berisa

Susan, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. Take good care of yourself. Please comfort your Dad and be with him as he needs you especially during this period.

Katie, Mary Ann, my Dad didn't have the recurrent, maybe you misunderstood. I just do some researches on this CPT-11 for better preparation only (just in case). thank you for sharing.

Truly thanks for all your comfort, advices and prayers. My Dad's knee is getting better and better these few days by drinking much more water, he now only feels a bit ache while walking upstairs and downstairs. Last weekend, I met him and encouraged him as well. His mood turned better bcoz his pain was getting minimal from time to time. I am now only suspecting two things, first whether my Dad is suffered from radiation pnuemonitis coz he coughs quite frequent and severe. I will voice out this point to the oncologist on 11/14. Second is, whether my Dad is suffered from GOUT or the worst -- bone mets. Actually, for bone mets, what kind of pain is like? If the pain level is from 1 (the least painful) to 10 (the most painful), if bone mets, which level of that kind of pain? Does my Dad look like suffering from bone mets? I always tell myself, it doesn't like coz his pain is getting minimal gradually without taking any pain killer/medicine.

Carly, so happy for your latest report. Oh....happy day!

Bob, you are doing sooooo good......I am really happy for you.

Hi Chris, it is a good news. This is also encouraging me. Thank you and keep us posted.

Cheryl good news!!!!!!

Tracy, this is a wonderful news........

David, well done and congratulations!!! I am very happy for you & your family.

My Dad had high heart rate once he received chemo previously. For the time he didn't have the chemo treatment -- the time-off, his heart beat was around 90. But, once he received the chemo, his heart rate was up to 120. We did tell the doctor and the doctor said this was not caused by chemo and never hear about that side effect of chemo from other patients.....but, what a coincident, every time during the time-off, his heart rate turned lower. Why we knew this bcoz during his chemo treatment, we measured his heart rate every day. Whatever the reason, his heart rate turns normal now.

My Dad has a negative mood and attitude now. He is greatly depressed and disappointed by the pain of leg. He has GOUT for many years, this week he is suffered from GOUT (we guess), I was afraid that is the cancer mets symptom but my doctor thought from my description, Dad is being suffered from GOUT instead of bone mets bcoz the doctor said bone mets will not make the bone suddenly become red and bigger in a very short time. Two days ago, the symptoms had gone but today, his leg becomes big again. I am persuading him to see the nearby clinic doctor first for treating that pain. Do you agree that it is not bone mets? Actually, from the blood test (testing the substance level that causing GOUT) done by private oncologist this Monday (10/27), the result was normal (should be no GOUT) but I asked my own doctor this Tuesday about that and he said the blood test may not indicate it at that moment of being suffered. My doctor said that the cancer may lead to GOUT. I have done a little research and one article said kidney damage will make the body produce that substance causing GOUT and some disease/illness such as luekemia will also produce the substance. Did you hear about that ??? What should I do now??? My dad is now very disappointed and said "I have no mood and I will die very soon". Every time if there is anything wrong with his body, he will be very unhappy.

Good to hear about Gina is now safe !

Ray, congratulations......everything is under control and progressing......happy for you and your wife...

Sorry Dave, Sending you a belated birthday flower. Can you see it? I bet you see it.... Happy Birthday !!!!!

Sorry for your loss. Stand by your husband and father-in-law. They all need you.

Greg, you got my point. My Dad finished 6 rounds chemo at the end of Sept. While he was preparing to have the 6th round of chemo, he had a chest X-ray right before the 6th round. That chest x-ray was his last chest x-ray until now. The oncologist observed that x-ray and commented the tumor shrunk much and the result was very good during that appt right before the 6th round chemo. After that, they arranged a brain MRI for my Dad and the result was no mets. Then he started the PCI x 10 and completed on 10/15. On 10/15, the oncologist met my Dad right before the last time PCI and the next appt will be Nov 14. There is 2 different types of hospital in Hong Kong. One type is Private. The other type is Public (governmental). Since my Dad didn't buy hospitality insurance AND he was the public servant (retired for 2 years), so he only went to public hospital without paying any fees (kind of benefits). In public hospital, since majority of Hong Kong people (especially the generation of baby-boomers) do not have insurance, so most of them go to governmental hospital. So the resources are very limited and if we want to have a CT scan or MRI etc.....we have to quene up for a very long long time except this is a real EMERGENCY case. How can a cancer patient wait for that long, TIME is a factor!!!! Moreover, one silly thing is, as you know, Hong Kong is a big city and famous in the world. BUT, there is NO PET Scan machine in any public hospitals (except private hospitals). FORTUNATELY, the hospital that my Dad receives treatments did place an order for one PET/CT combo scan machine. This will be the first machine among all public hospitals. But REALLY don't know when will it be arrived and whether my Dad will be benefited from it. That is why, so far, my Dad had a CT scan and PET scan done for diagnosis (April this year) in private hospital by paying the expenses by ourselves. During the chemo treatment, we had hesitated whether my Dad had brain mets that we went to private hospital to have the BRAIN MRI. The only CT Scan done for FREE in public hospital was BRAIN CT Scan. Certainly all x-ray are FREE. This is the scenario that my Dad didn't have any CT Scan, PET Scan and even Chest x-ray after all treatments were completed. My Dad asked the oncologist on 10/15, what else should he pay attention in the future? The oncologist said, if he feels painful, suddenly losing significant weight of himself and coughing blood. In fact, I have persuaded my Dad to have those scans in private hospital for evaluating the performance/results of all those treatments, but my Dad refuses to know as He feels great now. I only tell myself, if the situation is not allowed, those oncologists will not let my Dad having the PCI, because PCI only could be done on those patients have excellent response to the chemo. So, I only trust them. Moreover, over 3 oncologists said, those scans are not necessary due to the above mentioned reasons I typed previously. If what they said is true, I also don't want my Dad to worry too much and bear too much toxic especially even doing chemo will not benefit my Dad NOW, the only thing I can do is trust him, giving the best alternative therapies to him and if those symptoms appear, then we definitely come to oncologist immediately. Greg, don't give up, I strongly suggest you keep your fighting spirit up. Try other alternative therapies. I will pray for you.

Greg, I am very sorry for what happens on you. I know it is quite discouraging. BUT, hang in there, you are a great fighter. Try to take more rest, sleep more, drink GREEN Tea, doing exercises if your condition is good enough. I will pray for you and your family. We all support you. We are all here.

Ginger, Tea May Fight Cancer, Studies Show Tue October 28, 2003 04:34 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ginger, green tea and a Chinese herb may all help prevent the development of cancer, researchers told a conference on Tuesday. The experimental findings -- most coming from experiments on mice -- do not yet merit a change in diet. But they do suggest there are some ways people may be able to further reduce their risk. Smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable cancer in many countries, including the United States, and in the developed world experts are starting to agree that poor diet and a lack of exercise run a close second. But researchers speaking to a meeting on Phoenix of the American Association for Cancer Research said they were keen to find ways to further lower the risk. "These studies are extremely important and must be continued to help us understand better ways of preventing cancer which do not require extraordinary measures," Dr. Raymond DuBois of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, who chaired the meeting, said in a statement. "We're hoping that, armed with this information, individuals will become more proactive about their health on a daily basis, in consultation with their doctors." Ann Bode and Zigang Dong of the University of Minnesota used a ginger extract on mice infected with human colon cancer cells. The specially bred mice almost always grow tumors. But when fed extracts of -gingerol -- the substance that makes ginger spicy -- fewer mice grew the tumors. After 15 days, Bode and Dong counted 13 tumors in mice fed normal diets compared to four tumors in mice fed the ginger extract before and after they were injected with tumor cells. "As we continue to study the spice in other tumor areas, we hope it will translate into significant anti-cancer properties for humans," Bode said in a statement. A second group tested the Chinese medicinal herb, Scutellaria barbata or Ban Zhi Lian. The team at Union College in Nebraska found it slowed the growth of prostate tumors in mice. A team at the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson had 118 heavy smokers drink at least four cups a day of both green and black tea and measured a chemical called 8-OHdG, which the body releases in response to DNA damage like the kind that can cause cancer. Those who drank decaffeinated green tea for four months had a 31 percent reduction in 8-OHdG. Those who drank black tea had no reduction.

My Dad was dx sclc this apr, he completed all treatments. After all treatments were completed, all oncologists (more than 3) said that my Dad is no need to have CT/PET Scan to evaluate the result of treatment. The reason is, even it shows something still present, they will not do anything (chemo etc.) immediately due to the toxicity etc. So their logic is, there is no point to do any scan to check out something abnormal while without any possible treatment that could solve at this moment. So scans only bring anxiety to the patient himself/herself. So, they all don't recommend my Dad having the CT/PET scan. One doctor said I should understand and consider my Dad's psychological needs. Also, my Dad insists not to know as he thinks he can beat this cancer as long as he is so confident to himself. So, he chooses not to have any scan to discourage himself and make himself anxious.

It is really a good news. Keep it on!!!

Have you ever heard of Red wine & apples are beneficial to LC patients?? Could LC patients drink red wine? If yes, how frequent and how many glasses are suggested for LC patients? Anyone knows? Please share....and thanks. Apples : http://www.gopherglen.com/benefits.html Red wine : http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtm ... ID=3699737

Hurray, well done!!! I am so happy for you both. Let's celebrate.

I saw this fire news from Hong Kong as well. They said there is 4 nearby states are being affected and the fire is crossing the border to Mexico as well. Be careful you guys, stay tuned on TV. I also hope Gina is okay and in a safe place. Really don't know about her belongings and pets. Hope everything is fine.

It is always good to know there is options!! Good news.

Christy, pray for the coming CT Scan result on Oct 27th.