kimblanchard

Karma, Hopefully by now your dad is home and happy to be there. We have had to postpone scans before and I know how the waiting can be. Best wishes to you and your family. Peg

Renee, I am sorry to hear that your mom is in so much pain, when my husband was finally admitted to the hospital for bone mets and extreme pain they put him on a morphine pump that delivered pain meds directly into his veins. It took pain away that the oxycontin couldn't. I urge you to contact your mom's doctor right away, she may need to be admitted into the hospital until the pain is under control or maybe the Pain Management place can set you up with visiting nurses who can monitor a morphine pump at home. You can never bother your doctor's office enough after all suffering though pain should never be an option when there are so many ways to control it available. God Bless, you and your mom are in my thoughts.

My husband had to take two different anti-nausea drugs to keep him from being so sick. One every four hours and one every eight hours. Keeping track of all these different medicines at different times is extremely frustrating too. Peg

Welcome Sanjo! It's sooooooooo good to read success stories! Thanks for sharing! Peg

Karma.... I just have to say something else..... I told Mike's oncologist and his radiologist....not to treat him like he is terminal. That we believe life is terminal. We are all dying. Shook the doctor's up a bit when I said that! They didn't know how to respond! Love and hugs,

Estelle, My husband had to give himself two shots a day for about a week. It was difficult - but he made it through and you will too! Now he just takes a blood thinning pill once a day. No more shots. This too will pass for you. Peg

Spazzums - I'm trying to understand why they haven't tried radiation to the brain lesions? It sounds like they didn't even treat the brain lesions.... The fact that it's all over his body has nothing to do with what they could do by radiation...They could reduce the pressure and at least the man could leave this earth with dignity. Why won't they do brain radiation? Please read Mike's story under SCLC section. He is doing good....still is... Love and hugs,

Peg, All I can say to you is "It's not OVER until it's over!". When Mike had his reoccurence with a new mets to brain....I felt like "oh, no...this is it." The doctor even said "Well - I hope to get you a couple of months with palliative chemo." Well - that was December 3rd...Mike is back to driving his car, going for walks at the mall, going out to eat, going to church. We are well on our way to 4 months. Look at Mike in the picture to the left. That was taken on March 1. Almost 3 months to the day the doctor told him he had 2 months to live. What do they know??? The doctor's generally won't give up until you call it. There is ALWAYS something they can try as long as the body can withstand it and the spirit is willing. Don't give up...don't give in until your husband is ready. Love and hugs,

Some people get such a misguided idea that "reality" and "hard facts" is being more hopeful than giving the truth of the matter. Hope is hope. There is no such thing as false hope. Well - Actually I believe there is...it's believing in 'mortal - imperfect' man. Doctor's are imperfect, medical science isn't an exact "art" - it's a science with hypothesis's and speculation. There is always hope. No one knows how many days your father has...and your aunt is trying to "control" what she is fearing...not knowing. I'ld like to slap people like that up along side the head and ask "When did you take God's place!" Really makes me mad when gloom and doom people just have to spread their misery! Tell grandpa....auntie's wrong....Tell him not to listen to anything but positive. If your aunt is right....you can worry and grieve LATER...but she's probably very much WRONG because she's confusing the effects of the treatment with the effects of the cancer! Love and hugs,

Shordy God bless you and your Dad. My husband and I argued today and I feel so guilty now. I understand the torment you are going through and pray for your father. Peg

We had repeat MRI today and bone scans. We took the films with us and tried to read them. It was frustrating since we didn't know what to look for. God, this is awful!!!!! We meet with the oncologist tomorrow. We think Iressa is the next step. Just hangin on, Peg

Shordy - I'm so happy things worked out for you and your dad. I'm a real sucker for happy endings! Love and hugs,

Sandy, My deepest sympathy - Praying for comfort for you and your children. Love and hugs,

Shordy- I can understand your frustration and your pain. It's very possible that your father, feeling some regrets over past failures in his life, is trying to push you away from him. I believe sometimes people facing the big "C" - are so intimidated by the disease, all they "see" is that they are going to be leaving. In an effort to make their leaving easier on the ones they love, they push them away...by thoughts, words or deeds. He is probably very angry right now. It's a normal reaction - especially at the very beginning. He wants to CONTROL something - and since he can't control the disease...or possibly even the medical process, he will try to control you - his child. The one that he had "control" over years ago as he was responsible for your upbringing. This is not to excuse his behavior...I don't think cancer warriors HAVE to be rude, cruel or angry. It's still a choice they make. But it is harder for them in the midst of the battle to make the right choice due to the illness, the drugs, etc. But you also have a choice Shordy - You can choose to forgive or you can choose to remain hurt and angry. Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves. It's not about whose at fault. It isn't saying nothing happened. It says there has been a FAULT committed and I choose to forgive you for it. It's so that you can move on with your life and love. It's not tolerating bad behavior, it's forgiving it and moving on. A time out is a good thing...take time to collect yourself and remember how much you love the man...in spite of his faults...in spite of his uncontrollable pain that he is feeling right now. He does need you and your support. Hugs, hugs and more hugs.....Cancer is more than a physical thing...it's about learning who they are and who we are....You can become a better person through all this or a bitter person. The choice is yours Shordy. And I believe you are too loving, too kind and too intelligent to let this momentary problem destroy you. Love and hugs,

Thanks again everyone. The clinical trial that they are talking about is Iressa. We need to get Bill feeling well enough to make a 2 hour trip to Indianapolis to see about getting him started on this. After reading about the Expanded Access Program on their website I believe that my husband certainly qualifies. I have the names of 4 doctors to contact. I am also checking to see if I can find a doctor a little closer to home. God bless all of you, Peg

Thank you so much for your support. We hope to have some answers soon. Doing nothing is no answer. God bless you for your replies, Peg

Thanks to all who responded. We don't know what the oncologist will suggest yet. He wanted to consult with others first and is also talking clinical trial. We just don't know what he will suggest. And he gives us a choice - how on earth would we know what to do?? I am relieved to hear that blood thinners are normal though. That is one relief. Now just to get ready to know what will happen next. We will do anything at this point. My husband is just 52 years old and we have one 15 year old daughter. Thanks for your prayers and for listening, Peg

We received the results of the CT scan and it is not good news. Not only is the taxol/carboplatin not working, the cancer has spread to the other lung. How is it possible to not have anything in one lung, and then two months later have a mass that is 2 1/2 centimeters??? Also, the oncologist put my husband on blood thinner (injections and pills) due to blood clots (pulmonary embolism I believe he said). How normal is this to happen???? My husband Bill is so discouraged and so am I. It seems the last two months of chemo have done nothing. So now we are going to repeat CT scans to the abdomen to check further spread, MRI to check the brain mets, and bone scans to check the bone mets. Can anyone offer any advice or encouragement? We are sitting here stunned, angry and depressed today. Thanks for any help, Peg

We received the results of the CT scan and it is not good news. Not only is the taxol/carboplatin not working, the cancer has spread to the other lung. How is it possible to not have anything in one lung, and then two months later have a mass that is 2 1/2 centimeters??? Also, the oncologist put my husband on blood thinner (injections and pills) due to blood clots (pulmonary embolism I believe he said). How normal is this to happen???? My husband Bill is so discouraged and so am I. It seems the last two months of chemo have done nothing. So now we are going to repeat CT scans to the abdomen to check further spread, MRI to check the brain mets, and bone scans to check the bone mets. Can anyone offer any advice or encouragement? We are sitting here stunned, angry and depressed today. Thanks for any help, Peg

Connie, When you first get the diagnosis...it's hard to give your head around all of it. It is a horrific shock to the system, your mind, your soul. Actually - I think I cried every 30 minutes for the first 3 days....then it got better and although I can't say it gets easier....it gets more "manageable". For one thing...as you begin the treatments - you are DOING something and it seems to feel like you are waging a battle. With each battle won - you feel like you can win the war. Attitude is EVERYTHING Connie...and the more positive you can remain...the better it will be for your husband. No one but God knows the number of days we have on this earth. Statistics are not accurate...because we are people, not statistics. Everyone reacts differently to treatment. Also remember this...the statistics are old....the biggest share of "statistics" are based on 20 year studies...starting in the 1980's. There are tons of new drugs and new treatments that are too 'new' to be factored into the numbers. The simple truth? Medical science has never really known time lines and with the fast changing technology and discoveries...it knows even less. On December 3, 2002 when my husband's cancer returned the doctor told him he could maybe give him a couple of months....Well - it's going on 4 months now. Today Mike and I went to Denny's for lunch and then went to Walmart to pick up some things. Does this sound like a dying man to you? Not to me. And where there is life - there is hope. There are a lot of reasons to believe your husband can beat this...you just have to focus on them. Constantly remember - you husband has cancer, he is not dying. Cancer is not an automatic death sentence. Cancer is survivable. DO NOT listen to doomsayers. There will be those that can't say a thing positive to you. STAY AWAY from them! Surround yourself with hope, life and joy....No one knows if they have tomorrow. Love and hugs,

Howard I highly recommend you take a tape recorder to every - and I mean every - doctor visit. I was shocked at what I "selectively heard" during my visits before tape recording. I have been on both taxol and taxotere and was very fortunate to have my lung tumor shrink. Also, I had radiation which really helped. I have been told at least twice that I was going to be dead in 6 months. But, the power of prayer turned things around for me both times and I am now in remission. Think positive and pray! How is the rest of the family handling this? Sue M

Connie, I too am very scared about my husband who was given a poor prognosis. It really does help to come here and read the posts. Just remember (and I tell myself this) that statistics are averages - just numbers - and many are not up-to-date with all the advances in medicine. I try and just take one day at a time if I can. Prayers to you, Peg

I hear that Zyrtec is effective for the rash. Don't know about it myself. I read it on another message board. Peg

Ocean - I'm not sure there is ever enough time....Take comfort in that your dad is in the presence of Jesus. Every person is so unique, every person is so special to God. My deepest sympathy..... Love and hugs, Shannon

I did have Taxol and radiation at the same time and ended up with pneumonitis. I have no idea if the Taxol had anything to do with it or not. I sure would advise you to check into it just in case since it was brought up here. Good Luck Sue M