about smoking. Just recently I have read "In a Million Pieces" , a book about a guy going into treatment for his addictions. He had dreams that he was using. His counsellor said that that happens to be who have an addiction. When I read that I said "amen". I remember my mother who was forced to quit because she was in a nursing home with end stage COPD said she had dreams of smoking. Well I say all this just to say pray, have patients, it is a very bad drug to be addicted to and difficult but not impossible to stop using. Also , the gum is much less harmful then cigarettes or chewing tobacco. Best wishes. Donna G

Hello, Henk and I are among the 1-3% of lung cancer patients who have a pancoast tumor. I know I had more than 3 rounds of chemo. I think I had that many over the course of about 6 weeks of radiation. Then I was able to have surgery . About 3 weeks after that I started more rounds of chemo. Wishing you and Henk well, keep us posted. See below Concurrent Chemotherapy and Radiation Followed by Surgery As stated previously, the role of chemotherapy has been clearly defined in the treatment of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer and has been shown to be superior to radiation therapy alone. The phase II Southwestern Oncology Group (SWOG) 94-16 trial [37, 38] evaluated the role of concurrent cisplatin (Platinol®; Bristol-Myers Squibb) at a dose of 50 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, 29, and 36 and etoposide (Etopophos®; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Princeton, NJ) at a dose of 50 mg/m2 on days 1–5 and days 29–33 with 45 Gy of TRT over 5 weeks followed by two additional cycles of chemotherapy in mediastinoscopy-negative patients with superior sulcus tumors in a multi-institutional setting. Those authors demonstrated that this therapy was associated with acceptable morbidity and mortality, and that complete resection rates of 92% where obtainable with this regimen. Sixty-six percent of those who went on to surgery had pathologic complete responses (36%) or minimal microscopic disease (30%) on resection. Of the patients who completed induction therapy and went on to surgery, the 2-year survival rates were 55% for all patients and 70% for those who underwent complete resection [38, 39]. Updated results noted a 33-month median survival and a 5-year overall survival rate of 41% for the total cohort [39]. The Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG) protocol 9806 is similar to the North American intergroup effort (Table 1) [38–40]. Wright et al. [41] from the Massachusetts General Hospital published a retrospective review of patients treated with different institutional protocols consisting of preoperative chemoradiation and radiation alone. The patients who received chemotherapy had a higher complete resection rate, higher pathologic complete response rate, lower local recurrence rate, and longer survival than patients treated with radiation alone. These results are consistent with current knowledge, but selection bias may have contributed to this result.

Prayers going up for Thomas. Hope he's feeiing better and better color soon and a good appetite. Donna G

Welcome. I just had my anniversary of diagnosis. It has been 8 years and I am still cancer free. It took 5 months to finish my treatment, it was well worth it. RFA doesn't sound would take near that long to get over. Let us know what you decide. Donna G

Waiting to hear how your appointment went today. Hope you have a new plan. Donna G

Erica I am so sorry for your loss. Prayers going up for you and the family for peace. Donna G

Well today is December 3rd. When I opened the kitchen door to let Rocky and Sally out to "do their thing" all was white. It is never as dark out before the sun rises when all is white. People here in Minnesota are walking on water! Of course water left outside like ponds and lakes are not "wet" anymore. It is 12 degrees out. What really makes today special for me is I survived! It was 8 years ago today that the doctor in urgent care said to me " I am sorry to tell you but you have lung cancer". What is really special today is I can say I do not have lung cancer anymore, I survived! Donna G This is the same post I put under general, my friend Connie asked for it to be here under SURVIVORS. I thought that was a good idea! _________________

Let me jump in and join the crowd. Welcome! Waiting to hear how the CT comes out. Donna G

Broken ribs are no fun. Prayers going up that they heal quickly. Most of us that had surgery got 2 broken ribs ( if done by VAT they miss out on that) so we know what they feel like. Donna G

Well today is December 3rd. When I opened the kitchen door to let Rocky and Sally out to "do their thing" all was white. It is never as dark out before the sun rises when all is white. People here in Minnesota are walking on water! Of course water left outside like ponds and lakes are not "wet" anymore. It is 12 degrees out. What really makes today special for me is I survived! It was 8 years ago today that the doctor in urgent care said to me " I am sorry to tell you but you have lung cancer". What is really special today is I can say I do not have lung cancer anymore, I survived! Donna G

Welcome, glad you found us. I hope we are of help. Some of us with advanced stages survive, tomorrow it will be 8 yrs since the doctor told me I had lung cancer. Yesterday I got the results of my CT and they said it was fine, no worrisome changes! Keep us posted. Donna G

Nurse just called. She gave me a very "technical report" of my Ct I had yesterday. "It's fine. No worrisome changes"

They were talking about that on our local news last night. They said they did a survey and found that 29% of our High School students in Minnesota smoke. They interviewed some. One girl ,15 years old, said she has been smoking for 4 years. A 17 year old boy when asked how he got cigarettes ( as it is illegal to sell cigarettes to those under 18 in Minnesota) said he had friends 18 that got them for him. They said the money had been used for other parts of the state budget. Donna G

We have known for a while ulcer are from H. pylori. Recently they are celebrating that they have a vacine against a cervical infection so now they know that will end cervical cancer. This article talks of an infection causing Lymphoma! There seems to be a pattern forming here or is that just my thinking? PARIS - New research suggests that infection with bacteria from the Chlamydia family may play a role in the development of a type of lymphoma that affects the tissue around the eye, raising hopes that antibiotics may one day prove to be an alternative to chemotherapy or radiation. The study, presented Monday at the European Cancer Conference, is the latest to link infection with cancer, following the establishment of the human papilloma virus as the major cause of cervical cancer and the bacteria Helicobacter pylori as a cause of stomach cancer. “This is sensational,” said Dr. Dieter Hossfeld, a professor of oncology at the University of Hamburg, Germany, who was not involved with the research. “It was first noted in Italy and now it’s been confirmed on the other side of the world in Korea, and we’ve heard that there are similar findings in the United States, so it’s not a regional disease and is obviously a valid thing,” Hossfeld said. The bacteria in question, Chlamydia psittaci, can be contracted from infected birds such as parrots. Scientists also suspect it can come from household cats because they also carry it. Chlamydia psittaci is known to cause a lung infection called psittacosis. In the study, Dr. Changhoon You from the Asan Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea, compared chlamydia infection in 33 people with ocular adnexal lymphoma, or OAL, and 21 people with a comparable but non-cancerous condition called non-neoplastic ocular adnexal disease. He found the Chlamydia psittaci strain was present in 78 percent of the cancer patients, but only in 23 percent of those in the comparison group. In a previous study conducted in Italy, the bacteria were found in 80 percent of people with the lymphoma and in none of those in a comparison group of healthy people. “In the future, eradication of the (germ) could be a common treatment method for low-grade lymphoma, replacing current cytotoxic chemotherapy or radiation,” You said. The Chlamydia family of bacteria has been linked to cancer before. Scientists already have shown that another strain, Chlamydia trachomatis, is linked to the development of cervical cancer. Another, Chlamydia pneumoniae, has been linked to lung cancer. Ocular adnexal lymphoma belongs to a group of lymphomas where cellular changes result from immune system responses gone awry. Scientists say it makes sense that infections such as chlamydia could contribute to the development of the disease. “It makes biological sense, but whether it will translate into anything practical, and for how many patients, this is the question,” said Dr. Joachim Yahalom, a lymphoma specialist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York who was not connected with the research. In many of these types of lymphoma, an infection can start the process, but at some point the cancer becomes independent of the infection. So unless the infection is treated early, antibiotics may not be enough, Yahalom said. The next step, Yahalom said, is to see whether antibiotics can reverse the cancer. “I think for some patients it may work,” he said. Hossfeld said he was optimistic antibiotics would work because the cancer is a slowly developing one. “It remains localized for a long period of time. This gives us a good chance to try bacteria eradication first, before radiotherapy or chemotherapy,” Hossfeld said. © 2005 The Associated Press.

White blood cells fight infections. Red Blood cells carry oxygen to the cells. You need them bothe. Chemo is one reason they may be low. It affects them also because they are rapidly reproducing like cancer does. There is medicine that can boost their numbers up again. If low, you are tired, perhaps short of breath, and would have difficulty fighting an infection. If white blood cells are high usually it is because you are fighting an infection. If you are dehydrated they may seem high ( RBCs or WBC's ) because actually your fluid volume is too low, making them more concentrated. The Doctor needs to take a lot into consideration deciding what is going on. Donna G

If I never had a dog I would have missed all the love , companionship , fun and walks with Baron (mixed rat terrrier) -73' Kenoe ( Siberian Husky) -83' Rusty ( Airedale) -93' Mitch ( tri-colored collie)-03' Rocky (3 1/2 years old) Border Collie/Aussie Sally (2 1/2 years old) Border Collie mix (With ?) Although I am thinking my next may be a poodle, they don't shed.