Remembering Dave

Cheryl, I would be madder than a hornet too if I had to wait that long. You are lucky to have Jack on your side. Not everone has an advocate in thier corner like you do. They started treatments on me within a few days. Y'all hang in there, we are all praying for you. David C

I know there was a huge sigh of relief. I will take empty headedness any day of the week, funny my wife told me I was empty headed so much it must have sunk in good. Keep the faith, I will be praying for you as you start your trip down treatment lane. Just remember that any side effects can be handled with Gods help and also that sideeffects are symptoms of the cure, not the disease. I told my doc I was not sick enough and to increase my dosage to make me sicker, I could handle it, he just chuckled. Seriously, everybody reacts differently to treatments so keep a good attitude and you can handle anything. Oh, DRINK, DRINK, DRINK...AND THEN DRINK SOME MORE.......WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!! David C

Doctors! What do they know? Keep the wonderful attitude. I agree with your philosophy on life, live it to the fullest....today!!! Keep the faith. David C

Alright!!!! Thats great!! Hang in there and keep the faith. David C

Now, now. He can't be empty headed if he married you and he deffinitely can't be empty chested if he has had the heart to fight-ha,ha............Glad to hear the news. Keep the faith!!! David C

You go girl!! David C

Dave, that is awesome news!!!!! Get Big Bertha out and slay those little white balls........pretend they are cancer cells and I bet you drive them further than they have ever gone before!!!! David C

Don't be silly, nobody is a bother here. Have you spoken with your doc on this. I know I have an Uncle who just cannot get on a regular sleep schedule but he refuses to go to a sleep clinic. I have trouble sleeping when I am having chemo treatments from the anti nasuea meds in the chemo but am OK otherwise. Ask your doc but the pills may be the answer. Hang in there and remember we are always here for you at any time-questions or no questions. David C

Greg, I am so sorry to hear about the funk. Like the other posts have said maybe some stronger pain pills will help out with the pain. Hope I am not being too nosey but has your doc prescribed any antidepressants. Mine started me on Paxil as soon as I was diagnosed and it really does help to smooth things out. If I remember correctrly prednisonee can do some wacky things to your mind also. All that combined with the chemo funk can be over wealming. Hang in there buddy, we are all here for you and thank God for public Libraries computers. Keep the faith buddy, you can do it.

Unfortunately I have not but I have heard wonderful things about MD Anderson. I have had several relatives go there with some good results. Hang in there and my prayers are with you. David C

Mini, when you do find out more don't hesitate to tell us all about it. We are all in this together and we can all beat this.

Shannon, Mike is sooooooo lucky to have you. Everybody needs an advocate in thier corner to make sure things get done. There is no excuse for having incompetant people or negligent actions in the medical profession but unfortunately not everybody can be a rocket scientist. Hang in there and remember God will not throw anything at us we cannot handle with His help. My prayers are with you and Mike. David C

Thank you very much!!! This was my first and it was pretty good, if I do say so myself!!! My little girl gave me a kiss and she is starting to really try and talk, what could be better for a dad? David C.

Ha, Ha, Ha!!! You guy's are great!! I love it and could see me and my wife doing the same thing. Thanks!!! David C

Mini, sorry you are here but glad you found us. There are a lot of good people here with a lot of info but they may need to know a bit more about what kind of cancer and the stage etc. My cancer was not operable so unfortunately I cannot give you any advice but we are all here to support you as you go down this path. My prayers are with you and your family. Keep the positive attitude, it makes a tremendous difference!!! David C

Hey Ray, buddy. Hang in there. You know Ada has a good idea about keeping a log of how you fel and trying to adjust your schedule. Something I started doing was going in a lot earlier, that way I could put in my time and get out early. Don't know if you have a job you could do that with but that is an option. Like I said before, hang in there, drink, drink, drink and keep the good thoughts. My prayers are with you. David C

Jack, you hit the nail squarely on the head. This site is great, full of caring, compasionate, fun people who are all going through the same thing. Attitude and support can make the difference in our lives as we go through this.......thing. I am so glad you and your wife have found this site, let us know how things are going as you progress along the road ahead. My prayers are with you and your wife. David C

Lenny, hang in there buddy. Keep the positive attitude going, you can beat this thing!!! David C

Way to go Ray!!!!! Here's to smooth sailing through the rest of the treatments. Remember to not over do it and drink a whole lot of water and eat protien--Cottage cheese with pinnaple and peaches. You will be fine, just remember symptoms of the cure!!! Keep the positive attitude, you can do it!!!

Ray, for me I would get real tired around the 3rd day and could really notice a slow down. Just don't try and do too much during your first cycle and let it do what it is going to do to you and learn how you feel. Usually by the end of the 2nd week I started getting more energy. I have gone out on my poontoon boat numerous times while undergoing treatment and have worked in the garden and on my car etc. You just have to do everything in moderation. You will figure out what you can and cannot do. If you overdo it you will be out of it for a few days and then bounce right back. I have started carrying around a water bottle with me and like everybody has said--DRINK, DRINK, DRINK. A good high protien food is cottage cheese. I HATE COTTAGE CHEESE, but it is actually pretty good with peaches and pinnaples cut up in it. I would take a large container of cottage cheese and one can of peaches and one can of pinnaple (you have to cut up the pinnaple and peaches and mix them all together, oh, it also helps to put a little of the juice in the mix. The crock pot is good for meats to get them tender and fish has a ton of protien also.......don't do fish in the crockpot.......... I never had a problem with nasuea, well one day I did after my first round of chemo but none since then. They put some stuff in the chemo to prevent nasuea and it really helped me. The stuff they put in does keep you wired and I have problems sleeping for the first few days after chemo. I started swilling some nyquil during chemo week and it deffinitely helped. I really am serious about the music. The place I have my chemo is pretty nice but still the fact that a lot of people are there getting chemo can be a little depressing so the music really helped me to tune it all out and before I knew it it was over. OK, I have rambled enough here. Hang in there buddy you can do it just remember--any side effects are a symptom of the cure.....not the disease!!! David C

Ray, one more thing. Music Soothes The Savage Beast!!! Bring a walk-man or a disc-man to your chemo sessions. You can tune out the surroundings and be in your own little world. It worked wonders for my mental state while taking chemo. I listened to Shostakoviches 5th Symphony for most of my chemo sessions. I would be glad to send you a copy if you would like, it is an awsome Cancer fighting symphony, you can see the cells dying by the thousands. David C

WOW Sam, Small Cell, Large Cell---jeeze!!! Looks like you have it covered with the docs though. My prayers are with you. David C

Ray, buddy, how is that twitch coming?? Your doc and nurse are right-there is new stuff coming out all the time. Treatments now are so much more advanced than 10 years ago. Attitude is is the difference. When I was Diagnosed I researched and saw the horrible statistics and started thinking I only have a year or a couple of years left and then I said to myself-the hell with the statistics. Statistics do not apply to me, they never have. The only thing that cannot be accomplished is what you tell yourself cannot be done. Roll with the chemo, it effects everybody differently. I have done pretty good with it just fatigued all the time and have to drink constantly because.........well, email me privately if you want to know why for that one. I figure even if mine does come back, or if it truely is not all gone then all I have to do is wait it out for a couple of years and there will be a cure. Like Sam said lets kick some cancer butt and go fishing, come to think of it it's a good idea to go fishing while the battle is on-just stay out of the sun while on your chemo. You can do it Ray, keep the good thoughts. By the way, you getting a port? David C

Deanna, Thank you for your reply to my post. That is great that your moms cancer is shrinking!!!! You said your mom just finished her 6th round of chemo. When I asked my Onc. if I could get any more than 6 ( I am only at 4 now) He told me that he was giving me the max dosage and the max amount of chemo rounds he could. He said nobody should go more than 6 rounds at a time. However I think you said they were going to wait 6 months and that does seems a bit long to wait. It may be that they have to wait 6 months to get the chemo poison out of her system before they pump her full of more chemo. That may be a question to ask. I am going to be checked every 3 months. Are they going to check her after 3 or 6 months? Hopefully the chemo still in her system will continue to shrink the cancer. My prayers are with you and your mom. David C

Like everone has said-there are lot of chemo drugs out there and with her positive attitude she has already won half the battle. Prayers are coming your way. Hang in there. David C