Steph74
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Posts posted by Steph74
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I understand what you are going through - I'm an only child as well and sole caregiver to my mom (she's been divorced for over 25 yrs) and I have no family here in Illinois, you are not alone. This is not a death sentance - Hang in there and I'm praying for you!
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My mom was the same way - the cough was finally contained after Radiation to her chest. They will do it for symptom management (pallitative) care.
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I understand the roller coaster of emotions, I hated the scan results, but at least we got answers, my luck hasn't been too good - we couldn't even get straight answers at our last scan. My mom had very similar progression as yours. Stay strong!
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I updated a few weeks back, the doctors still don't know what the multiple white spots on her Brain MRI are. She has WBR for 1 tumor, and after it was completed they found multiple spots on her MRI. They are going to do another MRI this Sunday to see if it looks more clear. She has been experiencing nausea and some vomiting and some slight headaches since then. I PRAY it's just the stress that are causing these symptoms, I looked up brain cancer on-line and it said the brain cancer can cause these symptoms. The doctor told us that if it is cancer - the only other option would be a brain chemo that is only 20% effective. This is so not fair, and I feel like I'm in a nightmare and I need to wake up. She did so well for the past year that I almost forgot she had this.
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Hi everyone, I haven't updated recently since there wasn't much to update - mom has been doing well on the Tarceva for the past year, I gave birth to a beautful baby girl Feb 16th, mom got her scan results back the following week and they found a tumor in her right frontal lobe of the brain. They recommended whole brain radiation which she finished a few weeks ago. We had our follow up MRI and CT yesterday, her lungs and chest look "GREAT" according to the doctor, the Tarceva is still working after a year later. But the Brain MRI is now showing multiple white spots and neither the radiation guys or the lung doc can say what they are. The lung doc has to consult with a neourolgist oncologist to get his expert opinion, he's not sure what it is. So we are extremely worried that it is more cancer, I just can't beleive our luck! She only had one tumor a month ago, after undergoing Whole Brain Radiation for one tumor, then she gets multiple in a matter of one month?!? Doesn't make sense, so I'm hoping and praying it's something else and not the cancer. Has anyone else had a Brain MRI and had this happen? I guess I assumed these people had seen everything and could tell us what it is. Anyway, I still check in all the time and pray for you all, I just didn't have much to update until now.
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I'm also saddened, I met her a few months ago at a support group meeting in Chicago - she was very positive and her doctor was one of the best in the country. She has done SO MUCH for lung cancer awareness in such a short time.
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There are only a few states that have declared November as Lung Cancer Awareness month - my mother sent Gov Blagojevich(ILLINOIS) her story, and asked him to declare it in Illinois. Today she received a "proclamation" with a raised seal declaring Nov 2006 as Lung Cancer Awareness Month in Illinois. Every little bit counts right? Glad I voted for him today!
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Thank you everyone for your kind words, I will post more often, I miss you all! I'm glad I could share some good news, with lung cancer it usually isn't the case. I just hope it lasts! My prayers go out to each of you and your families.
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Hi everyone, I posted many months back and thought I should check in. I read this website daily and keep up with everything, but just haven't really updated anything on my mom. My mom's doing well, she is on her 8th month now and has had no new growth/spreading - so the doctor has been pretty positive. We assume the tarceva must be working since she has been off the carbo/taxol since May. We hope the tarceva works for a LONG time. She just celebrated her 55th b'day and we did a lung cancer walk in Chicago and raised over $1500 for research. She moved in with my husband and myself in July 2006. She does have her own apartment though, since we own a two flat. She is on Tarceva daily and a Zometa transfussion once a month for the rib mets that have been there since diagnosis, and she is scanned every 8 weeks. Boy - that 7th/8th week is such a rollercoaster of emotions. It's hard to beleive that this is the rest of our life - every 8 weeks, wondering - has it spread/is it worse?? I also had some good news, I'm 5 months pregnant with my mom's first (and only) grandchild, it's a girl and due in Feb 2007 (right around her 1 year cancer survivor anniversary), it was a shock to discover I was pregnant a few months ago, I was living most of the time at my mom's house and under an extreme amount of stress, so it was a (good) surprise to all of us. I will check in more often! PS - Special thanks to Hollyann for always checking in on me, she truly is a gift!
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Andrea - I have felt so many pains since my mom's diagnosis - neck, back, stomach, etc. I have had consistent rib pains since February (when she was diagnosed) - I had a chest x-ray in March - all clear, and finally had a CT Scan last week - all clear. It's unreal how our bodies react to stress and tragedy. It's kind of sad, because I'll never be that person that use to brush off an ache or pain, or barely even notice - now I'm SUPER paranoid about everything. So - your not alone.
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Thank you for your reply, I'm staying positive for my mom, and have been trying to educate people on lung cancer and have written to our politicians. It's just been rough lately. They have told me there is pretty much a 100% chance of me showing signs, since it's in my DNA. I hope and pray there will be some progress on the medical front for both SCA1 and lung cancer - I guess I just have to get my head wrapped around this. Take care,
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My name is Stephanie, I'm 32 yrs old and live in Chicago IL. I thought I was a pretty lucky person, got married last year to a great guy, bought a house, got a great new job. Suddenly my life took a turn for the worse. My mom, Jackie (age 54) had a cough since Dec 05. Doctors all said pneumonia - she kept coughing for 3 months - 5 x-rays, multiple antibiotics, even a hospital stay - all said Pneumonia. Finally, after nothing was working, they had her see a specialist. Turns out it's Stage IV adeno NSCLC. My mom has never even tried a cigarette in her life, nor lived with anyone who smoked. She was perfectly healthy until this happened to us. She is divorced and I am her only child. It's only us in Illinois, so I'm sole caregiver. My Dad lives in Ohio and has SCA1, he got it from his mother (it's a neurological degenerative disease similar to Huntingtons - he's 57). Never thought I'd be dealing with both parents sick at 32 yrs old. Due to the fact that my mom is sick, I decided to try to get pregnant; I would want her to see her grandchild before anything happens to her. Since I wanted to try for a baby I went a few weeks ago to get a blood genetic test done for the SCA1 (it's a genetic inheritance and I had a 50% chance of getting it from my Dad). Turns out this week that I'm positive for the disease. How does your life go from WONDERFUL to HELL on earth in a matter of a few months? My mom is my everything - my best friend, it's been her and I on our own since I was 5 yrs old. Now I know my future too and it's scary. There is no treatment or cure for SCA1, so it's kind of like wait and see, doctors told me I will probably start showing signs in my 40s. I now have an idea of what she is going through, to have something in your body that you have no control over. I don't know how people can deal with it. I know this is probably a crazy post - but I needed to vent. I'm paranoid with every ache or pain - could it be due to the SCA1 or could I have cancer or is it in my head? My mother's mom died of lymphoma at the age of 25 (mom was three) - so I'm not sure if there is a genetic factor there also. Anyway, thanks for listening, I have been reading many of your stories and you are all so STRONG and I admire each of you.
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Hello - your not alone, my mom had the same diagnosis (non smoking stage IV age 55) and she is still here 15 months later - it sounds like you have the right attitude to fight this beast!