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LOVE IT — CONGRATULATIONS ! Ned

Good, that's a relief. I should come up with some more examples from those days and see which ones have retained their meaning. Maybe tomorrow. Ned

I like it too! Ned

Hmmm... When I was in college (admittedly that was over a half-century ago) "chicks" was slang for "friendly girls" among the "hip" crowd, especially the musicians I hung around with. That term seems to have fallen out of use, and these days some less flattering words are used instead. But before we start to get the wrong idea, maybe Snowflake should clarify. Ned

That's the kind of report we all like to read — congratulations! Ned

You guys are the greatest — love you both!! I'm really glad you got the Avastin financing straightened out. It can definitely add some oomph (technical term) to Taxol/Carbo. Aloha, Ned

Hi, Deb, welcome to the group. The fact that there's no evidence of cancer outside of your mom's left lung and chest is encouraging, and if she doesn't have a malignant pleural effusion (you didn't mention fluid between the lung and chest wall, so I assume she doesn't have), that's more good news, and it puts her in a category somewhat more favorable than mine. Even so, I'm 32 months out from my IIIb diagnosis and still in much better condition than I thought possible when this all started in the summer of 2006. You can read the details by following the link in my signature/profile block at the bottom. When you see the oncologist, be sure to take good notes, and consider using a digital voice recorder to make sure nothing is missed. I've never heard of a competent doctor objecting to that, and many will go out of their way to draw diagrams and provide references for your future research. Let us know how the appointment goes. Best wishes and Aloha, Ned

I'm not personally familiar with it, but I found 22 messages containing "sarcoma" (including your message asking the question) by using the LCSC Search feature. Click Search in the top part of the screen, type sarcoma in the top box, change "Display results as" to Posts, change "Return first" to All available, and click Search. Ned

I think most of the Navy SEALS have left the island, but I might be able to find a couple of monk seals to meet the bus. They're cuter, anyway. Ned

Sounds great, Rob — have a terrific summer! Aloha, Ned

That certainly rings true for me. I have a long list which I update before each appointment, and I recently "enhanced" the list with an explanation of why each particular medication had been prescribed. Most of them are to counteract the side effects of one of the others! So glad you got established with the NIH. Yes, Kasey is a jewel. Aloha, Ned

Welcome to the LCSC, and please don't hesitate to post whenever there's something our remarkable group might be able to help you with. There's also a chance your perspective can help others who are just now facing the challenges you experienced 3 years ago. Aloha, Ned

Hi, Sandy, there are some great suggestions here, and Erin's message about hospice is especially good. To encourage your mom to allow hospice to come in sooner rather than later, consider this approach: Explain to her, maybe with examples supplied by one of the hospice services in your area, that hospice provides benefits for the entire family and not just for the individual patient. If you put it in those terms, and emphasize that you and the family could really use their advice and assistance right now even though you "know" that your mom doesn't need them yet, she might be more willing to let them come in at least for a talk. Best wishes and Aloha, Ned

I'm relieved to hear you guys are heading through Texas and points west before taking the Pacific plunge, 'cause getting the bus through the Panama Canal might be problematic. One other thing — before you drive off the beach on the Left Coast, be sure your GPS is working! My garage should be cleared out by the time you get here. Ned

SCLC limited can respond very well to treatment, so let's hope the pneumothorax is just a temporary setback. Read some of the stories here and I believe you'll find encouragement. Best wishes and Aloha, Ned

GOOD SHOW ! Ned

Hi, Joan, welcome to the group! When you get a chance, it would be great if you'd write up a chronology of your cancer journey to this point, post it in the My Story forum, and make future updates/edits as needed. You can then put a link to that post in the signature/profile block which appears at the bottom of every message you submit. I'll bet you have lots of good tips to offer. Best wishes and Aloha, Ned

Congratulations, Nonni — that's great news! Aloha, Ned

It's a beautiful day on Oahu, though a bit windy. I'm back from outpatient surgery with my new PowerPort. The surgeon was able to put it in the same place as the original port, so I have only one sore shoulder. We'll put it through its paces for the first time next Tuesday, whcn I do Cisplatin/Alimta. Think I'll just take it easy now and watch CNN. Ned

Hey Will, now it's easy to understand why you haven't found time to check in. Wishing the best for your wife. I'm going in for outpatient surgery tomorrow to replace my malfunctioning port with one of those whiz-bang "powerport" models that can handle CT dye. My check-in time has been moved up to 0530 — that's 5:30 a.m., definitely within the meaning of "oh-dark-thirty." But it also means we'll miss the worst part of rush-hour traffic, I think. Ned

Hi, Kristi. Thanks for getting the names of your dad's chemo drugs. Paraplatin is the trade name for Carboplatin, and in most of our posts here you'll see it called Carboplatin or just Carbo. So when you look through our profiles or My Story posts, whenever you see the combination Taxol/Carboplatin or Taxol/Carbo, you'll know that's the same thing your dad is getting. The most common side effect is fatigue, which usually doesn't set in until the steroids he probably received as an IV "pre-med" wear off a day or so after the infusion. If he's getting his chemo weekly (the typical schedule for those also receiving radiation), he may not feel the cyclical ups and downs to the extent those of us on the 3-week chemo schedule experienced. I have a rather detailed description of my Taxol/Carbo side effects in the link below. Most people don't have the same skin issues I experienced, so you can probably skim over those parts. But peripheral neuropathy (numbness and tingling and sometimes shooting pains in the hands and feet) is a potentially serious side effect and should be reported to the onc immediately if it occurs. Again, there may be less chance of that on the weekly schedule. The bottom line for me was that although the Taxol/Carbo was not a lot of fun, I was never debilitated to the point that I couldn't do something productive every day. Let us know what specific things start to happen with your dad and many of us can pass along some good tips. Aloha, Ned

Hey, Judy, you don't need to hold back until May 5 — make all 35 days between now and that milestone part of the same celebration! Don't worry, you're not going to jinx anything, and we all owe it to ourselves to celebrate every chance we get. Aloha, Ned

Congratulations, Patti! I don't know what it is about 30 months, but that milestone gave me a nice lift too when I passed it on March 1. Then there'll be 31, and 32 — heck, they're all good! Aloha, Ned

Hi, Tracy, it's good hearing from you. I hope you get encouraging news about your scans and that the other parts of your life click back into place very soon. As another member of the Class of '06 you'll always have my very best wishes. Much Aloha, Ned

I too have missed the The Air. I haven't participated as regularly as some, but when I did it provided an outlet that was "just right" for whatever I was feeling that particular day. Has anybody heard from Will recently? I know his family had multiple problems from the hurricane that went through a few months ago. I'm still dealing with my sore/swollen leg, which was determined to be cellulitis rather than a blood clot. That's good news, I guess, but it's still a pain (literally) and holds me back more than I would like. After another session with the heating pad I need to drive up the hill to deliver a printing job, then stop at the drug store for a few things on the way back. My afternoon will be in the garage collating the monthly magazine for the Army spouses club at nearby Schofield Barracks. Anybody wanna help? Ned