MsC1210

Hi All, I just had a phone call from Shirley and I am afraid the news is not good. Her dads white cell count is still very high and the doctors have told her and her family this is being caused by a rapid progression of the disease. They have no treatment options to offer. Shirley asked me to thank you all for your prayers and support and she will be posting the rest of the details once she has gotten some rest. Please keep her and the family in your prayers. Thank you all so much. Chris

Hello patscan and welcome I am so sorry about your mom's diagnosis, but you have come to the best place for support and help. Please feel free to ask ANY and ALL questions you have and know that the wonderful people here will help you as much as we can. One of the best pieces of advice I can offer is for you (or mom) to get a small notebook or an organizer to keep track of all the questions and tests etc that will be forthcoming. Write it ALL down so as not to forget. This is a very difficult time right after the initial diagnosis and it is so easy to get overwhelmed. Please try and remain calm and take care of yourself during this time, too. Your mom will need you and being healthy and rested is so important. Not easy to do of course but it is important. Remember to keep us all posted here and tell us what you need and how we can help you. Sending you and mom tons of prayers and positive thoughts, Chris

Shirley I began a post on your behalf in the SPIRITUALITY/INSPIRATION/PRAYER forum to keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming your way.. Keep us posted and talk to you soon. Hugs Chris

Thank you Randy I hope to hear from her this evening again and will update ASAP.. Chris

Kelly My honest opinion is to have her make an appt soon! If her cough is sounding wet and she is more sob, it could be serious. Err on the side of caution is my advice.. Chris

Hi All, I just had a phone call from Shirley, AngelofCharlie. She has been called to the hospital by her fathers doctor for a family meeting. It seems her dad is off the antibiotics for the mystery infection and he is not doing well. I don't have much other info, but wanted to let you all know... Please keep her and her family in your prayers Thank you Chris

Don Thinking of you and Lucie and your kids today and sending lots and lots of prayers to you all. Love, Chris

Hello Rana, Just sending my best wishes and prayers to you and your mom... Please let us know how the new treatment goes.. Chris

Gin Sending prayers and well wishes! Chris

Eppie I understand. I know those feelings. Sending you prayers of strength and love, Chris

Hello Dutch and welcome! I am sorry to read about your dad but glad you have found us. This site is full of caring and compassionate people who are more than willing and able to share their knowledge and advice with you. I personally do not have answers for most of your questions, but I know that the others will be posting to you soon and help you out. As for the appetite? There are several meds out there to help stimulate it. Have your dad ask his doctor about it. Keep posting and let us know how we can help you along this journey. Sending prayers and many positive thoughts to you and your dad, Chris

Jodi I am so very sorry to read this. Please know that you and your mom and dad are in my thoughts and prayers. Hugs Chris

Don My continued prayers and love are with you, Lucie and your family. Chris

Noncancerous Abnormalities On Chest Radiographs May Prove Harmful 13 Sep 2006 Common chest radiograph abnormalities generally not suspicious for lung cancer may actually be associated with an increased risk of lung cancer and/or mortality, according to a new study. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health followed 70,000 subjects from November 1993 to July 2001, who were enrolled in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Subjects received a total of four posterior-anterior chest radiographs, starting at baseline and then at every 3 years. In all, 35 percent of examinations reported nonsuspicious abnormalities, compared with 8 percent suspicious for cancer, with some of the most common nonsuspicious abnormalities being granuloma, scarring/pulmonary fibrosis, and cardiac abnormalities. Researchers found that when controlling for age and smoking, scarring/pulmonary fibrosis showed a significant increased risk of lung cancer and cardiac abnormalities showed a significant increased overall mortality. This study appears in the September issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians. #### Newsbriefs from the journal CHEST, September 2006 Contact: Deana Busche American College of Chest Physicians Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medical ... wsid=51699

Andrea Just wanted to let you know that you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. Sending out a few extra prayers for you all tomorrow, too. Hugs Chris

Sharon Thanks for the vote of confidence. I have actually been going round and round most of the morning with the editor and other staff of the newspaper. Apparently when one replies to the given link in an article it is not the proper one so I had to resubmit my letter two more times. Hey, if it makes it to print it is worth the effort. Even if it only makes one person stop and think I suppose that is a step in the right direction, too. arghhhh! As I said before, this is just a bad, bad day for me, but I am doing my best to make it count in this fight. Thanks again, Hugs Chris

Terrye, Ann has a lot of valid points in her reply. Take this one day at a time and as long as Mom is feeling good and tolerating the treatments, take your lead from her. Her positive attitude is so important and will do wonders for her. Take the weekend off from the worry. Go with your husband and enjoy the time. Put the cancer out of your mind for 48 hours and give yourself time to recharge. It is very important for you to take care of yourself as well. Sending prayers for strength and tons of positive thoughts, Chris

Melinda I am so very sorry about the loss of your mother. Please accept my deepest sympathies and condolences. Chris

Alynn Glad the first treatment is behind you and mom now. It WILL get easier as you get into the routine. One note here, dehydration is a huge issue with so many on chemo. Please be sure that your mom is drinking plenty of water. Even with the swelling issues she is having, that fluid intake is so very important! Keep us posted and know that my prayers for you and mom continue, Chris

Hi All, First let me apologize right away as I am not sure where this post best fits but being that I have been following this in the Toronto Star newspaper, I thougt this would work. Also of note, Brad was from Canada. I have been following this story about Sean Penn for a couple of days now. Apparently Mr Penn is trying to make some protesting statement by lighting up a cigarette at the Toronto Independant Film Festival. Ontario is striving to be a smoke free province and his act of defiance is just sickening to me!!! This is the link to todays article. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Conten ... 8256289824 I got really ANGRY reading this latest installment and shot off a letter to the editor of the Star.. "To Whom It May Concern, I read, with complete disgust, the latest article about Sean Penn and his blatant disregard not only for the laws but for human life. A year ago today I received the devastating news that my best friend had been diagnosed with Lung Cancer. He never smoked, and yet he lost his life a mere 3 months after the diagnosis. He was 31. These facts are taken from the LUNGevity website, Mr Penn, as an American, I hope you read and think about these facts! "Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Lung cancer accounts for approximately 29% of all cancer deaths. Lung cancer kills more Americans each year than breast, prostate, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers combined." (www.LUNGevity.org) I can only wish that people with celebrity status, such as Mr Penn would come on board the fight to raise awareness for lung cancer. Perhaps if people such as he would do something to advocate for the cause of finding a cure, for coming up with early detection testing, better treatment and more funding this disease would no longer be capable of tearing lives apart. I would much prefer to read about the rich and famous doing something proactive to help this cause rather than trying to prove a point with such negative implications. Thanks for listening. Maybe one day when I am reading your newspaper it will carry a huge headline shouting that Cancer has finally met its match and a cure will have been found. Until then, I will continue to do anything I can to continue to raise awareness, in particular about Lung Cancer, as it is, in my opinion, one of the least recognized forms of this disease and yet it continues to kill and shatter lives. Christine Dwyer" Who knows if it will have any impact whatsoever, but damn it, I had to speak up! Sorry for the rant, this is just a bad day for me.. Thanks everyone for listening... Hugs Chris *****Not that I am overly surprised but I got no response to the above letter. I did not, however, let it slide. I took it another direction and brought the issue to the attention of the online editor of the CBC news (Canadian Broadcasting Co.) as well as to Yahoo Canada's Entertainment section as both of these sites had very broad coverage posted of this incident. Not holding my breath for any response, but at least I am making some noise about it! Thank you guys for your replies and support here. It means so much to know that there are those of you who care and understand. Hugs Chris *****

I debated about posting this but needed to let the sadness out and vent a bit. So very hard to believe that life can change, so drastically and so fast. One year ago today, 9:55pm to be exact, I found out that my best friend had been diagnosed with LC. This is when my introduction to the hell of this disease began and my education about the lack of information, early detection, the rigors of treatments and the heartbreaking realizations about the stark reality of this disease changed my life. My "story" may not be as in depth as others on this site, my life might not have been touched by this disease as many times or as tragically as many of you, but I do know the hell involved, I know how devastating it is to fight as hard as you can, to do everything in your power to find the answers and feel helpless as the disease takes the upper hand and in the end, wins. I know how gut wrenching that feeling is to hear the words, this treatment is not working. We have to try something else. I know how completely devastating it is to hear the words, "the new oncologist has told me to get my affairs in order, gather family near, there is not much time left and he needs to know where I wish to die". I can attest to the sickening, sinking feeling of knowing fear and dread as well as total helplessness that evokes. Most especially when I was his only family. And I was not able to be there with him in the end. I know. More than I ever thought I would know. And I hate this disease. I refuse to allow lung cancer to continue to be "the smokers curse". Too many non~smoking people are victims of this dreaded nightmare. The stigma MUST END. I made a promise to Brad ( A non smoker) the day before he died that I would never, ever, ever stop doing everything I possibly can to help fight this disease and in the process I promised to help those whose lives are affected by it. That is why I am here and that is why I do many other things each day. I will not break my promise. I will never give up this fight. To all of you here at LCSC, I thank you, I commend you and I am very, very grateful to be among you. Thank you all for your kind words, in some cases tolerance, but most importantly for allowing me this outlet and sharing your support with me. By allowing me to be a part of this incredible online community, it has helped me, as an individual to heal as I make every effort to offer HOPE to those who have come after me to this family. You are all truly wonderful and in all likelihood none of you know how instrumental you have been to me and my well being today. Together, with many voices, I truly believe we can and WILL make a difference. And I pray for the day that sites such as this will no longer have a purpose to serve as the answers and cures will be found and ALL CANCER will be just a bad, bad memory. My love and thanks to all of you. Chris

Ned, Sounds like things are progressing well for you and your treatment plan! Hoping it will not be long before you are posting to say you are Ned with NED! Chris

Hi Terrye You have some great advice here already. This cancer thing is hell. All the emotions you are feeling and describing are pretty common. It is such a hard adjustment to make once you hear that diagnosis, it just throws everything into a tailspin. You will hear this new life referred to around here as the new normal and I have to say, that sums it up perfectly! Just remember that we are here for you, 24/7. When it gets to be too much, come post to us and tell us how we can help. Sometimes just the simple act of typing the words and getting them out of your head is such a relief! And, add to that, knowing that there are so many people here who understand, have been in your position and are willing and able to help you makes it invaluable! Keep posting, keep us up to date and let us know what you need. Sending you prayers and many positive thoughts, Chris

Alynn, Hello and welcome. I am so sorry you needed to find us, but very glad you have joined us. As the others before me have told you, this is a very frightening disease but it is one that can be dealt with. I want to caution you about the statistics you will find in your searching. Please do not pay attention to those. Stats are numbers based on large groups of people, your mother is an individual and will have her own unique results to treatments, etc. Please keep posting here and let us know how we can help you. This is a very warm and caring group of people with a lot of knowledge. You only need to let us know how we can help and we will.. My best to you and your family, Chris

Hello and Welcome Linda, I am glad you have posted and joined our family here. As you are already aware this is such a warm and caring community. Please keep posting, let us know how you are and how things are going and most importantly, let us know how we can help you! We are here for you, just tell us what you need and know that there will be someone along to accomodate you as best we can. Prayers and all the best to you, Chris