KerryToo

I love reading your good news about Lucie, Don! You remind me so much of my parents and I wish you all the Blessings and Love you deserve! Kerry

We are leaving tomorrow to visit my Mom. She was diagnosed almost 4 years ago with NSCLC IIIB with Mediastinal Involvement. She underwent Chemo, Radiation, Brain Mets Stereostatic radiation, and the talc procedure for pleural effusion. But today....we are going on vacation just to visit! Considering all she has been through, we are truely blessed that she is here and doing fine. I can't wait! I wish the same sense of joy of being able to just go and share time with your loved ones enduring cancer without having to focus on treatment - just love. There is hope, there is joy....and I wanted to share some positive news about the cancer journey that my family has been through.

May God Bless and keep you both You are an inspiration - We only have 36 more years to go and it's a "tie". Best wishes for a wonderful evening for you 2 love birds.

I was with her when she had her tx at the City of Hope. They attach what they call screws into the skull the day before - she said it didn't hurt, but sounded odd to hear a Dentist's drill going on the top of her head. She met with her Neuro Surgeon, the Radiologist, and someone else who "did the math" (calculations). She had an MRI later in the day for some kind of mapping. The next day was pretty quick - considering. She went in and since all was set, they just did the radiation part for about 45 minutes all together (set up and zap time). We joked how this seemed so "Star Trek" like and amazing! Next day they removed the screws, she lost a little hair in that area, and I helped her keep the area clean for the next few days. The surgery was a great success - her symptoms of being confused, off balance, etc. went away immediately. It's been 6 months and the Dr's reports initially showed great shrinkage. They say that the tumor shows "enhancement" but this could be from the inflammation or result of being zapped. I hope this helps. It's really not as terrible as you might think. I remember posting right after about the details. Take care and God Bless!

Yea! Wonderful news for David. Best of luck on the sale of your home - may the buyers blaze a path to your door with fists full of $$$. And...good for you for telling off that insensitive, unprofessional in the ER.

Happy Birthday, Lucie! May you be blessed with many, many more with that Sweetie Husband of yours. God Bless

My sweet, funny FIL passed away today with his best friend at his side. He had been sleeping for about 20 straight hours. Our daughters (7 and 9) wanted me to tell "Opa" that they loved him and wished him a hug. It seemed as though he was not aware of anything around him -- just deeply sleeping. So I leaned right up to his ear and told him what the girls wanted him to know. Then I talked to him about joining his wife of 44 years in heaven and being together again. He moved his mouth and eyelids flickered as it seemed he was responding to these words. I can't explain how great that felt that he heard me - that I could tell him that we loved him. The rest of the morning he never responded in any way. Even when the nurse came in to adjust his pillows to make him more comfortable - he never responded. Part II today: My Mom had the Talc Procedure performed at City of Hope due to pleural infusion that returned every couple of months. The surgeon said she did great, and the outcome was all that they had hoped for. (So there's my good news today to go along with our sad news.) Thank you for all the kind responses. It's nice to be a member of this beautiful, loving community. May God Bless~

My FIL has been in "in-house" hospice care for a few days now. He would go through phases of confusion to pure clarity. He's been cracking jokes with the nurses and visiting friends alternating with deep sleep. His doctor just informed us that he "is ready to go". His lungs are filling with fluid and he is no longer eating or drinking. Thanks for your support. Kerry

Glad to hear you are feeling better. God Bless and take care of you. Kerry

This is such a healthy and MUCH NEEDED idea! I love to count blessings when life is difficult. Let's see.... 1. My wonderful husband and our 2 great kids 2. God and His blessings and comfort. 3. Our home addition is coming along and will be done in 30 days. 4. My new position at my company is fulfilling! 5. Our youngest daughter's sense of humor: She was watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and said, "Mom, did you know that Michael Jackson played as the mean Kid Catcher on this movie?" (had to laugh - think about it - he looks just like that creepy guy!)

This is my 4th parent/in-law with NSCLC in the past 5 1/2 years. My FIL was diagnosed with NSCLC in January 05. We just found out today that he is Stage IV, and the oncologist is saying that Hospice is necessary already. He has pleural effusion with cancer cells in the fluid. We had to admit him to the hospital 4 days ago due to failing health, weakness, inability to eat, sleep, etc. They are drawing a pint of fluid from his lung in the morning and it returns by evening for another draw. This has gone on for 5 days now - I think he deserves and needs *peace*. Today we were told that he needs to go to Hospice care or in-patient Hospice care. It is amazing how fast this has occurred....but not really - because he has been feeling lousy for about 4-5 months. He refused to go to the doctor and now it is too late. Sorry such a negative post - but wanted to give an update.

My Mom continues to do great. They have reduced her steroid medication and now she's slowing down a bit - back to a regular pace. She was running like a deer in the woods there for awhile! They have given her a "hall pass" until late March when they will do an x-ray and cat scan to see what's happening. She is our Good News story. As for my FIL - He has NSCLC but we still don't know his stage but my guess is that it is stage 4. He had malignant plerual effusion, lymph node involvement in multiple sites, and amazingly enough - his primary tumor is tiny. He is very private and doesn't ask the questions that we would from his doctors, so we don't know details. He is on oxygen 24/7, unable to lay down, is extremely weak, losing weight and in alot of pain. I don't think he has very long to live to be honest. Partly his health, mostly his broken and very lonely life since his wife died last year. We are all he has left. We try to make his time as upbeat as possible and are there for him 500%. It's difficult and very sad. Thank you for caring

Hi Leandra~ My Mom just had treatment for brain mets and not only was it successful, but there was nothing to it. Really! See my post under "Good News - Brain Mets TX - Not as terrible as we assume". Treating brain mets is actually easier than treating the lung tumor. Take care, sweetie. Kerry

Two weeks ago we were devastated to find that my Mom had a brain mets - originally they estimated it's size to be 7 cm, but turns out that it was 3 cm with inflammation. Mom underwent Radiotactic Surgery at City of Hope last week. I went home to be with her and was amazed at the treatment. Very little discomfort - only annoying aspect was the placement of 2 small screws in the skull to position the head during the actual treatment. Next day, a radiation treatment that the Neurosurgeon said was completely successful, no side effects, and expectation of "long survival". Unbelievable! In fact, Mom says that she feels better than she has in about a year. All symptoms gone. I took her shopping right after (at her request). Just a note to tell everyone that a diagnosis of brain mets is not always a death sentence. In fact, Mom and I commented that we wished that the original lung tumor could be treated as easily and effectively as the brain mets was. Here's to a bright outlook and many blessings in 2005 !

turns out that my Mom's brain mets is only 3 cm NOT 7 cm. This is much better news! What the oncol saw was inflammation and the steroids took care of it. They are considering StereoStatic radiation (as well as surgery and WBR but she's not interested in that). Yea! Hopefully her outlook is alot less dire than we anticipated. I would still appreciate your input for prognosis, as we are long distance (mostly with young children) and need to know what to plan for. Thanks! Kerry

My Mom was diagnosed in Aug 2002 with NSCLC IIIA. She received chemo and radiation and was blessed with NED. About 6 months ago we found out that there was a new primary tumor in the opposite lung. A PET scanned showed that it had not spread. HOWEVER, she recently started to experience symptoms that lead them to investigate a possible Brain Met. Turns out that after an MRI that the tumor in her brain is 7 cm. They immediately administered a Steroid IV push and she is on steroid medication. This was 2 days ago. My research tells me that her time is limited. Is this true? Her "support" - my brothers and I are mostly out of state... we are all coming together to provide support to her and I am wondering if the statistics I have found on the internet are accurate - is her time short? We need to know this to offer her the best we can, not take for granted the time that is left. One of my brother's will be attending her OnCo visit tomorrow and I've asked him to broach the subject of her prognosis (outside of Mom's earshot because she doesn't want to know). Please tell me - is our time with my Mom short? Thank you.

I've been through this before - the 1 year anniversary of losing a very beloved family member to this disease that is so, so difficult. Actually, when I lost my wonderful Dad to NSCLC - the anniversary that was so tough for me was the day that I KNEW I was saying "goodbye". I live in a different state so there was that ONE day when I knew this was the last day I would see my Dad - that was Sept. 11, 2000 (1 year prior to the attacks). He passed peacefully in November, but I was not there on that day. So when the anniversary of that last day I hugged and kissed my father came, I wanted it to just pass, just be "another day" - but it wasn't. Sept. 11, 2001 became a horrible, terrible day in our Nation's history - so my anniversary of pain would be FOREVER, drilled into my brain...for the rest of my life! I grieve for my Dad, but also for all the families that lost so much on that day. Now I face the 1 year anniversary of the death of my beloved Mother In Law, Ingrid. October 6 will be 1 year since we lost our "Oma". The cold, crisp air of Fall reminds me of our loss so much. I know that this 1st anniversary is especially hard - and I don't want to go through this again. Grrr.... I am grieving all of my loses to cancer so much!

I haven't posted in awhile because my wonderful Mom has been blessed with remission from NSCLC IIIB for almost 2 years. I still came here to see how everyone is doing during that time, but haven't posted very often. Happily had nothing to report. My Mom opted for just Chemo & Radiation - no surgery. She was in remission and feeling great. The oncologist checks her every 3 months and after almost 2 years, she has a new primary (1 cm) in the opposite lung. They have been watching it for awhile now and it is very slow growing. She just started on Iressa and I'm happy to report that she's getting the wonderful Iressa rash - so we're taking that as a positive sign that it's working. My best to everyone in their battles with this disease....and thank God for this place and all the support I have received over the past 4 years. XO

The first time I met her she said, "I hope that we can be friends." Well, that was an understatement. I loved her and we became fast friends. I lost my MIL about 3 weeks ago to Stage IV NSCLC, but have been unable to post that info here until now. I lost my Dad about 3 years ago to this stupid disease and I'm just so mad at cancer that I couldn't bring myself to post again that it had robbed me of another person that I Loved dearly. "Oma" (German for "Grandma") has gone now, on to God and eternal peace. My children miss her terribly, as do I and of course, her son, My husband. We love you, Oma - you have been such a part of our lives and continue to live forever in our hearts. DAMN this stupid cancer. Sorry, feeling a bit annoyed!

My Mom was diagnosed in August 2002 with Adenocarcinoma, Stage IIIB. In addition to the primary tumor, she had “satellite” tumors in the lung, and mediastinal node involvement. She had Chemo with Taxol and Carboplatin and 36 radiation treatments concurrently. She has been in full remission for almost a year now. No signs of cancer! There is hope. Take care and God Bless you both. KerryToo

All of your excited replies mean so much! Those of us here either fighting the fight against cancer or supporting our loved ones that are doing the fighting are the only ones that can truly appreciate what incredibly great news this is. Prayers for all of us to win this fight! KerryToo

My MIL has been diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma. I’m not certain of the stage, because the diagnosis seems to drag on and on with an HMO. She is awaiting her bone scan results, but has started chemo with Taxol/Carbo combination. They also intend to begin radiation tx at the same time – but this has not started yet. I have way too much experience with NSCLC, but have a new issue that I haven’t dealt with in the past with either my Dad’s or my Mom’s NSCLC experience. My MIL has had a Cat Scan that showed “something” on her head – not in her brain – but in her bones, her skull. She has severe head pain that they are treating with morphine. Is this possibly metastasis to the bones? She is forming a bump on the surface of the crown of her skull, and now says that a second, smaller one is forming. Is this where Gamma Knife radiation comes in? Or is that brain mets related? I don’t know anything about this kind of symptom and wonder what it is and what the tx will be. Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks! KerryToo P.S. Living on both sides of the NSCLC world – My Mom is in remission (joy! joy!), but my Mother In Law is just starting this battle.

Today was my Mom’s 3rd – 3 month post treatment check up and again we are blessed – Cancer Free! Yippee! It’s been 9 wonderful months of good news for us! A little history - She was diagnosed with NSCLC at stage IIIB, mediastinal node involvement in August 2002. She declined surgery and opted for Taxol/Carbo chemo with radiation treatment. May you and yours all be blessed with good news! KerryToo P.S. WoooHoo! Yippee! *happy feet dance*

What a great post about how hard this is to deal with. You and your Prince Charming are in my prayers too! XO Kerry Too