Tom K

Jim, Great news for you and your shadow. Looks like you will be doing a lot more fishing together. Thank you for sharing. It is always inspiring and a pleasure to hear the good news stories. BTW you live in one of the best cities in America. I was assigned twice to Charleston AFB and we loved it there.

So glad you are home. Lori has been keeping us informed and you had a pretty large crowd cheering for you. Congratulations to you both.

I pray Keith will be comfortable and free of pain. I pray that your faith will sustain you through this time.

By popular demand (This group’s advice) and after much consideration (My wife nagged me). I decided (She insisted) to go see the doctor this morning. Because it was in both feet and both legs, he quickly diagnosed the symptoms as a side effect of Taxol. He said he has seen swelling before and it was not that unusual. He did not use the word neuropathy but I guess that is what he was thinking because he prescribed a drug called Lyrica which is used for nerve pain. He told me the pain should go away in a few weeks. I tried the drug today and it did not seem to relieve the pain, but, as I said, it is really more of a discomfort than actual pain. I’ll give the drug a few days and see what happens. At least going to the doctor put my wife’s mind at ease. She has been an angel throughout the entire journey and I try not to cause her more stress than she already has. Thanks to all of you for responding so quickly.

I completed my last chemo treatment 16 days ago. 3 days later, my feet began feeling like they were asleep. The next day my ankles and legs became slightly swollen and I have minor pain in my calves when I walk. This has gone on for almost 2 weeks and I assumed it was another wonderful side effect of chemo. I had planned to mention it to my Onc at the scheduled appointment next Wed. A “friend” of my wife’s convinced her that it could be something serious and I should not wait a week to see a doctor. Has anybody else experienced anything like this as a side effect from chemo?

You are correct this is the place to learn. I found this site shortly after diagnosis and I quickly learned that the statistics don’t matter. I have gained a lot of hope from all the long term survivors, (like your Mom).

Your work provides help and hope to thousands. Congratulations and Thank You for all you do.

This posting brought me to tears. I wish I had the power to make this go away. Keith and Carleen are good people and should not be made to suffer like this.

You have come to the right place. Many of the of us here have received the same treatments and we can tell you what to expect and suggest questions to ask your doctors. Just ask.

I'l be telling this one at work. Thanks.

Welcome Donna, glad you found this site. Like Hollywood Tom said, chemo is cumulative and the effects can be slightly different each time. I had the same drugs as you. In the beginning, I had mild nausea loss of appetite and fatigue. Towards the end of my treatments I had no problem eating (I recently had to buy larger belts) but I started experiencing quite a bit of body aches and my hair fell out. The PET scan is like a CT scan only it takes about 45 minutes. Again, welcome and do not hesitate to ask questions of the group. This is a great group of people and for me it helped knowing there were others that had faced the same thing and could tell me what to expect.

You guys are in my prayers every day.

Great idea Frank. This will be very helpful for those that will need the information. There is a lot of hospice information on the Web but there is know substitute for real world experiences.

Don, Thank you for the update on Teri. You did not mention if her pain has been controlled. I know so many of us are praying for her to be comfortable.

Like the others, I think a second opinion is called for, especially after that comment. Chemo may not be easy for a 77 year old lady, but the decision about it being “worth it” should be hers to make. Find another doctor that will provide her and the family with the pros and cons of chemo, and then a decision can be made.

While I only know you through your posts, I have to say, I admire your courage and dignity. I will pray that hospice helps you with your pain.

I also get the hiccups right after chemo and the running nose thing just started a couple of weeks ago for me.

Hi Pat, You really should get a second opinion to see if there is any way to verify it is cancer before you agree to surgery. I had the upper right lobectomy performed 5 months ago and I still have quite a bit of pain in my back and along my rib cage. I have read that up to 20% of patients will have pain the rest of their lives from this surgery. I had the regular surgery (with a scalpel), but, if you can, try to find a surgeon who is able to perform the VATS procedure (Video Assisted Thorcratic Surgery). I understand it is a lot less invasive, heals much faster and results in much less permanent damage to the nerves in your rib cage. I think some of our members may have had this procedure and they could tell you more.

During my 1st round of treatment I needed Aranesp shots and they brought my counts to the minimum required to continue treatment. After 8 weekly treatments, Onc thought it would be best to give me a 4 week recovery period with no chemo. I have started another 6 weeks of treatment and this time around I am taking Chromagen which is an iron, B-12 supplement and it seems to be working as well as the Arensep. You may want to ask your Onc if this is something that could be added to your mother’s regime.

Congratulations Rich. You are a role model.

Last month I finished concurrent Chemo and Radiation and towards the end of treatment, I felt the same as your mother. I felt like the effects of treatment had taken away all the pleasures of life. I understand exactly how she is feeling because I too considered giving up and worse. After completing treatment I was allowed a 4 week recovery period and began feeling much better very quickly. This board was a source of strength whenever I felt like giving up. Read the profiles on this board and you will see that many, many people have completed treatment and gone on to live cancer free of at least they continued to have fruitful lives for many years. Please encourage your mom to read the profiles on this board and she may come to the conclusion that completing treatment is worth the temporary illnesses. It is tough, but the rewards are worth it.

Very glad to see Len is doing so well. Particularly since his journey sounds very similar to my own (nerve pain and all). I hope I am doing as well 2 years from now. Good luck and prayers for continued NED.

I had hiccups the day after treatment every time. My chemo regime was the weekly variety with lower doses of carbo/taxol. My onc said hiccups were actually a mild form of nausea and he gave me a prescription for Compazine which did help. They always went away by the second day after chemo.

After all the bad news on this board recently, it is great to see successes like yours. Prayers for continued positive responses.

I used to buy gas and cigarettes at the convenience store. I quit smoking 5 months ago, so I am convinced they raised the price of gas to make sure I would still spend the same amount of money at each visit.