recce101

Well said, and I have just one to add: It forces us to consider "the big step" in a way most of us haven't before. Within our human limitations, we seek to understand the meaning of life and how our current existence fits into the overall scheme of things. This has the potential of making our remaining months and years the richest we have known. Aloha, Ned

Okay, now that I've come down from the ceiling and actually read the dialogue Randy quoted, and the NYTimes article, I understand the point that's being made. Cancer is tough enough without throwing guilt into the mix. Ned

Didn't we have an article a few months ago on this subject, and we all decided it was a bunch of hogwash? Sorry, I didn't mean to insult the hogs again. But really, I seriously doubt that it's true. And even if it could be scientifically proven to me that it is true (a big if), I'd say so what? Like Don, I prefer to be positive because it makes me feel better. Aloha, Ned

Karla, I agree with Nick. Much Aloha, Ned

Thanks for writing, Penni -- it's great to have you in the group. Aloha, Ned

Hi, Diane, welcome to the group. You've received some great advice, and I just have a couple of things to add. I believe it's very important that you and your dad feel comfortable with, and have good rapport with, the doctors and other staff who are treating him. Mental attitude is a key ingredient in fighting this disease, and I'm not making that up. If you sense a good combination of compassion and teamwork in your current clinic, but there are some questionable items in your dad's diagnosis or treatment plan, you could probably arrange for a second opinion at one of the major centers but then have the treatments done at the original clinic. If fact, your current clinic might even arrange for that second opinion, and the two doctors could consult on the plan of treatment, which would be done where you feel most comfortable. Also, if you haven't already, please visit cancergrace.org (the previous onctalk.com has been folded into GRACE, Global Resource for Advancing Cancer Education). There's a wealth of information there, especially on lung cancer, constantly updated by a Seattle oncologist who is an internationally-recognized expert on lung cancer and who gives high priority to promptly answering questions from people like you and me. A lot of us have "dual citizenship" so to speak, and have the same usernames there as here. Best wishes and Aloha, Ned

You're on the right track with the foods you're giving your dad. At one point in my Taxol/Carbo/Avastin treatment, the creamy soups, room temperature beverages, and 3 cans of Wal-Mart's 350-calorie Ensure clone were what kept me going. It really had nothing to do with how things tasted (actually I couldn't taste at all), but the texture of the items and how much irritation they caused on the way down. I didn't have radiation, and that can make things even worse. I'd like to double-echo what Jamie said about the PEG tube. Though I didn't need one, I knew about them, and I was certainly ready to ask for one if things got much worse. I had a friend who was being treated for esophagus cancer who used one for a couple of months, and he said it was the thing that kept him going during that time. As Jamie said, in the overall scheme of things it's not a big deal! Aloha, Ned

Hi, Kelly: Here's the link to a post I wrote for OncTalk shortly after my thoracotomy (which might be your "worst case" surgery scenario): http://onctalk.com/bbPress/topic.php?id=460&replies=3 To answer your specific questions, I didn't have any particular difficulty walking up and down stairs, but I took it very slow and made sure I was holding the handrail on my non-sore side. It would be better if you didn't have to. As the link describes, I found it best to sleep in a recliner chair, mainly because getting out of the chair was so much easier than getting out of a bed, which required rolling to the side, my most painful maneuver. One of the first things I did after getting home from the hospital, after assuring our golden retriever that I was going to be okay, was checking my email. No problem at all sitting at the computer and typing. Aloha, Ned

Hi, Ellie, welcome to the group. I had Taxol/Carboplatin plus Avastin in late 2006 to early 2007. Eating was a problem for me for most of the 4 months I was on that program, then improved after I went on Avastin alone. It's very understandable that fatigue would be an issue for you too, since you've recently had radiation. When will you be getting a scan to check your response to treatment? Aloha, Ned

Hi, Dave: Actually, fatigue has been mild for me, much less bothersome than the skin and fingertip effects -- which are now pretty much resolved except for the sun sensitivity (I'm starting my 9th month on Tarceva). But I know some people have reported very pronounced fatigue, starting shortly after taking the daily pill and continuing for a few hours. Those people were advised to change their dose schedule and take it just before bedtime, so most of the fatigue would play itself out during the sleep period. If you fatigue is fairly constant and doesn't seem related to when you take the pill, then taking it before bedtime might not help, but I guess it's worth a try. Aloha, Ned

If you have a favorite photo you'd love to use as an avatar or in a post (for the Member Photo Album or one of the other LCSC boards), but it's too dark, too light, too big, too red, too green, too blue, tilted... or it needs cropping, has a distracting background, includes something or someone you'd like to make disappear... I'll be glad to help you out. Send me a PM, I'll give you my email address, and you can attach the photo to an email telling me what you'd like done and how you plan to use it (as an avatar or in a post). I'll email the edited photo back to you, and in the case of a post photo, you can upload it to one of the free photo hosting sites like Photobucket, TinyPic, or Flickr. As an alternative, I can upload it to my web server and send you the URL to copy-paste as a link in your post. Any general questions on photos, ask them here and I'll try to answer. Aloha, Ned

Sounds like an excellent plan in all respects, Kelly. I imagine your burden feels a little bit lighter now. When you and your note-taking sister meet with the surgeon, be sure you get the correct spelling of any unfamiliar words and ask for clarification if need be. Sometimes that one word, new to us but routine to the surgeon, can convey more than a whole paragraph of descriptive text. My surgeon, in the initial consultation, grabbed paper towels out of the wall holder and drew diagrams, spelling out thoracoscopy and thoracotomy. I still have those! Aloha, Ned

I subscribe to the "natural lawn" concept, in which those hardy plants some refer to as weeds are admired for their perseverance and strength. Hope you feel better soon. Aloha, Ned

Kelly, Dr. West answered someone else's question on PET scans just today. Check here, then you can post a follow-up question at cancergrace.org if necessary: http://cancergrace.org/forums/index.php ... 38#msg1238 Aloha, Ned

Hi, Kelly, welcome to the group! I see you've already met a couple of our other Canadian members. The head chemo nurse in my cancer clinic is originally from Canada, though she's lived in Hawaii for a number of years -- she's a jewel! As to the question of why no biopsy yet, I can only guess that your tumor may be in a location that can't be reliably or safely accessed with a bronchoscopy or a needle biopsy, and the surgeon needs to plan another approach. That was my situation, and I was set up for a thoracoscopy, a scope procedure using a small incision between the ribs on the side. That's a minimally invasive procedure with a short hospital stay and generally quick recovery. Unfortunately, in my case the tissue samples taken via the scope procedure were inconclusive, so while I was still under anesthesia the surgeon transitioned to a thoracotomy, using the small incision as a starting point, and obtained positive tissue samples in that manner. My hospital stay was four days instead of the planned five days, and I had no complications during the recovery, but I would not have been able to care for someone else for the better part of a month. The link in my profile will take you to a more detailed version of my medical history. Send me a PM if you'd like any more info, and let us know what the surgeon says on the 9th. Aloha, Ned

Thanks for the note, Eric. Sounds like you have a wonderful family (some people don't, sorry to say). Best wishes and Aloha to you all. Ned

You're a sweetheart, Denise. Aloha, Ned

Hi, Marianne: My port (left side) caused very little discomfort as long as I didn't touch it, mainly some soreness around the left shoulder for about a week when moving my arm up and down. The shoulder harness in the car was quite irritating, so when on the driver's side I routed the strap under my arm to avoid the port. I wonder if a warm compress or hot water bottle (not too hot!) would help. That felt really good on my thoracotomy incision, but you'd better check with the doc's office before doing that. I like your photo! Aloha, Ned

In the overall scheme of things, I would take it as a compliment.

insult: to treat with insolence, indignity, or contempt --Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary I'll keep looking, but I haven't found the critter yet! Ned

I can't resist jumping into this one, and here's my opinion: Every one of these posts was written with the best of intentions. The most helpful post (up to this point, at least) was Sandra's. You're all heroes. My Aloha, Ned

Those are on a par with the best of Yogi's truisms! Aloha, Ned

Hi, Denise. I haven't had radiation myself, but from what I understand, when you do chemo and radiation together they tend to enhance each other, which of course is good, but it also can increase side effects, especially fatigue. So they give a weaker chemo dose weekly instead of the full strength dose every 3 weeks -- that is designed to smooth out the chemo ups and downs so the body is better able to handle the radiation. I believe it's common for Taxol/Carbo to be given in this manner in combination with radiaton, so if Tom's mix is being changed rather than just reduced in strength, it could be for another reason. Maybe someone who's actually done this will chime in. Anyway, sounds like Tom is doing quite well! Aloha, Ned

Judy, change roles for a moment. Put yourself into your previous counseling role and imagine that someone came to you with the situation you just described. What would you tell that person? Would it include things like... Lighten up on yourself, there's nothing that needs fixing right now that isn't BEING fixed right now on a subconscious level, you've been operating at 120 percent for almost a year and your body and mind need a break, don't try to force a time schedule on the process, when you're ready to plunge in again you'll know and nothing will hold you back... Aloha, Ned

Hi, Cathy, welcome to the group. Aloha, Ned