bart ziggie ( Greg )

It was me i just forgot to log on lol........ its the pain meds doing that crap. I sat straight up in my recliner earlier and told my 12 year old he needed to shave his mustache. Everybody got a kick out of that one, Regards Greg

Thanks all for some great responses. Very helpful information thats for sure. Between the time i posted this and now things have changed dramaticaly. I have gotten very ill. I am having another severely bad reaction to the chemo. CPT-11 i suspect. I cannot get rid of the chronic diahrea. The longest i can get rid of it is about 4 hrs. I also have had alot of vomitting,cramping,and pain. For now i am hanging in there but my Dr. and nurse dont want me to hesitate this time about going to hospital. I waited too long a couple weeks ago and i really about paid the price. Well at any rate i am scheduled to recieve CPT-11 and cisplatin next Fri. I will be cancelling this and all future treatments. I discussed this with my Dr. prior to agreeing to try one more time with the cisplatin. I will call him Mon. and let him know i am choosing to stop treatment. I cannot take it anymore. Its a big choice but for me i think its the right one. I will start home hospice care Mon. We ( my ex wife and i ) met with hospice care fri. It sounds like the best option. So far all of my family agrees with me. I dont know what the outcome will be folks but i refuse to take anymore chemo. Love Ya Greg

Hello everyone. Well as you can tell my reading my profile info i have got liver mets. It started out as 4 of them. All of them fairly small. The largest was 2.5 centimeters i think ! When i was in the hospital last week we did another CT scan abdomine/pelvis. It showed 3 more lesions. All 3 small again. However, The problem is that the other 4 have grew ! I didnt ask how much but Dr. said considerably. I talk to him today i will find out exactly how large they are. Heres the thing. Up until now i havent been able to tell i even had them. That has changed ! For the last 2 days i have been sick. Vomiting,coughing, what seems to be something from my abdomine area. It also smells horrible and it is the most putrid color i have ever seen. I also have had alot of cramping on my right side. Heres my question ? What can i expect from these mets ? Are they painful ? What are the symptoms of liver probs ? I know i should ask dr. these questions today and i will i just wanted to get you alls stories as well. I have heard of others here who had liver mets and havent had any probs at all from them. With mine they are going to be tough to treat because i have had a recurrance. Which is an entirely different beast when it comes to treatment options. I also have decided to give the cisplatin another try next Fri. In combonation with the CPT-11. I told Dr. i will do it one more time but if i have another reaction like last time then i am done with it. He seems to think it will work in shrinking the mets. We shall see. At any rate i have to run i just wanted to post this morning to see if you all can share with me your experience. Regards Greg

I completed my PCI (18 treatments) on Sept. 30. I still havent got any hair growth at all except the back of my neck and the back of my head. My head really peeled badly after about my 10 th treatment. I used a over the counter petroleum based cream called Aquaphor it really worked well. Just dont apply anything prior to your treatments. As far as hair coming back goes i have to chuckle. I started losing my hair after the 4th round of Chemo. About the middle of August it started coming back. It was curly and all grey. My hair was blonde and straight before. lol.......... Well at any rate good luck with your treatments. Keep us posted. Regards Greg

Mo Sugar, I cant personaly comment however, I will tell you that yes there are several of us that have filed large personal injury suits against some of the big hitters so to speak. I wish i could comment more on my particular case but without talking to lawyers i dont know what i can divulge. What i will do is make a call tomm. and find out exactly what i can talk about on here. Just in hopes that it may help someone else. I will go as far as to say i am the litigant in a very large personal injury suit against a major tobacco co. Not a class action suit but a personal injury case. I will for sure find out tomm. And hopefully, i can pass on some useful info to those who may benefit from the info. Greg

Top 10 Party Games for People Over 50 Sag! You're it! Pin the toupee on the bald guy. 20 questions shouted in your good ear. Kick the bucket. Red Rover, Red Rover, the nurse says bend over. Doc, doc, goose. Simon says something incoherent. Musical recliners. Spin the bottle of Mylanta. Hide and go pee! Life's Reflections 1. I'm not into working out. My philosophy is no pain, no pain. 2. I'm in shape. Round is a shape. 3. Ever notice when you blow in a dog's face he gets mad at you, but when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window? 4. Ever notice that anyone driving slower than you is an idiot, but anyone going faster is a maniac? 5. You have to stay in shape. My mother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 now and we have no idea where she is. 6. I have six locks on my door, all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three of them. 7. Ask people why they have deer heads on their walls and they tell you it's because they're such beautiful animals. I think my wife is beautiful, but I only have photographs of her on the wall. 8. I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific. Genie and the Taliban Three guys: a Canadian, Osama bin Laden, and Uncle Sam are out walking together one day. They come across a lantern and a genie pops out of it. "I will give each of you each one wish. That's three wishes total," says the genie. The Canadian says, "I'm a farmer, my dad was a farmer, and my son will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in Canada." With a blink of the genie's eye, *POOF* the land in Canada was forever made fertile for farming. Bin Laden was amazed, so he said, "I want a wall around Afghanistan, so that no infidels, Jews, or Americans can come into our precious state." Again, with a blink of the genie's eye, *POOF* there was a huge wall around Afghanistan. "Uncle Sam" (A former civil engineer), asks, "I'm very curious. Please tell me more about this wall." The Genie explains, "Well, it's about 15,000 feet high, 500 feet thick, and completely surrounds the country; nothing can get in or out - it's virtually impenetrable." Uncle Sam says, "Fill it with water."

Poggie, sorry to hear the news as well. Just hang in there and be supportive of your mother i/l. Forget about the 1 year thing. They are telling me i have less than 6 months. To me i have as long as im supposed to have here no more no less ! Its good that you have a million questions ready for the Dr. ( i hope you have them written down ) get all the info available. Knowledge truly is power. Best wishes to your M/I and your family thru this difficult time. Regards Greg

Jim, very very good stuff here. Thanks for sharing this. Hopefully others will read this post. I for one totally 100 % agree with all of this. Again, thanks ! Greg

Mo Sugar, One suggestion for your problem ! lol........ get used to it ! Really, i had the same thing as well. It got really bad with me to where it was difficult to sleep because of my scalp hurting. It will eventually stop. I tried wearing a ball cap and my scalp hurt to bad to wear it. So hopefully youll just look at this as one of them small issues we deal with in our journey. This is kinda like one of the issues we discussed like the taste of the PCI. lol........ hope this helps some. Take care. Greg

Veronica, I too had trouble eating especially early on in my initial treatments. I didnt have any pain or anything it was just food did not appeal to me at all. I lost quite a bit of weight. I started taking a liquid drug called MEGACE. The clinical term is megestrol acetate i believe. It has been a god send for my appetite and i still take it daily. I take 20 ml. per day and i have got one heck of an appetite. There is also another one called marinol i believe that works similiar to megace. Both are designed to stimulate the appetite. I have not had any side effects related to taking this medicine either. I dont know if its right for you but you may want to check it out. My Dr. didnt offer it i had to ask about it. Good luck and keep us posted. Greg

Rosie, You have asked some good solid questions. Unfortunately there is no clear cut answers to some of these. There is alot of info out there to help you start to make some choices for yourself and to help your mother out as well. www.blochcancer.org this is a good place to look for some quick answers. I agree with Don Wood i would make preperations to go ASAP. Small Cell is not a death penalty however it is a very aggressive and swift moving cancer. Left untreated it is fatal. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to your mother and your family as you start your fight. Feel welcome here. We are here for you. No question is a stupid question. Make sure you keep us posted. Regards Greg

Kristi, sooooo sorry for your most tragic loss. Deepest heartfelt sympathy to you and your family. Greg

Gamom, I am one not to speculate when it comes to posts like this. However, the comment you made about the Dr. looking into your mothers in laws eyes and saying it didnt look like cancer could very well be a fair statement on the Drs. part. During my original Bronchoscopy and biopsy i asked my Dr. directly after the procedure what it looked like and she said it didnt look good. She stopped short of telling me it was in fact cancer however. Pulminary Drs. are so trained at what they do and see so many cases of cancer that yes in fact they can tell by looking a good majority of the time. Unoficially of course ! Nothing definitive can be confirmed without the pathology though of course. To my knowledge this Dr. would not be just saying this to be nice before thanksgiving. If this were the case i believe this Dr. should be defrocked. At any rate wait for the test results and hope for the best. I will keep your mother in law in my thoughts. Best wishes and keep us posted on the results. Greg

26 years ago today we lost my father. My dad Melvin fought a long battle with lung disease and eventual lung cancer way back when there was little treatment and even less hope for chronic pulminary problems. A little history about one of the toughest men i ever knew who will always be my hero. My father was diagnosed in 1959 with black lung disease. he had a grapefruit size tumor in his right lung and his lung was consumed with the effects of breathing coal from years on the railroad. Drs. removed his entire right lung and gave dad very little chance of recovery. Well, in 1960 my father filed one of the first black lung suits in the history of the country against a very large railroad company for their negligence. My father refused to give up his fight. There where 5 boys and 2 girls at the time of his illness. He won a major judgement in 1962 and paved the way for hundreds of thousands of other disabled workers to seek compensation in the same way here in my home state. To make a long story short my father continued to fight his illness thru the years. I was born in 1968 and from a very early age was a spoiled brat. lol...... i was the apple of pops eye they say. My little sister was born in 1971 and that solidified our family. Pop was done. lol..... bout time i guess. I cant help but to chuckle. My dad was so ornery ! growing up as a kid i have been very blessed in being able to recall so many things from such early ages. The whole time i was growing up dad was very ill. His disease and fight was waning fast. He at times was just so ungodly sick and coughed huge amounts of phlegm. I cant even imagine having that much phlegm in ones lung. Ill never forget pop taking me whenever he could wherever he could. By the time i was about 8 it was an endless array of hospital visits and stays and so on. Everyone knew he was dying. He developed what they called lung cancer in his remaining lung in the summer of 1977 and passed away peacefully on 29 Nov. 1977. I carried this weight with me over the years and have expressed it at times and have also bottled it up over the years. The bottom line is after so long it still stirs an emotion in me that touches the very core of the man i have now become some 26 years later. Pop, I know you can see me here as im typing this and i want you to know i too will fight the way i seen you fight. You were and always will be my hero. Greg

Deb, its good to hear from you. Add my name to the same list as understanding as well. I was away from the boards for almost 5 months because of lack of a pc. However, even when i did come come i lurked for a good 6 weeks. I felt exactly the same way. I for one always enjoyed readind your post and replies. Please jump back in Deb we miss you ! Smart move scheduling an appt. for your asthma. This can be a serious and even fatal condition if left untreated. Lots of folks die like this every year its nothing to be taken lightly. Stay away from that spackling huh........ welcome back Deb. regards Greg

Kristi, i hesitate so many times when it comes to folks i care deeply for that ask for prayers. I feel your mothers pain Kristi and my heart goes out to you and your family thru this most horrible time. The reason i say i hesitate is that i have no real religeon or a real god so to speak that i pray to. I dont know if this is right or wrong however i do know it does not take away my caring and compassion i feel for other human beings like your mother. So many times i have wanted to respond and reply to post such as yours and let you and others know that your are in my thoughts and i will send whatever positive vibes i have in my body your way for your mother to make a recovery from this monster. I truly do feel your mothers pain. I certainly hope there is a miracle in store for you and your family. Dont give up hope. I hope i have not offended anyone by my comments of not having a god i pray to. I am just being totally honest. I hold absolutely nothing against anyone or prayer at all i think it is powerfull stuff for those that use it and i have also asked others to pray for me. Kinda weird i know. Very best to your mother and yourself thru this horrible time. Gentle Hugs Greg

I wondered the same thing. It sure doesnt take long to notice an absence around here when you have such a family as ours. As long as we are on this subject there are two people who have been on my mind over the last few weeks and i havent seen. One is Jenny G. from Georgia. Her and i were Dx. approx. the same time and joined the board about the same time and also had almost identical treatments. Jenny are you out there ? If so let me know ! Please ! Another person is Carleen. We know from her post, the pain she was feeling. Carleen if you are out there i want you to know you and Keith are in my thoughts. Keith and i are so very close in age. And now that i have had a full blown recurrance with major mets to my liver we are very similar in our disease progression. At any rate i certainly hope i havent pried or went amuck by mentioning your names but you are on my mind. If you feel comfortable replying great, if not i totally understand. Either way best wishes always. Warm Regards Greg

I will do my utmost from here out to encourage any and all SCLC patients to request and keep requesting these scans from their Drs. as long as these requests are made at the appropriate times. I dont think there is any one single issue that stirs more emotion in me involving my ilness than this issue of PET scans. lol....... Sam by now is probably getting a chuckle out of me because i have been really harping on this for several weeks. However, i am on a mission to educate all newly diagnosed folks, especially those diagnosed limited stage to have these PET scans done. At the appropriate times ! I dont mean to beat a dead horse so to speak but i know how this issue directly impacted my treatment. I wholeheartedly believe this issue carries enough weight to impact survival rates of SCLC patients. Regards Greg

Hello to all my friends !!! I am now out of the hospital and back home. I took my treatment today in the hospital before being discharched. CPT-11 only. I will not be taking the cisplatin again ! PERIOD ! We are going to try the CPT-11 as a single agent for now and hope it works on the liver mets. Dr. says i have 4 new lesions since my last scan 4 weeks ago. The original 4 have also grew considerably which is not good and we know that they need to shrink. Hopefully the CPT-11 will do it ! At any rate it is so good to be back amongst the fighters here on the front lines. This is where the work is done right here. This is where my calling is as well. As i had indicated before i got sick last week i was pushing my local media so hard for them to recognize Nov. as lung cancer awareness month. I got so frustrated i almost was ready to pull my hair out. My telephone finally rang and it was a reporter who wanted to interview me about lung cancer. I agreed and the column was published. I am not at home right now i am at a relatives house however when i get home i will scan the article and post it in the activism forum if you are interested in seeing it. My efforts still fell short in my opinion. I got so frustrated with my hometown media in their lack of sensitivity regarding lung cancer. I guess i am just a newbie at this. This is my first Nov. hopefully, next year i will do better in my efforts. At any rate it is good to be back home love ya all and i missed you beyond belief. your friend Greg

Betty, not a stupid question at all NED means no evidence of disease.

Very good article Dave thanks for sharing that.

Absolutely fantastic news ! I agree with David A we never get tired of news like this. You truly give hope to those who are fighting the fight to achieve the same results. Miracles do happen and your father is proof. Again, i am a firm believer in PET scans and PET scans being utilized prior to anyone being diagnosed or declared CANCER FREE. Best wishes to your father and yourself and your entire family. Keep us posted and hang around to share your inspiring story with others we need you here. Regards Greg

Berisa, geeeez i wish i had an answer for you. As we have discussed before i am not that familiar with your countries medical system. Insurance, etc....... I know here in the states i would be going to another Dr. quickly. I dont know if that is an option for your father or not. If it is an option i would highly reccomend it. A CT scan in my opinion is the least that should be done. Any time you have a change like this it indicates something obviously has changed. There is no way any of us could come close to accurately guessing what this might be going on with these xrays. This would be driving me abosolutely nuts if it was me. The blurred vision could very well be from the PCI treatments i dont know. Is your fathers cough improved any ? Has he got any new symptoms ? Have you got the resources for seeking a second opinion Berisa ? Instead of a CT scan if you can get PET scan go for that first. Again i want to pass on as much helpful info as possible to you but it is difficult because of my lack of knowledge as to your health care system there. I wish you the best hun. Hang in there and keep fighting and asking questions. Is the prednisone helping with his cough and other symptoms ? Keep us posted and as always best wishes. Warm Regards Greg

Hey guys, and gals, geeeeeez i missed you all so bad I am almost giddy just being able to get back here to all my friends. Thank you for all your replies, and supportive comments. Hopefully if all goes well i will be out of here at least by early next week. I will not see my reg Oncologist again until Sun. so i wont know exactly what the heck happened to me until then. I know i was very ill when i got here and barely remember anything from last sat. until Tues evening. 100 fever is bad stuff. That was my first go round with it and i want no part of that again anytime soon. Well enough said about that. I hope everyone enjoyed a great holiday with thier families and loved ones. I had several visitors here to see me and the hospital had plenty of turkey with all the trimmings. Not exactly what i had envisioned but ill take it. Again, i love you all and missed you more than i could tell you. Soooooooo now i am back and your stuck with me again hahahahaha......... Your friend Greg

Hi Kim, Sam answered your post very accurately. I will add my two cents here as well. If your Dr. doesnt feel a PET scan is neccesary i would push for it anyway. To me after 4 cycles of treatment would be the perfect time to do the scan. If the dr. is hesitant about it just keep insisting that you want this done. Trust me it will not hurt one bit to have this test performed at this stage of your fathers treatment. It is a perfectly logical thing to do and also will work wonders for your piece of mind. Although they are not 100 % accurate i would rather have false positives than miss something and regret it later. A simple CT scan is not enough in my opinion to declare anyone with SCLC disease free.I also believe at the end of all treatments prior to being declared NED that everyone with SCLC should have a PET scan. In your fathers case since he is extensive this scan will show any possible new mets anywhere else. Good luck and best wishes to you keep us posted..... Regards Greg