trishnmiller

Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. -- Gandhi Trish

Dear Sandra, You can read my husband's profile but he is also a stage IV. He had his best chemo response to Alimta. His brain tumors (13), liver (1) were removed by stereotactic radiation, (Gamma Knife, cyberknife,) Now he is having IMRT on the original tumor which will be followed in a few weeks with cyberknife. This is not standard protocol and it was an exhausting battle with doctors and insurance but it worked, continues to work as we pray and keep our fingers crossed. PM me if I can help in any way. Trish

Awesome, just AWESOME! Trish

Dear Linda, Sorry you have to be hre but Welcome! Per your Mom's confusion; just make sure that she gets a brain scan to rule out tumors or lesions. It is amazing what they don't do and don't tell you..but I don't have to tell you, do I? Taxol is protocol so that sounds OK. You are wise to not let them do anything until you have checked it out. There is age bias in many facilities when it comes to aggressive treatment so be on the look-out. That's all I can think of for now. Keep us posted. Trish

Ditto to everything Karen said. I refused WBR for my husband and went to Gamma Knife. Well, you can read the profile. I would ask a neurosurgeon to evaluate your Dad's mental state. Is there necrosis that can be removed? One doesn't just suddenly fail mentally so there is a medical reason that needs to be spelled out for you. In the meantime just know you are doing the best you can and keep on being there for your Dad. Prayers to you both. Trish

A beautiful tribute for a beautiful soul. She is at peace and you are in my prayers. Trish

I don't know your insurance company but most of them now will provide an advocate for you. Call the insurance company and tell them you don't "understand" all of the administrative and regulatory stuff so someone needs to work with you. I believe they are required to assist. I hope you can get the help you need. Trish

Welcome, we're all here for each other. Read the profiles, ask questions, and know that you are not alone. Trish in Miami

The chemo delay does seems odd. What is their reasoning? Don't worry about the prognosis just the diagnosis. Everyone is different. Ya know your Dad may have had a stomach flu..really going around here. I have to remind myself that cancer patients get normal illnesses too. Prayers, Trish

Dear Lynda, here's the way I understand it all: Depending on the stage, Lung cancer is either "curable" or "treatable". Stage IV is not considered not curable because the cancer has spread beyond the original site into bones, or brain, or lymph nodes etc... Many doctors will only offer "pallative" care to stage IV patients. That is all they would prescribe for my husband and that is precisely why we chose a new oncology team back in January. We found doctors who would be very aggressive in his treatment. I told them that I didn't expect miracle cures and that I simply wanted the best treatment that was out there. I did the research and found the procedures that I thought we should try. When I couldn't get a referral from the oncologist (even though I like him) I went to the primary and got one. I'm telling you all this because I don't want to see anyone treated like a statistic and that is what I see happening all over the place. If you feel that your loved one is not getting a fair shake then move on or at least get a second opinion. Feel free to print out my husband's profile and take it to the doctor. There are plenty of Stage 4 survivors right here and I'm sure they all feel the same. Tell them "The fat lady ain't sung yet!" Trish

Dear Don, Jeffrey had a 4.5 cm tumor on his liver. Alimta was the only drug that really worked well. When the tumor reduced in size to about 2.5 cm we had it cyberknifed. That was at the beginning of August and there has been no recurrence. Best of luck to Lucie on this round. Trish

Life changes in a nanosecond and there is nothing we can do but accept it and move on. We aren't in control of our destinies now and we never were. All those times we said,"I know how you feel", we really didn't. Now we do. It is what it is. Trish

My husband's history is similar to yours but he has nsclc. It might help to read his profile as well as the many others that are posted here. The white matter that you speak of is normal in this case. They only remove it if it impairs brain function. I hope this helps. Trish

10,000,000? Here goes in no particular order: 1. Set up a trust for my children 2. Set up a scholarship fund for medical students specializing in Lung Cancer Research. 3. Renovate my house 4. Renovate my Dad's house 5. Hire a full time housekeeper, cook, personal trainer and chauffeur. 6. Start a small patient advocacy business whereby trained professionals (paid for by insurance or the state)would be contracted to accompany patients to their office visits and to advocate for the patient in insurance matters.

On the flip side, though, I've learned that not everyone has empathy and that some people were jerks before they were diagnosed and are even bigger jerks now... How's that for optimism? Ahh so true. As a dear friend once said "You can sober up a horse thief but usually all you'll get is a horse thief that doesn't drink on the job" Trish

Hey Connie, Get out of there will ya and come on back! We miss you here. Trish

I hope your Dad gets relief soon! I feel terrible for him and for those who endure his suffering. Trish

Dear Cheryl, You and your family are in my prayers. He has fought the good fight. Trish

Ah yes, we've been dealing with chemo brain so I've been researching. There is quite a bit of information about breast cancer survivors with cognitive problems related to chemotherapy because up until recently they lived the longest and provided a more reliable control group. Even though Jeff's last scan was in November we had another brain scan done just to be safe. I would suggest that you do the same. Brain mets can sneak-up quickly but are fairly easy to deal with nowadays with Gammaknife and other forms of sterotactic surgery. love, Trish

Friday the 13th is lucky for Jeffrey...one year today! I'm a superstitious theatre person. I never wish people "good luck" before a performance and never say "Macbeth" back stage..etc,etc.. fun stuff, Trish

Dear Bunny, OK cough up the pictures (no pun intended) ..you must have taken pictures of such an incredible night! What fun! Love, Trish

Dear Martha, Honey, you can't please everyone so don't even try. Tell your husband that you need to be there for your Mom and you need to not feel pulled away or guilty about your time with her. Tell him that when she is gone you will need to be able to look in the mirror and know that you were there for her. That is the only advice I have. Prayers, Trish

Fantastic news! Trish

Yippee for another January survivor birthday! Trish

Congrats. My husband has 1 year today as well! Trish