Mulu113

My mom always looked at chemo as the blood of life...she said it allowed her another day to see another dream to come true and another prayer to be answered!

Radiation Pneumonitis stayed with my mother since her radiation in 2005... luckily for us we had a doctor that kept her on prednisone all those years or else might have not have had the great results she did all those years most only keep you on for a short duration. If your mother is on taxotore another thing you should make sure they check is her heart (using an ultrasound), during my mother's last trip to the hospital they discovered that part of her breathing problem was her heart pump which was not pumping properly which they suspected was due to her long-term chemo. I will continue to say prayers and please feel free to reach out to me as I have dealt with what you have been through and I know it is not easy.

If anybody is in need of a liftchair, never used commode, rails for bed, portable wheelchair (the type you take shopping), walker with seat and canes please let me know. I am also going to contact my mom's doctors office and our church.

Thank you all for your prayers as they helped my mother remain as pain free and as comfortable as possible. The short version: She told me she was tired and wanted to go to see my father. That I was a wonderful daughter and that she would always be with me. I told her then I wanted her to go see Dad. I said close your eyes if it is your time to go God will welcome you with open arms and if not I will be waiting here for you. She said I love you and gave me a kiss and I did the same to her. I then began praying again..... Having had two parent go through this experience I am here to help anyone out there who needs to talk.

Tests are showing that her heart is not pumping that well and lungs do not have that much capacity so they are treating both to help with the fluid and the flow. Keeping her as comfortable as possible. Thank you for all of your prayers....they work wonders!

After a 3 1/2 year battle doctors say the next 24 hours are critical. We are fighting sooo many different battles and don't know which one is the one causing the most harm. Please pray for my mother who has brought only love and beauty to this earth that she may remain in peace and comfort wherever that journey may lead her. Thank you. Laura

A good friend of mine just lost her father to lung cancer, however it was after 20+ years of battling it, and for most of that time he was as active as you can be for his ailment. Her family is the one who told me that you can't go by timelines..each person is unique. Her father was only given a few months to live after he was diagnosed.

My mom was given 4-6 months and we are going on 27 months. Just keep the faith! God Bless!

Remember that wood smoke has more cancer causing chemicals than tobacco smoke and the particles are so small they get imbedded in the lung. Most people don't know this, we didn't. They believe that is what caused my mother's lung cancer as she was a non-smoker but was exposed to wood smoke on a daily basis. She plans on walking in the relay for life in our area with a sign saying not only cigs cause cancer so does wood smoke.

First when my mom had a stroke and was told she would never walk again and ended up walking out of the hospital four days later. Then last year when she was given 6-8 months only to get a NED after 5 months. Now after being told she had extensive bone cancer and she only would be receiving palliative care not a cure in February; then being told in July to take her to see her brother because she might not be able to soon; we received the results today that her bone cancer is gone! After the PET scan they ran CAT and MRI and they all read clean. Her spot is still in her lung but everything else is clean. She will continue chemo, and we are now going to see a specialist for her radiation pneumonitis (now fibrosis) but todays news was awesome! My mom said I told you the cancer was gone! Praise the Lord!!! Laura

Congrats! on the stable. Enjoy planning for the wedding...I got married last year in July and my mom made it incredible for me. Laura

Woo Hoo! Love to hear the good news! Laura

Fantastic news! Prayers being sent your way! Laura

I am hoping that my mother has not progressed to fibrosis but that is what I fear as it has been well over a year and her breathing has gotten worse and doing small things exhaust her. It seems that days of heat and humidity are her worse. Will find out more tomorrow at her next appt. Thanks for your help. Laura

Was wondering if anybody out there has had or still has this condition. My mother has been suffering from it since last June and the inflamation has not gone down. She has been taking Prednisone steadily and has recently been put on oxygen. She has never had asthma and is a non-smoker. Some days she needs oxygen just to go from one room in the house to another...other days she can go for a walk (not long but farther than 10 feet). Out of all of her problems this along with fatigue are the ones that bother her the most. If anybody has any ideas on what helps, what doesn't it would be appreciated. She is currently on a palliative form of chemo called Navelbine and on Zometa for her bone mets. We are awaiting PET/CT scan results to see if they are going to continue or stop all treatment (with the exception of pain mgmt) Thanks and God Bless, Laura

Melinda, I will say prayers for your family. We are waiting on test results PET/CT to see if they are going to be stopping my mom's treatment as well. They said side effects are outweighing the benefits of the palliative treatment. God Bless, Laura

Sorry I am new...are there any restrictions on the type of recipe. My mom use to love to cook, now that she can't I am sure that she would love to share her recipes.

My mom's hospice nurse recommended her taking 20 mg of compazine every moring upon rising whether or not she was nauseas. After about three days it works and I am happy to say her getting sick finally stopped. We tried Zofran, compazine, etc. when she got the feeling that she was going to be sick. She goes for chemo once a week...on the day of chemo she takes the compazine in the morning then when we return she takes 20 more then 20 at night and do the same the next day...then we go back to 20 just in the morning. Her nurse said this really has helped his patients quite a bit. And compazine is a lot less expensive than Zofran...which is one less thing to worry about. Talk with your doctor maybe this will work for you too. Good Luck and God Bless! Laura

Welcome to the board....I am new too, but not to cancer. Unfortunately lung cancer patients who have smoked seem to get 2nd Class treatment, my father did, my mom didn't...most of our folks who did had no idea what would happen to them. I can tell you first off green is not a good color for your father to bring up, please check with another doctor, green usually means an infection that needs to be treated with meds. As soon as my mother's changes color they have her on antibiotics. They won't give her chemo if there is even a chance of an infection. Get that second opinion both for his sake and yours. Keep your spirits strong and encourage his fighting spirit. I will say prayers for you and your family. Laura

Thanks so much for the advice and support. We have had multiple doctors review her case and unfortunately we hear the same thing...her cancer is too far spread for radiation. They can treat areas for pain, but the cancer is too extensive for anything more. We believe in prayer and a positive attitude. Her main chemo doctor and his assistants offer us a ton of support. They love my mom because she is always smiling and laughing. He doesn't believe in time lines because they are only statistics and he has known too many non-statistics. One of my best friends is a cancer survivor, breast and inoperable brain....like she says...she has had a DNR signed 10 years ago...but here she is. God Bless you all! Laura

If and when we are able to I think it we will either be doing a trip to Disneyworld or Disneyland. I think both would be a safe bet and both locations offer no-smoking. Back in July I took her down to Virginia to see her brother who is wheelchair bound and she really enjoyed getting away, our only problem with the trip was that they still allow smoking in the restaurants and even though it was seperated it still bothered her. You guys have made me feel comfortable knowing that it won't be as stressful to plan but actually something fun to do with her if possible. If flying is not an option maybe a weekend in Newport or something similar would be fun. You all are in my prayers. Thanks again.

Has anyone travled via air with their loved one? If my mom is stopping chemo, we would like to take her on one last trip. Her first choice is Paris as I took her to Disney several years ago, but I believe that will be out of the questions, due to the smoke, plus the cost. Her second is California or Disneyworld. Yes we are Disney nuts. Since she is on oxygen I have no idea what the rules in place are now or how to even arrange. If anyone has any tips please let me know. Thanks, Laura

My dad died in 1988 from small cell, 6 mos after diagnosis. My mother was diagnosed last year in February after repeated bouts of bronchitis. (non-smoker) After her doctor kept giving her antibiotics I decided it was time to see another doctor. He diagnosed her immediataly. She was stage IV in Feb 2005. I was to be married in October of that year, but the doctors told me that if I wanted my mom to share in the joy I needed to speed it up, we changed the date to 7.2.05. My mom underwent carbo/taxol chemo and had 33 hits of radiation. It was a tough battle. When we returned from our honeymoon, the first place we went was to the hospital for a scan, and we were told her cancer is gone. In January of this year she began to have severe pain in her back. She has a high tolerance of pain and had broken bones and had severe burns and never knew it, so when she was complaining I knew something was up. It turned out she had somehow fractured her spine. They took a biopsy and it came out negative. Then they did a bone scan it also came out negative. Two months later her pain was so severe even on percocet so I brought her to the emergency room. They didn't find anything. Her doctor the next day ordered another scan...she had cancer throughout her bones especially in the pelvic region. My mother began palliative chemo and we now have help from hospice with her, though she is not yet on hospice care. Her chemo is going to end shortly as the doctor wants her to have quality of life. Hearing the chemo will end has made my mother very upset as she still does not believe she has bone cancer. She remembers my father's pain and says she isn't as in bad shape. (That is when they regulated morphine and didn't have a patch to wear.) My husband and my two-step children help out as much as possible, and they love her dearly, but everyday it is something new. I am an only child so I am very grateful for my "new" family. I think our faith is what gets us through the day, and we feel that everyday with my mom is another blessing from God. Having been through this once and now again I would like to be able to help others as I can. Laura