jdjenkins

Welcome Adee, My Dad also has had the drop in blood pressure from chemo. His dropped to 56/40 while standing. He has been in for fluids several times, which really does seem to help for awhile. Try to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day and eat food high in salt. Hope you feel better soon. Denise

My Dad is currently on Alimta and Avastin. He is extremly tired and has low blood pressure. Chemo does seem harder on him than in the past, but it is working! He tried Tarceva for 2 months but didn't work. Doctor said Tarceva works in non-smokers (Dad quite 25 year ago) and women mostly. Wish you best of luck in finding the right treatment. Denise

I always thought that I would never be able to make it if one of my parents got cancer. I would not be able to watch them suffer. When my Dad was dx. I was scared to death. I thought I would never be able to handle all the demands that would be place on me. I live the closest to my parents and knew if would all fall on my shoulders. Well I was right about one thing. I has all fallen on my shoulders, but I have been able to handle it all. It has been the hardest time in my life, but I would not have it any other way. I feel so fortunate to be able to be with both of them every step of the way. I feel that my other sibblings are missing out on a very important life altering experience. I thank the Lord for the strength he has given me everyday. Denise

I know what you mean about being neuratic. After my Dad was dx. I had every test possible done on me. I was sure I had cancer somewhere. My doctor thought I was crazy. After I checked out ok I started on with my husband and kids. My husbands father died at 62 of cancer. Things have calmed down since then, but I still get a panic when ever any one I love has a normal ache or pain. I wonder if that will ever go away. As you remember your Dad today think of all the wonderful memories and years you were able to spend with him. You will be together again someday. Denise

I carry a cross my son made for me in Sunday School. It reminds me that I have so much in my life to be thankful for. It also helps me to remember I will be ok if my Dad doesn't make it because I have my beautiful children to be strong for. I also have a list of the current medications my Dad is taking. Denise

Don and Lucy, I'm so sorry that you didn't get good news from the PET scan. I will be praying that the new treatment works and doesn't have many side effects. You both are such wonderful people. You are always there to help and encourage others on this board. I know you have the fight in you to beat this beast. Denise

Dear Val, Your message brought tears to my eyes. But the first thing I thought was, she will make it because she has that beautiful baby girl. A mothers love is so strong and you had such a wonderful example. You will be strong for your daughter. She will bring you joy everyday. Time will pass quickly as it always does when raising a baby and your hubby will be home soon. You will be amazed at your strength. You are in my prayers, Denise

I'm so sorry to hear of your bad news. I know it must be terrible to not hear your options for several days. My Dad had two brain mets one in October '04 and one in May '05. Both were sucessfully treated with Cyberknife. I think there are 5 Cyberknife treatment centers in the country. He had 3 20 minute treatments per met. Only side effects he had were fatigue and lost a little hair in the area effected. Much easier on him than any of the chemos. Let me know if you have any questions. Denise

Hi Cindi, I'm glad to see you back but sorry you didn't get better news from doctor. My Dad had the tube put in for the fluid around his lung about 3 weeks ago. They tried the talc but couldn't get it to work. His lung was too damaged from the radiation. The tube really is not that bad. It is easy to drain and he only drains if once a week. Doctor said he may even be able to have it removed in a few months. Surgery went very well and he stayed only a few nights in the hospital. He was up walking around the next day. Not much pain either and my Dad is a big baby when it comes to pain. He hardly even took his pain meds. What type of chemo is the Dr. Dudek suggesting? My Dad has had two cycles of Alimta and Avastin. We just had report that it seems to be working. Small shrinkage in lung tumor. He will have two more cycles and then CT/Pet. The chemo is very hard on him but we will continue. Dr. Dudek really seems to care about his patients. Maybe you should try the chemo for a couple cycles and see if it helps. You are in my prayers. Denise

My Dad has had two infusions of Alimta with Avastin. The combination seems to be working the tumor has shrunk and doc. wants to continue with treatments. He is very, very weak and has had problems with low blood pressure. He is not very hungry and has increased SOB. We were relieved to hear that the drugs are working, but I'm worried about how much more he can take. He is so weak right now. Denise

My Dad was on Tarceva for two months. He had a terrible rash which appeared about 3 weeks after he started. Tarceva did not work for him and we are back to chemo. Denise

My Dad quite smoking 29 years ago and still got lung cancer. We had no idea he was still at risk for developing lung cancer. We were completely shocked when he was dx. with NSCL Stage IV in Oct. of 2004. Even people who quite smoking many years ago need to be screened. This article is terrible.

Happy Birthday Connie. I wish you many more to come.

I too was very sad in hearing this news. I turned on the news before bed last night and was shocked. I laid in bed for 1/2 hour crying. I thought if he could not beat this thing with all his resources how can my Dad stand a chance. Peter was dx. shortly after my Dad and around the same age. I too hope that Peter Jennings death will bring more funding for lung cancer. I will pray for his family. Denise

Thanks so much for the warm welcome you all have given me. I feel like I know you all so well, I have been reading your posts for so long. It was comforting to hear that so many of you doubt surgery would have been a good choice for my Dad. Connie, my Dad's doctor is Dudek. We were lucky enough to get in to see him. He was not taking any new patients and we called him personally and asked for his help. He agreed to see my Dad on his day off. He is a very kind man. It was very reassuring to hear your praises of him. Are you at the UofM also? Karen, I read that you are fighting the insurance company for payment of Avastin. My Dad has been getting Avastin for 6 weeks now. His insurance just approved it for treatment of lung cancer. He has Atena. You may want to use that information in your fight. Also, my brother works for Genetech the company that makes Avastin. He said that if Dad's insurance didn't work the company sometimes pays for individual cancer treatments. I would check their web site and get in touch with someone. He finds out next week if it is working for him. He has been extremely weak while on this treatment. We are worried if it is desease progression or side effects of treatment. You all are truely amazing to me. The way you all stay so strong and positive during this ordeal. My Dad is not in a very good place mentally. I have tried everything and I mean everything to get him past this depression. I just don't think I will ever be successful. I won't ever stop trying though. Thanks for the support. Denise

Hi, I have been visiting this site for a couple of months now and have found it so helpful. I thought I would finally introduce myself. My Dad was dx with Stage IV NSCLC in October of '04. At the time he had one tumor in his right lung (very large) and one brain met. He has always been so healthy the news just shocked my family. We decided to go to the University of MN Cancer Center and have received very good care. Back in January we met with surgeon who agreed to operate. My Dad's oncologist didn't seem to agree with the surgeon. He thought my Dad's cancer had spread to far and surgery would delay treatment further. He would not be able to start chemo for awhile. Next is what keeps me up at night wondering if we did the right thing. I called oncologist and told him we were getting the feeling he was not in agreement with the surgeon and asked why. He said my Dad would most likely have to have whole lung removed and he felt it was a risky operation. I told him my family wanted my father to have the best care and be able to enjoy the time he had left with us. Well the next appt. the oncologist came in and told us we were going to have 7 weeks of chemo and radiation instead of surgery. He told my Dad that this treatment was just as good as surgery and we could always come back to surgery. I called the surgeon myself to ask if he agreed with this decision. He said yes, but I suppose they all stick together. Well after seven weeks of chemo and radiation the tumor only shrunk 35% and my Dad developed non-maligant fluid around his lung from all the scare tissue from radiation. He had to have a tube put in to drain fluid. His latest PET showed active tumor in right lung and one lymph node lite up. Now oncologist says no surgery. I'm just beating myself up for not pushing the surgery in January. I feel if my Dad does not make it I will always wonder if I missed his chance for a cure. What makes matters worse is that my Dad has relied on me for everything since dx. He is suffering from great depression and aniexty (long family history, but ok until got dx.). He is unable to make decision and does not want to read or learn anything about lung cancer. I have tried to get him to support groups, but he will not go. He is on Zoloft and Ativan for aniexty, but still does not enjoy any part of life. It breaks my heart to see him like this. He wants to sit around and wait for the doctor to cure him. My Dad was a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather before dx. My eight year old is always asking me when Grandpa is going to be done with Cancer so they can golf and play hockey together again. I have taken my Dad to every doctor appt., chemo treatment, and radiation appt. I'm so fortunate to be able to help him so much during this terrible time, yet I feel so helpless. I would do anything to help my Dad enjoy just one day again. He is currently taking Avastin and Alimta. This treatment has really hit him hard. He has become very weak. We have a scan next week to see if it is working. I keep praying for a miracle. He had a brain MRI this week and I'm happy to report he is part of the "empty head club". I was wondering if we should have the lymph node tested to see if it is really cancer. If not maybe we could still pursue surgery. Thanks for listening to my story. Your posts have helped me so much over the last couple of months. I will keep reading. Denise