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Kathy, I'm terribly sorry to hear of your loss. You were a great caregiver and I will keep you in my prayers.

...and he actually wrote back! He wrote a very nice, compassionate letter and he wrote that the President has requested $27.3 billion for the NIH this year - if the House and Senate appropriators grant that request, Congress will have reached their goal of doubling the NIH budget. He has actively supported many other Congressional initiatives regarding cancer research. I asked him to visit our website and to please consider dedicating some lobbying efforts towards lung cancer research specifically. Next, I've got to work on writing to our new governor Arnold. ha!

Sue, I'm so sorry you have to be here. I hope you can find comfort being on a board with a bunch of people that understand the shock, the sadness and the fear you and your family are going through. In addition, when I was younger, my grandma had her leg amputated above her knee and I understand the trauma involved with that as well. I have great empathy for your mother and you and we are here for you. We will help you with this fight.

Ginny, I am so saddened to hear of your most recent setback. Believe in Miracles and don't give up hope. Earl sounds like a very strong and brave man. I'm looking into clinical trials. My thoughts are that if there isn't anything curative then maybe there is a trial that is. My prayers are with you.

Hey Kate- I have relatives in France (my mom's French). I have an aunt who had a medalion blessed for my mom at this small church in Paris where they claim the virgin Mary appeared and that miracles have happened there. I called my mom today to see if she can have my aunt have one blessed for you. My uncle is coming to the states in November, so I'll let you know if he was able to get the medallion from my aunt. It's not Mother Teresa, but I'm hoping, that if I can get you this medallion, it would bring you comfort.

My mom is feeling a bit bored. She can't do anything active and she is tired of crossword puzzles and jigsaw puzzles. My mom is struggling with neuropathy right now, so she can't really walk a lot. Any good books you recommend for someone that usually doesn't read? What activities do you recommend?

Hi Everyone- My mom has been feeling a bit down and discouraged lately. She hates being tired all the time and unable to do the things she once loved. I was wondering if some of you could post some words of encouragement, especially those of you going through it too and the same stage. I keep telling her that it may help for her to talk to someone that is going through the same thing, but she's hesitant to. I think it would help her a lot, so I thought if some of you could post some words of encouragement or words stating some of the feelings she is going through and how you understand, it may help her a lot. I'll print them out for her. I'm starting to run out of words and of course can't understand fully what she is going through. I love her so much and I want to help her anyway I can. Her name is Claudine. Thank you in advance.

Thank you so much John, I appreciate it! I knew you'd come through!

I will pray, and then pray again, then pray again...

Linda- Any bad news I get or new worry, I also get that awful numbing feeling. It's paralyzing. Just remember to take it one day at a time. Sometimes it helps if I go in a quiet room close my eyes and listen to myself breath for a few minutes. I will say a special prayer for your dad and hope for the best news for you guys.

Norme, what a relief! I'm truly happy to hear that Buddy is doing better than they thought!

Denise, I will place you and your mom in my prayers. Have her read Lance Armstrong's first book. That bounced my mom back into shape. Take Care.

No, that's not what I'm talking about! That link was not from me! It's in People magazine and other magazine's where the two celebrities are trying to get people to stop smoking. It's a woman that looks like Deon Warwick and she lost her sister to Lung Cancer and there's another ad with Jessica Simpson. I'm helping my mom fight this...so I'm not into that website either. "Oops I think it's called Circle of Friends." or Circle of Hope...someone please help me out here.

I read somewhere about a month ago that they are testing a cocktail type therapy for treatment. Not IV insertion, something that patients can drink...does anyone know anymore about it? What is the name of it? John, oh most resourceful one, help me out here. Thanks in advance for your responses.

James, I hope you can find comfort knowing that she is with your father now. I wish you the best and I'm so deeply sorry for your loss.

Paula, if I were you, I'd try to push for surgery or inquire about it. If they say that your Dad is not a candidate inquire about Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) to the lungs. From what I've been reading, the best way to beat this thing is to surgically remove the primary tumor. Keep us posted and good luck!

I too see a lot about breast cancer and wonder the same thing myself. Correct me if I'm wrong but I've been researching clinical trials and it seems that lung cancer has the most trials going on for cancer right now...that's good news... I try to keep telling myself that, so that I don't get discouraged. I've been noticing lately ads about the "Circle of Life" Who is that actress that is doing the "Circle of Life" for lung cancer? Maybe she can bring more awareness. Jessica Simpson is also doing the "Circle of Life" too. Maybe this is a start.

Does anyone know which test is more reliable? PET? CAT? MRI? The PET showed now cancer anywhere other than the lungs, but the MRI is showing things but not sure if it could be scarred tissue. Thanks in advance for your responses.

Kathy, I'm so sorry to hear about your current situation. I talked to a doctor today that told me that Gamma Knife is extremely effective. He says it burns the tumor completely 90% of the time! I thought that sounded pretty darn promising! If you haven't yet, definitely inquire about Gamma Knife. If they say no, ask them why and ask them to put their denial in writing. I've noticed that once you ask them to put something in writing, it's amazing how their attitude can change to rethink something they may have recommended. hmmm. Good luck. Keep us posted and I'll keep you in my prayers.

Si- I also am looking into clinical trials for my mom, so I'm glad you posted. One of the things I came across when looking for trials is that RFA to the lungs. From what I understand the best scenario is to have lung surgery...well now that have that RFA procedure to the lungs that some places are doing and they can burn out the tumor as if the person had surgery but it is way less invasive. As I have been told by doctors, once the primary tumor is irradicated it usually stops the cancer from spreading. So my thought is, the way to treat cancer is to get rid of the primary tumor first if there is a way to do it. The RFA is being offered to people that are not normal candidates for surgery...including Stage 4 patients. You can do the RFA concurrently with chemo. Just a suggestion to look into it further. During your search, if you hear of any good trials for Stage 4 with mets, will you post it? Thanks! Good luck!

what is venous thromboembolism?

Perry, I LOVE Egg McMuffins, but for you, my husband and I are going to boycott them!! Those jerks. It sounds like they are completely unethical. You fight this one all the way!

Hi Janet, What a mature and smart son you have. You must be a wonderful parent to have such a great son. You must be proud of yourself for doing such a good job raising him. My mom worries about me a lot too...we love you oxygen, no hair, no eyebrows and all. My mom is still as beautiful as she's always been...it is a gift for us to be able to give back to our parents any way we can. My mom cried the other week because I was putting her pills in her pill case because she can't remember what she's suppose to take. Who the heck can? She's taking about 30 pills a day! I couldn't remember if I didn't have it written down. She feels like a burden and said she hates that I have to do that...I wish she didn't feel that because I like the fact that I can take care of my mom. Everyone likes to feel needed. Of course, I wish things were different, but I want to help my mom anyway I can. It's not burdening at all. Geesh, how many years did she take care of me for? Janet, I'm sure your son is feeling the same things as me. Although he's only 14, I'm sure he feels the same way I do. Where are you doing your clinical trial? I'm researching trials for my mom and it seems like yours is doing pretty well. Janet, you hang in there. I too, stayed away from these boards for a while because of all the special people we have lost. It hurt so much, but I can't seem to stay away for too long...so here I am again.

Kitty, I can certainly relate to your situation. The one blessing in disguise is dealing with cancer has opened up some dialogue between my mom, dad and I that normally wouldn't happen. We are also a non discussing family such as yours. I think some of it is a generation thing. I can talk about things until I'm blue in the face but my parents have this "I can handle it by myself" sort of attitude. We find out results of a full body PET scan today. I'm just sick to my stomach. Let us know how it goes tomorrow! I wish you the best of luck!

This just breaks my heart. Ada had such a wonderful spirit. I've had to refrain a little bit from this board because things like this just have been so devastating and keep me realistic to this whole thing. I just want everyone to know how sorry I am and that I think and pray for you all often. I will certainly miss Ada's posts. She was such a strong woman. Ginny please give my best to her family.