Judy-OK

Hi .. from a patient perspective let me say that the decision is not going to be easy for you or your dad. I live alone, out in the boonies and during my active treatment time I had 6 horses, 3 dogs and various other critters that I cared for each and every day. The 35 radiation treatments took a lot of get up and go out of me but I truly believe that having things that I knew HAD to be done kept me getting up and going when it would have been a whole lot easier to have kicked back and left it to someone else. You also mentioned a two year old. I have a wonderful grandson that turned two in October and I do love him dearly but he can wear me out with just his sheer energy and his ability to get the coughs and sniffles astounds me. Having said all of that I will be hoping that you and your dad can work something out. Being independent is very important to some folks.

Jen I am sure you are referring to COPD and I will attempt to include a link to a very informative and helpful site. My mom said I was never one to do things in a small way so I managed to be diagnosed with both COPD and lung cancer at the same time. Anyway here is a good site to visit for her. http://www.copd-international.com/

Kelly prayers from me to you and your mom and in fact the whole family. Since we are both in Oklahoma these prayers should reach you extra quick. Not sure where in Oklahoma you are located or where your mom is hospitalized. The closest large town to me is Tulsa. If she is anywhere near me I would be glad to go visit if she feels like having company.

Bobby ... quitting is difficult but can certainly be accomplished. There is a place on the internet called quitnet.com go there and you will have a lot of fellow quitters to either sympathize, empathize or kick your arse. Best of luck with your quit.

(((Kasey))) followed by a multitude of prayers and best wishes for a speedy recovery and good results on all upcoming tests.

Not sure about Lexipro but most anti-depressant take a couple of weeks to get established in the system and start working full force. Encourage her to not miss a dose but certainly discuss with her doctor. In addition if there is anything she has ever enjoyed doing then encourage her to try it again. I had some friends that showed up at my door during treatment with a mask for me to wear and then whisked me off to the non-smoking room of a casino and we stayed for about 2 hours .... I had a blast and while wasting my $20 it sure kept my mind off the never ending battle.

I offer to you and your family my sincerest sympathies in the loss of your father.

Alicia .... I was also a person that had never even taken much asprin in my life before being diagnosed with a ruptured disk which was quickly followed by the lung cancer. I do not know of a delicate way to put this but please let your dad know that along with the pain medications he may want to take a stool softener. I learned the hard way that those pain meds can cause all kinds of constipation. Keep a posititve attitude and we are always here to give our opinions, advice, or just listen if that is what you need. Judy

Hi Terry. I underwent the same type of treatment that your husband is about to receive. My oncologist asked that I not take supplements and I did as she asked. I faired very well through the chemo and radiation had some nasty radiation burns both front and back but those have all healed up. I asked my onc about a brain MRI and she said if I had any symptoms on indications that one was required then it would be ordered immediately but why expose me to more than was necessary. I am currently on a 3 month PET scan schedule and things are "stable".

Carol I can not really answer your question but will eagerly await responses from others. I was not a candidate for surgery but did have 35 radiation treatments accompanied with chemo. I still have what I call a numbness, tingly, thickening feeling on the right side where the radiation took place. I have been attributing it to nerves damaged by radiation but not really sure what is causing it.

Good morning Mary. The removal of his port will most likely depend on the wishes of his oncologist. I actually asked the surgeon that inserted my port if I could just keep it indefinitely because my lung collapsed during the insertion. I would rather deal with getting it flushed and keep it in case I need it again rather than endure another chance at a collapsed lung. My oncologist's PA said she usually likes to leave them in for a year or so. I guess when the year comes around she and I will have a discussion and a decision for me to make. Is the port bothering him exessively? Mine did bug me for a while but I guess I have just gotten used to it now.

Mary ... I currently go in to get my port flushed and bloodwork every 6 to 8 weeks. I completed chemo in early August, had a PET scan the end of September and another one just a week or so ago. So the PET scans are on a 3 month schedule thus far. Oncologist said it was "stable" and we will scan again mid March.

Gwen my sincerest sympathy for you and your family.

Robin .... I do so understand what you are feeling. My chemo experience was quite positive from the folks that administered the chemo to the other patients that were receiving treatment at the same time. I could choose to sit where I felt comfortable either close to others to distract me or off by myself with a book or TV. The chairs we had to set in were much better than what I have at home and I always found one with the heat and massage feature. As a matter of fact, the last day I had chemo they had purchased brand new chairs all around. I had armed myself by filling two different prescriptions for nausea medications and still have both of them intact and unopened. As has been said before drink lots of water and take a lot of deep relaxing breaths and know that you can always come here and someone will understand what you are going through and dealing with. Best of luck on Friday everything will be fine. I will think of you at chemo if you will think of me in pulmonary rehab. Judy

Happy Holidays to all. Thank you Randy that link took me to a beautiful place.

I experienced pain that seemed to begin under my right arm and then progressed by starting to move across my chest and also across my back. Was diagnosed with lung cancer approximtely 5 months after I first noticed the pain. I believe that the radiation (35 treatments) did more to relive the pain than anything else did. I was on hydrocodone for the pain until it began to subside. I still have some tingly types of feelings which at times I mistake for pain but I believe that is caused by nerves that were damaged during the radiation.

Here is wishing the safest of trips for you. My thought and prayers are you with.

If your husband is truly feeling as bad as your posts have indicated then I can not help but think that he DOES have a good idea about what is happening to him. People handle the overload of information in different ways. My neighbor wanted to know everything about her cancer and her treatment. I, on the other hand, told my doctors I wanted the truth and in as few words as possible. What I needed was to know that they were going to do all that they could. Don't get me wrong, my head is not buried in the sand and I do know what is going on. Stay by his side and try to abide by his wishes. Bless you and all the caregivers of the world. Have a good holiday season.

The folks on here are absolutely wonderful. I have received the receipe and heard the actual fluttering of the wings on Kasey. I plan on using the crab dip receipe very very soon.

Now here is the ten million dollar question. How does one that was not around to request the Volume 1 get the receipe for the "Crab Dip" that everyone keeps raving about??? Inquiring minds like mine want to know!!!

I picked my cookbooks up from the post office this morning and they are wonderful. I have been playing Santa Claus ever since. You did a beautiful job. Thanks.

Hi Dina. You might want to post under teh "Introduce Yourself" forum. I know it is easy for me to say and hard for you to do but take a deep breath and try to relax a bit. Make sure when you go with your dad to his appointments that you take a spiral notebook along to take notes of what the various doctors tell you and also to make notes to yourself of things you want to ask them. For now lets hope for the best with the spot because there are many things it could be other than cancer. The order of my process was xray, CT scan, PET scan and then a biopsy. Welcome to this wonderful site and know that there will be many people with good wishes and help if that is what is needed.

Hi Bones and welcome to the board. I know you are in a very difficult place right now .... kinda of like being stuck between that proverbial rock and a hard place. Once you have a bit more information and a plan is in place to fight the beast you will most like feel better about the process. The hardest part is the waiting for information, tests and processes to begin. This time of year it just seems worse because folks are going out of town and everything seems slightly askew. The main thing is to keep a good attitude about the whole mess and please let us know more about the diagnosis and the plan when you find out. Judy

Sometimes words seem hardly enough but they are all we have when distance separates us. Praying for the comfort of you and your family. Please let the group help to support you in your time of sorrow and prehaps you can visit from time to time to help others that are lost in the midst of what you have already survived. Be blessed.

Aaron ... In Oklahoma you can get one that is effective for 5 years (blue) or for 6 months (red). If you have any doubt get the temporary one if available in your area and only use it when you have to. Hopefully in 6 months you will be bouncing back big time and will not have to renew it.