Karen_L

Good news doctor called and said that it shrunk! I don't know the full details yet but it shrunk!! They did find a blood clot near her ovary but doctor said nothing to worry about. My question now Is what's next after a tumor shrunk is it a wait and see thing? My mom has a meeting with her radiation specialist next Friday to see about her cough that's still there

Woohoo!!!! Time for a little celebration!
Karen

According to along-ago mentor, there's nothin' wrong with curling up in a little ball and sobbing, @LilyMir. You just need to set a timer for a specific, limited amount of time. She advised 10 minutes, which I thought was stingy, but I tried it and it did help at that time. I also think it diminished the tendency I had to wallow back then.
Hang in; this will pass. 
 
 

I know a number of folks here are working with brain mets, me included, so I thought I'd share a webinar I attended yesterday. I learned some new stuff about radiation and thought it was well done. 
Video is below (scroll beneath video to see the video contents.). Download the accompanying Resource Handout here: https://bit.ly/LungBrainMets 
00:00 Introduction
00:36 About LUNGevity
07:52 Introduction to Brain Metastasis in Lung Cancer
14:53 Medical Oncology Perspective & Systemic Therapies
25:53 Radiotherapy
36:33 Neurosurgical Approaches
49:22 Tumor Board Case 1
1:03:48 Tumor Board Case 2
1:17:09 Q&A
 

Carrie, 
Are these *your* lungs?
There's no way to answer your question without treading into diagnostic waters, which we really don't do. If you are super curious and willing to risk your sanity, you could do a Google image search and see what comes up. I'd advise against it. As you probably know, getting an idea in your head before talking with your doctor or reading the report can mess with your mind. Mine is already enough of a mess that I'm not willing to risk it. 
Here's hoping you get a good report. Hang in,
Karen

@walfredo2001 I'm doing well also, thanks Dan. Recent brain MRI showed no changes, new CT scan coming right after Thanksgiving-- the last one showed stable lungs. My scanxiety tends to loom about two weeks before a test and I'm right on schedule. I'll wrestle with it for a few days, then I'm typically OK. (Wrestling usually means that I review treatment options should they find progression, which gives me at least the illusion of control. LOL.) I hope the pattern holds this time around-- there's too much Thanksgiving cooking to be done for me to be distracted by fear.  
Please report back about Dr. Merry's response.
I'm fascinated with the mix of specialists and institutions you've got. Legacy, OHSU, and Providence? I had no idea the Medical Powers That Be allowed that these days. It would be interesting to hear how you pulled that together. 
Karen

@walfredo2001 I'm doing well also, thanks Dan. Recent brain MRI showed no changes, new CT scan coming right after Thanksgiving-- the last one showed stable lungs. My scanxiety tends to loom about two weeks before a test and I'm right on schedule. I'll wrestle with it for a few days, then I'm typically OK. (Wrestling usually means that I review treatment options should they find progression, which gives me at least the illusion of control. LOL.) I hope the pattern holds this time around-- there's too much Thanksgiving cooking to be done for me to be distracted by fear.  
Please report back about Dr. Merry's response.
I'm fascinated with the mix of specialists and institutions you've got. Legacy, OHSU, and Providence? I had no idea the Medical Powers That Be allowed that these days. It would be interesting to hear how you pulled that together. 
Karen

Carrie, 
Are these *your* lungs?
There's no way to answer your question without treading into diagnostic waters, which we really don't do. If you are super curious and willing to risk your sanity, you could do a Google image search and see what comes up. I'd advise against it. As you probably know, getting an idea in your head before talking with your doctor or reading the report can mess with your mind. Mine is already enough of a mess that I'm not willing to risk it. 
Here's hoping you get a good report. Hang in,
Karen

I know a number of folks here are working with brain mets, me included, so I thought I'd share a webinar I attended yesterday. I learned some new stuff about radiation and thought it was well done. 
Video is below (scroll beneath video to see the video contents.). Download the accompanying Resource Handout here: https://bit.ly/LungBrainMets 
00:00 Introduction
00:36 About LUNGevity
07:52 Introduction to Brain Metastasis in Lung Cancer
14:53 Medical Oncology Perspective & Systemic Therapies
25:53 Radiotherapy
36:33 Neurosurgical Approaches
49:22 Tumor Board Case 1
1:03:48 Tumor Board Case 2
1:17:09 Q&A
 

Woohoo!!!! Time for a little celebration!
Karen

According to along-ago mentor, there's nothin' wrong with curling up in a little ball and sobbing, @LilyMir. You just need to set a timer for a specific, limited amount of time. She advised 10 minutes, which I thought was stingy, but I tried it and it did help at that time. I also think it diminished the tendency I had to wallow back then.
Hang in; this will pass. 
 
 

According to along-ago mentor, there's nothin' wrong with curling up in a little ball and sobbing, @LilyMir. You just need to set a timer for a specific, limited amount of time. She advised 10 minutes, which I thought was stingy, but I tried it and it did help at that time. I also think it diminished the tendency I had to wallow back then.
Hang in; this will pass. 
 
 

I'm relieved to hear this latest report, Justin. Now to just keep calm until the procedure.... You've got this!

Congratulations! It's so nice that you are starting to feel like yourself again. 
Just out of curiosity, do you know why didn't use contrast with the scan? 

Hi Annie,
So sorry to hear of your mom’s diagnosis. Lung cancer so often involves waiting, and the waiting can be agonizing. 
Are they doing blood or tissue testing for biomarkers? Perhaps both?
If she hasn’t started treatment yet, and her current condition doesn’t demand immediate action, I’d encourage you to wait for those results. The lung cancer researchers I’ve listened to this year stress the importance of biomarkers in crafting the best course of treatment. For example, some newer treatment options for certain biomarkers appear to provoke quicker responses than more traditional treatments. 
Also, has her case been discussed at a tumor board? That’s a panel of docs across the spectrum of specialties related to lung cancer. They are a way to ensure an individual case is viewed through many perspectives and that a consensus for treatment has occurred.
Hang in, and keep us posted. 
 
Karen
 
 

  

I'm relieved to hear this latest report, Justin. Now to just keep calm until the procedure.... You've got this!

Yay, it's over! I am so glad I had medication before my procedure; I'm not sure I would have managed it as well as you did. Now it's all fingers crossed for that followup MRI!

I think this is also my secret of life with lung cancer. Sometimes things I never gave a passing thought to, give me a sense of joy or peace.
You've been through the mill; of course you're scared. To the best of your ability, refuse to imagine dire situations in the future. One of my rules for myself is, if I hear myself start down the path of "What if...." I need to take myself by the scruff of the neck, give myself a good shake, and go do something that puts my head right.in. the.present.moment. Typically that's something like cleaning the bathroom, which reinforces the negativity of such thinking.  
I'd like to jump on board the Second Opinion bus. 
I hope you meeting with your oncologist went well. Please keep us posted.

Yay, it's over! I am so glad I had medication before my procedure; I'm not sure I would have managed it as well as you did. Now it's all fingers crossed for that followup MRI!

Congratulations! It's so nice that you are starting to feel like yourself again. 
Just out of curiosity, do you know why didn't use contrast with the scan? 

I think this is also my secret of life with lung cancer. Sometimes things I never gave a passing thought to, give me a sense of joy or peace.
You've been through the mill; of course you're scared. To the best of your ability, refuse to imagine dire situations in the future. One of my rules for myself is, if I hear myself start down the path of "What if...." I need to take myself by the scruff of the neck, give myself a good shake, and go do something that puts my head right.in. the.present.moment. Typically that's something like cleaning the bathroom, which reinforces the negativity of such thinking.  
I'd like to jump on board the Second Opinion bus. 
I hope you meeting with your oncologist went well. Please keep us posted.

Best of luck as you start treatment. No matter what, you can do it. Keep us posted.
Karen

I think this is also my secret of life with lung cancer. Sometimes things I never gave a passing thought to, give me a sense of joy or peace.
You've been through the mill; of course you're scared. To the best of your ability, refuse to imagine dire situations in the future. One of my rules for myself is, if I hear myself start down the path of "What if...." I need to take myself by the scruff of the neck, give myself a good shake, and go do something that puts my head right.in. the.present.moment. Typically that's something like cleaning the bathroom, which reinforces the negativity of such thinking.  
I'd like to jump on board the Second Opinion bus. 
I hope you meeting with your oncologist went well. Please keep us posted.

The effects of Radon typically manifest over a long period of time. I can go back mentally to the places I've lived and see radon possibilities in all of them, even in the last house we lived in prior to this-- and we built that house. Even that ended up having radon. 

I think this is also my secret of life with lung cancer. Sometimes things I never gave a passing thought to, give me a sense of joy or peace.
You've been through the mill; of course you're scared. To the best of your ability, refuse to imagine dire situations in the future. One of my rules for myself is, if I hear myself start down the path of "What if...." I need to take myself by the scruff of the neck, give myself a good shake, and go do something that puts my head right.in. the.present.moment. Typically that's something like cleaning the bathroom, which reinforces the negativity of such thinking.  
I'd like to jump on board the Second Opinion bus. 
I hope you meeting with your oncologist went well. Please keep us posted.