spirithawk06

Today I met a few of my neighbors. I was taking a jog around the campsite and some men were sitting around a picnic table drinking a few beers and talking. They commented on the heat and how it was too hot to run so I stopped and started talking with them. They recognized my hometown and started making jokes about it. I was excited because two of the men had lived close to my hometown and knew it well. The other man had been through the area a couple of times. We started talking about being country and one of the guys was cooking some sausage, rabbit, and black-eyed peas on an outdoor stove. He insisted that I stay and eat and when he learned about my roommate he insisted that she come over and eat as well. I was a bit reluctant at first because I hadn't eaten rabbit in a long time and didn't want to and I didn't want to impose on his kindness...but he was a Southern man and that spoke to me because my Granny is the same way. You go anywhere near her house and she wants to feed you. It's just a Southern thing and I knew that it would be rude to refuse...besides...it smelled good and I was willing to try the rabbit. As the evening progressed I found out that he used to work with my dad about 20 years ago. So I called up my Dad...more people trickled in and we had a great time talking and joking. They offered us beer once but after we refused they respected us and told us we were good for not drinking. We ate and the food was delicious. The cook kept telling me to get more but I was stuffed before I finished my first plate. That was some good Cajun style cooking. He pulled my roommate aside and asked how much we were paying for cable. He said that he had tapped into our cable and felt gulty so he wanted to pay for it. He wouldn't take no for an answer and eventually stuffed $40 into her pocket. He and another guy came to our camper to check to see if they could help us figure out how to control our refridgerator settings and while he was there he handed my roommate a $100 bill while I was washing dishes and told her to split it for groceries and gas. He had been searching his own camper to find groceries for us but didn't know what we liked to eat so he gave us money. He said he wanted to help and he knows where we come from and that it is hard sometimes. I couldn't argue with that but I was floored by his generosity. I offered to cook everyone a gumbo, fully intending to pay back meal for meal but then they asked what I put in my gumbos and insisted on buying the ingredients....that defeats the purpose of me cooking for them to pay them back for the excellent meal they fed us but they wouldn't hear of me buying the ingredients myself. The guy even wants my dad to come up here and watch a drag race with him and the guys to lift his spirits up. He wants to see my dad again. He worked with him about 20 years ago. He even offered to pay for us to go watch the race. If this man isn't an angel in disguise I don't know what he is...

Dad was feeling good this morning. He said he was actully able to sleep last night. His first day of chemo went without a hitch and today he goes for classes and another round of chemo and radiation. It was good to hear the cheerfulness in his voice again when I talked to him on my way to class. My friend talked to a volunteer organization that she joined. I am going to join tonight and they said they would be more than happy to help organize the walk. We will have a better chance of pulling it off with a major group on campus backing us up. They loved the idea and want to help. So things are looking good for the walk. I have a large break in between classes right now and I am not going home until after my next class so I am going to get my math lab done so I can focus on organizing information for the walk tonight and not have to worry about homework. I am making sure that I get my school work done before I do anything for the walk. I just feel like I need to do something. I can't be back home helpng with my dad so I need something to do that is worthwhile and something that lets me know that I am making a difference. But anyway, so far so good with Dad.

He was diagnosed last Thursday and they started radiation yesterday and he is undergoing chemo as I type this. He has pneumonia but they said that they won't hold off on the chemo because if they do he will just get worse. It took about two months of tests to diagnose him with cancer because all the tests kept coming back negative but one of the doctors kept ordering more tests because he was certain that it was cancerous. We were aggravated then but now we are grateful that he kept insisting on more tests. One of the first things my dad said when he found out that he had cancer was that he was not letting me quit college. I mentioned organizing a walk for Lung Cancer and Autism Awareness and my mom's first reaction was that I needed to worry about my school work first. I have a lot of free time in between classes that I need to fill so time to organize it isn't a problem for me. I just wish there was more I could do for my family. Thank you for all your support and information. I think my mom sounded interested in seeing this site and I will encourage her to join.

The doctors thought it was a cyst but we found out later that it was the cancer that was blocking his lung. They are against surgery because they say it will spread. What are the odds of it spreading and would it be worth the risk if chemo and radiation do not work? The cancer is 14 cm right now and it is only in the top part of his lung so far. They are testing to see if there is cancer anywhere else in his body but so far so good.

I am an 18 year old college student at LSU. My dad was just diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. He is 38 years old and the cancer is still in the limited stage. The doctors aren't telling my parents much about what is going on and they are too tired of the endless rounds of doctor visits to find out. I have been doing a bit of research and stumbled upon this site. So far, everyone has been very helpful and I am most grateful. Any more information you can give me would be extremely helpful.