northstar

yes......Yes......YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm thrilled for you more than words can say. I wish for you to continue down this great path

I'm so glad I've found this kind hearted group of people!!! Thank you for the encouragement and I will keep you updated of course I pray that I will have more good news to share with you next month I hope you all have good news to share as well.. I mean that from the bottom of my heart

I'm glad your mom started treatment. Our family feels a bit better every thursday when our mom goes in...we feel like we are 'taking action' on those days instead of sitting around and worrying. Thursdays have come to be known as the day we 'beat back the cancer even more!' Thats how we try to see it anyway My mom takes a different chemo drug...Taxol and Carbo. I dont know how different it is from Taxotere. Just as an example though....mom feels the effects about 2 day after. She gets numb toes and feet and restless legs. Her appitete goes as well...about 2 days after and lasts 3 days or so. Then it comes back. She also gets biotherapy once a week...that drug doesnt seem to effect her much at all. Her sleeping is off since this all started though, she doesnt sleep thru the night usually. But that could be from a number of things I imagine There is a great site that helped me a lot. Its www.chemocare.com I looked up the drugs my mom was taking and it told me what it expect and all the possible side effects. I didnt tell my mom everything, but if she had a problem I would mention that I read about it and that its par for the course. Like I said, its been helpful Here is the page that addresses Taxotere http://www.chemocare.com/bio/bio.sps?iBiographyID=9221 It looks like symptoms show 4 or more days after treatment, so dont be surprised if she starts to feel the effects I say this not to be a 'downer' but because I feel its good to be aware. We were upet when my mom started feeling her symptoms because the 1st few days after went so well.....we had out hopes up that she wouldnt be effected at all. Once I read about the side effects, I knew what to expect and it helped me from feeling such highs and lows One important thing that we were NOT told is how important it is to stay HYDRATED!!! My mom got very very ill after her 1st treatment. She was bedbound, unable to eat or talk much etc. It scared us. As it turned out, it was nothing more than dehydration from her hospital stay the week before and the chemo. Once she got some IV fluids she was back up again. Now she makes sure to drink as much as possible and its never happened again! The chemo dehydrates you though, so this is good to keep in mind Best of luck..and keep us updated j

Libby, our stories look somewhat the same as my mom was diagnosed this July as well. I hope your family is coping the best they can My mom is in a study, so she might get scanned more frequently because of that. We are so new to all of this though....I couldnt really say. I feel a bit better knowing they are checking so often Thank you for the support Pammie! I wish you all the best as well, you are an inspiration We dont know how chemo works. I am afraid that it will stop working for some reason..I've read here that people can become resistant. I'm keeping that to myself though, the family doesnt need to worry about such things. As for now my mom is feeling great and hopeful! I want that to last as long as possible

Kathleen, I am so sorry to hear your news. My mother has just been diagnosed as well (last month) The shock and grief is still very new to our familiy, as I imagine it is to yours I am very new here, but wanted to give you some words of support. The only thing I can offer, you have already said......make the most out of each day and love your family. That is what I have been doing Be thankful you live close by to visit as well. I cant imagine what some people go thru when they are seperated by miles Dont think to much of statistics, try not to read too too much. It can be overwhelming. Understanding chemo and nutrition is important, so reading up on that has proven helpful to my family....but the stats, we dont want to hear because they dont apply to everyone!!!! May everything go in your family's favor!

Thank you all for the encouragement. Its strange....but I didnt know how to feel posting the news. I dont want to upset those who are having a tough go of it at the moment, but also want to inspire people with some good news. Know what I mean? Ironically, this is the inbetween I feel all the time in life lately I am so very proud of my mom. She is handling this all so well and even though she has her ups and downs, her attitude has been strong and positive. She is also working on healing past 'emotional wounds' which is a blessing for many reasons. I personally feel that emotional scars can make us ill (the word disease broken down means not at ease) I'm a spiritual person and kind of see her illness as a result of not airing some of the hurt she has had over the years. This of course might be a really simplicitc way of looking at it (as I know there are many other factors!!!) but the mind/body connection is very real. I think if she heals her heart and her soul, her body will follow. Hey.....it couldnt do any harm in either case Wishing everyone well~ j

Oops! I didnt post that right. I edited my 1st post instead of creating another. I'll get the hang of this eventually. Please read my post above for the update Thinking of everyone~ j

I'm still new to the boards, so please forgive me if I am posting things in the wrong sections I posted last week about my moms upcoming cat scans. She got the results today... 61% smaller!!!!!!!!!!!! The drs are in shock, the family is jumping for joy She started chemo July 23rd. So far she has recieved 2 rounds of Taxol/Carbo. She gets them every 4 weeks. She is in a trial and gets a biotherapy drug once a week (Irbitux) In other words, in one (1) month her tumor has shrunk by 61%. They had warned us before the scans that it was really too early to expect a change. Boy.....did my mom show them!!! I don't know what this means for the future, but for now we feel a lot of hope and a lot of thanks. Also to note....she has gone in for reflexology treatments (foot massage therapy) She will continue this as well since whatever she is doing seems to be working Thank you all for the help and support you have given me already. As always, I am hoping for the best for everyone here!!!!

Thank you for the quick reply Don!! My mom is part of a clinical trial.....that may be why she is getting a scan after 5 weeks. She is scheduled for scans every 6 weeks or so during treatment, this is her 1st From what I understand she is on a 16 week treatment plan(or something close to that) I believe it is 4 months or so chemo. She gets a biggie round of Taxol and Carbo once a month and Irbitux (a biotherapy drug) every week. I guess she is a 1/4 of the way thru her treatment. What you said seems to back up what we hear from the dr.....as she certainly isnt half way thru treatment. She is just scared to see what is happening in there. I imagine she is in fear that its grown. We dont even know how fast cancers grow.....we know very little Maybe there has been a miracle and the thing is shrinking to nothing as we speak. I hope for that for all of us

I'm still new here, so I dont know if I am posting right. I wanted to come back and share the results of my moms tests. I also put a message in the 'good news' section After 2 rounds of Taxol/Carbo and weekly biotherapy her tumor has shrank 61% in one month!! The drs and everyone is thrilled. I hope this continues I hope this investigational drug is the silver bullet for everyone!!! (My mother is going in for her 1st round of scans (pet etc..) after starting treatment (taxol+carbo...) Its been 5 weeks since her chemo started. She of course is anxious beyond words The dr claimed that the new scans might not show any improvement, or much change. He says it is too soon to really tell if the chemo is taking effect Does anyone have experience with this?? We dont know if he is trying to calm us or if he is telling us all we need to know. Is a month to 5 weeks too soon to expect results?? If there is some change/growth in the tumor would that mean the chemo isnt working?? Or might it mean that enough time hasnt gone by yet Any thoughts you might have would be of help Thank you)

Thank you Fay for your honesty. I discussed Duke with mom just this week. A dear friend of hers recieves cancer treatment their (breast and lymphomia) She is doing remarkibly well. Nashville is a 3 hour trip, Duke is a day trip, but visiting her friend might be an incentive! She goes in for another round of scans (pet etc) in 2 weeks...she will be getting them every 6 weeks during treatment. She might be more willing to discuss options at that time John, the hosiptal she goes to is a 'branch' of Emory. It is only 10 minutes from the house, very convienent for treatments. I think thats why she felt so comfortable with them, close to home and less upheavel. We will have to weigh the pros and cons of that though Leslie, thank you for doing that search. I am ready to make some calls in the am! Pammie, what you explained about the 'lung plurea' sounds familiar. I think the case is the same with my mom. And yes, even if the 2nd opinion comes back exactly the same it will at least give us more confidence and keep some of the second guessing at bay Joanie, Kelly and Kasey, thank you for the advice. Kasey, I've been reading around the site for days now and came across your story. I can see why you are an advocate for 2nd (and 3rd..) opinions!!! In fact, your posts gave me a lot to think about In short I wanted to give a little more info on my mom that I learned today. She is on Taxol and Carbo which she gets once a month. Every week she gets a biotherapy drug called irbitux (related to the Martha Stewart Imclone stock disaster) She is part of a national study. She gets blood workups once a week and pet and cat sacns every 6 weeks. More importantly, she is a wife of 48 years (and going) and a mother of two loving daughters Thanks again!!

Thank you all!! I will be back later to respond properly, right now I am rushing to meet my mom while she receives her chemo (every thursday) It was a huge support to wake this morning and find all of your replies thank you~ (ps, I'd use my full name, but for now I feel more comfortable in using 'J' just in case other family members stumble across the site. It is nothing personal)

Heidi, not knowing is alright....I just thank you for answering I wish you the very best of luck with your mom I was unable to go with the famiy to the 'big' doctors appointment a month ago when everythng was explained. I regret it now, but at the time it was best that I not go. I was too emotional to be of any use whatsoever. I have so many questions though!!! I have mentioned a 2nd opinion to my mom, she said she'd give it thought. It is hard though...you dont want to push them or pressure them or stress them in any way. But I want us to all be educated about this so that we dont look back and say 'if only'

Hello, I am new here, this is my 1st post. To be quite honest with you I am a little overwhelmed and emotional, so my post may wander or not make sense etc My mom was just diagnosed with lc (nonsmall cell) She is 72 years old and everything to me. The family is in shock and on the emotional rollercoaster. It is hard to get a lot of information out of my mom or dad...they cant handle talking about it for too long or too often All I know is.... They say it is inoperable. Its in the lower left lung. She had fluid drained from it, they found cancerous cells within the fluid. This is why it is inoperable ...I dont understand that. A pet scan showed some lymph nodes involved...I believe 3. Two of them right by the infected lung, and one up towards the neck. No signs of anything anywhere else. They say she is Stage 3 or 4. That is as specific as they got......they never even mentioned the 'type' of cancer other than non small cell She started chemo 3 weeks ago. She is on Taxol and Irbitux (a medical trial of the combo) After being sick from dehydration (which has been addressed), she is now doing ok with the chemo I dont know what we should do to be 'smart' about this. I guess that is my question to all of you. Should we see several drs? Would that make a difference? We are in Georgia, I dont believe any of our hospitals are known for their work with cancer. Should we visit a reputable clinic out of state? Is it possible for one dr to find someone inoperable and another dr to find them operable? Is the surgery so invasive that maybe her age is reason?? Do they do any kind of less invasive surgery...like laser? And even if the cancer is in a nearby node, why wouldnt they want to remove the main tumor? Or the nodes?!? Wouldnt it be better to get rid of as much of it as possible?? Oh...she isnt doing radiation either. I dont know why, but that wasnt a suggested option I am sorry for rambling, but I am lost here. Any help would be greatly appreciated Thank you and my best to you all, J