LindaMRG

Thank you both for responding to my posts. Bob, Ive been praying for good results for all your tests. We went to rad oncs today and he told us he feels its something muscular; he gave him muscle relaxers that can only be taken for three weeks; they'll up the dose a bit if they have to. My father thinks he may have hurt something during radiation when he had to lay in a position too long; he remembers it hurting his shoulder and causing tension. They referred to his bone scan taken early June, and the xray; He is fine all day; he says the ache is there but tolerable, its at night that he cant get comfortable and is in pain. He sleeps only little bits during the night. Bob, do you think you couldve hurt yourself in some way, even awhile back that could be a delayed reaction? I did have a list of questions for the onc based on what I read here,but was so relieved when he said this is what he thought it was, I didnt go any further. Thanks again, both of you for your input, it does help to know we are not alone.

You've got it!

How kind of you to share so much beautiful knowledge with us. So many reminders and food for thought in what you said. I saw a sign on a church the other day that said, "When you pray, don't give instructions, report for duty". I do try to thank God for all the good in my life.

Prayers goin on up!

Youve got them, friend.

My father began having this pain in his right shoulder. Xray was clear, we were so relieved. But today radiation onc said he wants to see the last bone scan which was in June. (He also had a PET in late Sept). He may order another bone scan. Ive been reading all past posts regarding this and some of you say that shoulder pain was what alerted you to the cancer,so maybe it could just be the tumor aggravating a nerve and not mets? I felt our prayers were answered that Xray done yesterday was clear. He feels good all day, he's been Christmas shopping, running errands, etc. and then when he sits to relax at night and when he's in bed it hurts a lot. Theyve given him a few different things to try but it doesnt help a lot at night except for numbing it a bit. Anything guys?

My father was diagnosed on 11/29 with brain mets. He had a seizure, went to ER and while in ER had another one. Head CT revealed 3 brain mets; 1 is 1.2cm other two are small. Then he said that during that week prior he did notice that he needed to press harder while writing, a little less control holding a pen.

Welcome to a nice group of friends. My father is having WBR right now. I asked the radiation oncologist if it had to be this way, could he just have stereotactic radiosurgery and she said no, it must be done this way. He had 3 lesions; 1 is 1.2cm and the other two are small. She feels the WBR will eliminate the two small ones and they will do stereotactic radiosurgery if anything is left. What Ginny said is what I think too, the WBR eliminates anything else that might have been beginning to grow. He has had no side effects so far. He also has a mediastinal node affected along with his lung tumor. He is undergoing IMRT (intense modulated radiation therapy) for these. (On hold now till WBR is complete). This is high dose radiation concentrated in one area so surrounding tissue isnt affected, so side effects are less. If you want more info on this, just let me know and I'll send you some links. We are in the process now of seeing a doctor that also deals with nutrition and vitamin supplements (alternative therapy), we are going in January. Also, we pray, pray, pray.

((((((((((((((ANDREA))))))))))))))))))))) All I can send you is a hug and assurance that you're prayed for every night. There is nothing anyone can say, just sending my love.

((((((((((((((ANDREA))))))))))))))))))))) All I can send you is a hug and assurance that you're prayed for every night. There is nothing anyone can say, just sending my love.

Dave, THANK YOU for adding so much more to the point I was making. You reminded me of so much more that is my father's story. He was a Marine in the reserves and I remember hearing a lot of what you described, and yes, he smoked Lucky Strikes. And, yes, through his life he was exposed to many other factors that contribute to both his lung cancer AND his lymphoma. We'd have to live in a bubble not to be exposed to some of them. But as I said in another post, I think its fear that makes people say, "well you smoked". Especially if they are non smokers or havent smoked in many years, they can reassure themselves by saying "well I wont get that disease, I didnt smoke," or "I quit so long ago when those warnings were becoming known that my body must be clear by now". And if it comes down to what people deserve or not deserve, based on how my father lives his life, as Ive said his many, many other choices have been so unselfish, giving, kind, God would not punish him for the few poor choices he might have made at 17 years old when he really didnt think he was making a poor choice at all. But even having said that, no one deserves any kind of cancer.

Thank you, Shirley, for your nice response to my post!!! Cary, yes, I still belong to a non hodgkins lymphoma list and I used to participate in a weekly chat. I do remember in my research at the time, that it did say, stem cell could leave you open to other cancers later on in life, who knew it would be 4 months after conquering the first one! Even knowing that, at the time, you are thinking about getting rid of the disease at hand, hoping youll be free of cancer. We wouldnt have done it any other way. A friend told me her father had a heart transplant about 9 years ago, again, your immune system is repressed so your body will accept the heart. He has lung cancer now, she believes his transplant and immune system repression played a part in it also. So, my mission now is to build up my father's immune system so he can fight this. We are seeing a doctor/nutritionist that deals with alternative medicine in January. I am praying it will boost him where he needs to be. Thanks for reading, friends!

Hello Friends, In reading all your posts on lung cancer activism, and how frustrating it is that it is only associated with smoking, I just have something to add. My father was diagnosed in 1999 with non hodgkins lymphoma Stage IV with a met to the lung. He did chemo, went into remission and in 2001 he relapsed again with a met to the lung. He had a stem cell transplant in September of that year and that disease remains in remission. If any of you know what a stem cell transplant entails, you know that your immune system is brought down to practically nothing. I remember his white couont being 0.9. You are given huge blasts of chemo and you are in the hospital for the final blast before the actual stem cell transplant because the hospital is basically your immune system at that point, with IV antibiotic, antiviral, and antifungal. Needless to say, although my father did recover nicely from this, his blood counts were never the same. This is why he cannot be blasted with chemo for the lung cancer. His marrow isnt strong enough. 4 months later the nodule on his lung appeared. Of course the doc was not eager to open him back up or blast him with more chemo, (and PET at the time was negative) but Ive done that story before, this point is different. We believe, that this could be the reason he got the lung cancer. While your immune system is down so low you are open to anything, his weakness was his right lung both times with the lymphoma and that is where the lung cancer is. Yes, my father was a smoker (stopped 5 years ago)so if I tell this story that is what people will tell me, but we feel there was more to it than that. Even the surgeon told us there are many reasons for lung cancer, no one knows for sure. Also, as Ive mentioned before, this is a wonderful, kind, quiet, unselfish man. He started smoking when he was about 17 long before society was fully aware of the dangers. By the time they were aware, many were already hooked or young enough to think it couldnt happen to them. He should not be looked at as deserving to get it for smoking, deserving to get it for poor choices when so many of his other choices were good, kind, and unselfish. The good choices he makes in his life far outweigh the poor choices he made. He, in no way, deserved this disease. He does far more good in this world than to be penalized for one bad choice. Does someone that constantly hurts people with their words, curses, uses dirty language deserve tongue or throat cancer? Does someone with eating disorders (overeating or undereating) deserve stomach cancer? So, friends, my story got long, thank you if you got this far! My original intention was to bring out that sometimes there are other causes for lung cancer and having a disease like lymphoma with a stem cell transplant could certainly bring you down enough to be susceptible to anything.

Please count me in and let me know what I can do!

Dave, that is a very good answer to the smoking question. I think people ask it because they can feel that if they never smoked it will never happen to them, we know thats not true. No one deserves lung cancer, no one.

You'll be missed but just know youre prayed for every night!!!

Hi ATM, When my father was first diagnosed he was Stage IIIa; which meant along with his lung tumor he had a node in the mediastinum affected. But he was restaged to IIIb when they found a supraclavicular node because this means the cancer moved out of the lung. Stage IV is when it is in an organ. Keep us posted so we can help you.

Yes, Joe, I agree completely, Jesus is the Divine Physician.

Hello Friends, I just wanted to share some things Ive been researching. My father is now drinking Essiac Tea twice a day. It is supposed to be very cleansing to many organs with the lung being one of them. You can do a search to learn more. http://www.cancer-info.com/essiac.htm He will start the Budwig Diet. Website for this: http://home.online.no/~dusan/diseases/c ... udwig.html This is 1c cottage cheese mixed with flaxseed oil. I am slowly incorporating the Dr. Matthius Rath Vitamin Protocol. http://www.dr-rath-research.org/ I am still learning about it so I havent gone full force. There is someone who has been AWESOME in helping me learn it! The parts of the protocol I have started is the Vit C and Green Tea (in capsule form for higher potency). I still need to add l-lysine and l-proline to follow the protocol exactly along with a multi vitamin containing folic acid, bvitamins, selenium, fish oil. Im also researching zhu ling and cordyceps which are mushrooms. Zhu ling is supposed to stimulate immune response to lung tumors and increase efficiency of chemo and rad; cordyceps improves lung function. Ive also read about N-AcetylCystene which inhibits metastases of cancer and detoxes the liver of poisons. Im brand new at this but like I said, someone has been WONDERFUL in helping me learn. Just wanted to share!!! Still counting on the power of prayer FIRST!!!

Hello, glad you found the nice people on this board. I agree about getting a second opinion on some kind of treatment. My father is receiving IMRT a type of radiation that targets the tumor and spares surrounding tissue so side effects are minimal. He is having this done to his tumor and the mediastinal node. This has been put off right now due to whole brain radiation as they just found brain mets, but next week they will resume IMRT on his chest areas. He was doing very well. He's 64, but due to having lymphoma and a stem cell transplant in the past, he cannot be blasted with chemo so this is a good option for him. He may need chemo after that and if so, they are going to use Gemzar. Ive copied and pasted some info here for you to ask about, not sure if its something that is for your grandmother but cant hurt to ask: What is IMRT? Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a revolutionary type of external beam treatment that is able to conform radiation to the size, shape and location of a tumor. How is IMRT different from other kinds of radiation treatment? Although IMRT uses X-rays from linear accelerators just like other types of radiation treatment, it tries to treat non-uniformly so the target(s) get high doses and normal tissues are spared. How does this impact me? If normal tissues get less of a dose, the chances of side effects for the same dose to the cancer goes down. If the side effects are less, this means you can give the cancer more dose, which may lead to better control. What cancers can be treated by IMRT? Theoretically, all cancer can be treated by IMRT, but realistically we treat cancers where we want to protect adjacent tissues and their formation. Will this treatment be covered by my insurance? Many companies fully cover this type of treatment but you or your doctor should make sure. Medicad does not cover all tumors for treatment by IMRT. Can you treat lung cancer by IMRT? Yes, but you need to make sure that the tumor stays where you planned it. This is done by getting the accelerator to deliver doses only at action motions of the breathing cycle. Does IMRT cost the same as non-IMRT radiation? No, IMRT is highly technical and physician-intensive. Because of this, the costs are higher than more conventional radiation treatments.

((((((NORME)))))))))))) Just know youre prayed for every night. Glad you checked in with us. Much love to you, friend.

Im coming into this post late, but I thought Id add my two cents for anyone interested. Ive only just begun researching alternative treatments for my dad. A wonderful young lady in the health food store helped me today (I really feel God put her in my path). I bought green tea, but in capsule form because you get a much higher dosage of that precious ECGC. My father will take it 3xper day.

(((((((((((((((((((CARLEEN))))))))))))))))))))))))) Its so nice to see you!!! We were all thinking about you. Im so THRILLED that things are so much better - CLEAN LIVER! WOW!!! And Im also so happy you have a great onc that is searching for all the options that are out there! It sounds like you have wonderful plans for Christmas!! Just so nice to see you back!!

Hi Shellie, Yes, youve hit on something that I am worried about. They are stopping the IMRT to the node while they do this and it has us worried about spread. It is only for 3 weeks though, then they will go back to tumor and node. She said she has to do it this way though. Thanks for your concern, always thinking of you. Love, Linda

Hi Steph, Thanks for your nice post. I like the picture of you and your mom, you look a lot alike!