ernrol

Bill, Miracles still happen today. You are right that no doctor knows how long anyone has to live. I was told one of their dumb estimates and I did not appreciate it, but I was too stubborn and they did not know my chief physician. I feel like I have been blessed with a small miracle. Stay positive, Ernie

Welcome, You will find many friends here. Stay positive, Ernie

Robin, I know it is hard waiting and not knowing, but until you have all the results of the test there is no need to worry. When you get more info let us know. There are a lot of survivors here that can encourage you. One of my favorite verses and sayings is Mathew 6:27 “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Keep us posted. Stay positive, Ernie

Lilly, It saddens me when I hear that you have such a bad time with chemo. I do not know what I did that helped me so much I had the same chemo plus Tarceva and still did not get sick at all. I have added all the things I did to My Story section. I did get approval from my doctor for each thing that I took. I think the AHCC and the Melatonin were two of the things that helped the a lot. I have read about people that had bad effects from chemo and took AHCC and it helped. We will pray that things will improve. Stay positive, Ernie

Joe, Happy Thanksgiving The Lord is so good. Stay positive. Ernie

Kasey, Happy Thanksgiving Thanks for sharing with us on thanksgiving. I think cancer has made me more thankful for everything. People get a chuckle when I tell them how I used to get annoyed about someone cutting me off in traffic and now I just sit back and thank the lord that I am here and can be cut off. It sure has changed my perspective for the better. It is hard for people to believe, but I truly think my cancer is answer to prayer. I prayed for a ministry and got it. I guess I was not specific enough. Have a great day. Stay positive, Ernie

Stephanie, I will pray a little extra for your dad today. Remember no matter what the doctors are not always correct in their predictions. Let's pray that your dad has the same good results that I did and he will be here for many more Thanksgivings. Keep us posted. Stay positive, Ernie

Jamie, Have a great Thanksgiving. I just noticed that you were given Tarceva. Are you still taking it, if so what dose? I was given Tarceva 100mg along with Carboplatin and Taxol in August 2005. Stopped chemo November 2005, still taking Tarceva. I think it's the good Lord that makes it work. Stay positive, Ernie

Barb, Thanks it is very good. You can go there now and listen to the program any time you want. Stay positive, Ernie

Sophie, Sorry to hear about your mom, there are a lot of people here to support you. Is your mom getting any other chemo along with the Alimta? Maybe you could tell us a little more about your mom’s treatment since last December. Is this the first chemo? Keep us posted. Stay positive, Ernie

Rob, Having scans and waiting for results is always a little scary. If it is the same size as before on the x-ray then it shows no growth it may be scar tissue. It does no good to worry about it or anything for that matter. A verse that comes to mind that is really true is: Mathew 6:27 “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Do some fun things and keep your mind off of it. Keep us posted. Stay positive, Ernie

Katie/Rick, Thanks for all you do. Hope you had a good time in Boston. Stay positive, Ernie

Welcome Amy, Some of the medications could cause this or a lack of oxygen might. I never experienced any loss of memory. There are many here and I am sure someone may have some info. Keep us posted. Stay positive, Ernie

Don, I liked your posting. The Lord still does miracles. I don't have any question right now, but I did like what you said about posting it here so that everyone could benefit. I had been e-mailing files to people the requested about the things that I have done to help me. When I read your post, I thought why not so I posted the entire file on My Story. I thought you may like to read them. My Story - Ernie's Story stage IV. Stay positive, Ernie

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 9:27 pm Post subject: Ernie's Story Stage IV In July 2005, I took my routine physical. I was given a clean bill of health and was told that I was in great shape. Not bad for a 68 year old. I requested an X-ray, because I had been experiencing a pain in the shoulder and some occasional indigestion. The results of the X-ray showed that there was pleura effusion of the right lung. This fluid was between the chest wall and the lung. A CT scan revealed a 2.4 cm tumor in the right lung. They drained about a cup of fluid and it contained malignant cells. A PET scan revealed that the tumor was malignant and there were many malignant nodules. The doctor said it looked like some one took a paint brush and flicked it in the lung. Little specks around the lung. He stated that was stag IIIb and that some doctors would say it was stage IV. I was told that this was inoperative and that radiation could not be used. My first thought was that I was going to die, and soon After getting over the initial shock the three of us, including my wife Carol, daughter Kerri who had been with me when the doctor gave the diagnosis, decided that our God could heal me if it was his will and we believed that it was. We traveled to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York for a second opinion. They agreed with the treatment which had been laid out for me, which were chemo, carboplatin and taxol. The only thing they would do different was to drain the fluid. I asked might the fluid might go away by itself. I was told that there was not a chance of that happening. I was told that there was no cure and that the most we could hope for was to slow its progress and maybe reduce it in size. After returning to Naples, Florida, I started my chemo, Carboplatin and Taxol plus 100mg of Tarceva taken daily. Tarceva is usually used after you have failed at least one cycle of chemo. My doctor decided to use it with the first round of chemo. After two cycles of chemo the tumor had shrunk 30%, the fluid was down 70% and the nodules were 90% gone. I believe God was working through the doctors to heal me. After four cycles of chemo, a CT scan showed that the tumor had shrunk another 30%, and everything else was gone. My oncologist now believed that they may be able to treat the tumor with radiation, so I was given a PET scan. I will always remember the doctor words as he said I have never seen anything quite like this, the cancer is gone and there is only scar tissue. That was November, Feb no cancer, May 06 NED, Sep 06 MRI normal, Next check Nov I received e-mails from people all over Florida who told me that they were praying for me. I paid no attention to the survival percentages for my type of cancer. The only percentage I believe is that God can heal 100% of those he wants to heal, and I believed that he wanted to heal me I have learned that you have to have a positive attitude. I can not emphasize enough that you must believe that you will be healed. You have to believe in the doctors or yourself or something. If you believe that you will be healed your chances of becoming a survivor increase. I feel I had an edge because I believed that Jesus Christ heals and he still does miracles. I believe that God does the healing whether you believe in him or not. My life has changed for the better. Each day has become a special gift. Encouraging others makes these days even more valuable The positive experience I had was to realize how frail life is, that we should treasure each day we have. Cancer does this. We should not need to have cancer to realize this, because no one can say for sure if they will be here tomorrow. Make every day count. I would be glad to share all that I did to help my fight with cancer. Just e-mail me Ernie Update, November 1, 2006. Hybrid PET/CT scan NED Praise the Lord. Says lungs clear, good O2 in blood. Running 3 miles a day. Training for half marathon in spring January 9, 2007 The FAA after much correspondence has issued me a medical certificate, I can now fly Angel Flights. Praise the Lord! Januaary 21, 2007: Will try to run half marathon. Click on News article below: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/jan ... me/?sports Next oncologist appointment Feb. 2007 Next scans/MRI Feb 5 and 7 2007, changed for FAA pilot medical 2/7/07 MRI OK CT scan OK, PET scan shows uptake on hip. 2/26/07 Oncologist believes spot on hip may be running related. will redo PET scan end of march. No running for now. Next scan 3/23/07. 3/23/07 PET scan shows reduced uptake. Still subtle 6mm lesion too small for biopsy. Will rescan 3months. 4/10/2007 The FAA issues me a First Class medical certificate good through September 30th. The Lord is good. July 11,2007 results of CT PET and MRI. MRI clean. CT and PET show a couple of nodules. One is 1.9cm. The spot on hip is gone. Everything still confined to one lung. Plan on chemo and maybe radiation. July 16,2007 Starting Carboplatin and Taxol. Found out spot on hip is not gone, but SUV reduced to 5.4. July 23, 2007 Added Avastin stopped Tarceva. November 7, 2007 Results of my scans show that all but one of the spots that we were concerned with have resolved. The other one has grown from 1.9cm to 3.6cm and the SUV has gone from 5.3 to 12.2. The onc said that this could possibly be from the Avastin working from inside the tumor, causing the increase in size and elevated SUV. He wants to hit it with radiation just in case that is not the Avastin. So Friday I go to the Radiation Oncologist. I still feel great will have to see how the radiation does. It may slow me down a little. I will do all I can to keep from getting fatigued. January 11th, 2008. I got the results of the latest CT scan on Jan 9th. The results were mixed. The tumor they were radiating has shrunk by 75%, but some new spots showed up in the right lung and a few spots on the liver. The new chemo starts on Jan 16th. It will be Alimta, Gemzar and Avastin. Will have more scans around March to see how it is going. I have seemed to have recovered from the radiation and at about 90% of normal, whatever normal is. The Good Lord is still my chief physician and I put all my trust in him. March 3, 2008, Scans showed no improvement Chemo change to Navelbine and back on Tarceva and going to 150mg instead of the 100mg that I received the first time. April 19, 2008, My motto has been “Stay positive.” Am I always positive? No, there are times that those negative thoughts slip in. The goal has to be to get rid of the negative and back on the positive as soon as you can, and if you are newly diagnosed to get positive. My first year and a half with stage IV cancer was pretty easy. Everything went right. In four months I was in remission. I was able to stay real positive with such good results. I am sure many people thought that well it’s easier when things go so well. I was in remission for about a year and a half, and then some cancer reappeared. I had a change in chemo that failed. I had some side effects that were not very pleasant. I had radiation that gave me some bad side effects. I am now back on 150mg of Tarceva and Navelbine and will have scans in May. All of this made it more difficult to stay positive and I did have my bad times. I have always believed the Lord was in control and still do. So I prayed to find out how my experience could help others stay positive. I think that I now I have the answer. From the beginning I could have been negative, and if I had I would have had a weaker immune system and would not have had such good results with my chemo. I would have had a year and a half of being negative and not enjoying life. The year and a half that I was in remission was really fantastic. So now when things are not going as well and those negative thoughts creep in, I just think ,”would I want to have lost those great days of my life while I was in remission” The answer is obviously no. The Lord has been so good to me through all of my treatment and I believe this is just his way of showing me how I can help others get into that positive mood. Knowing that being negative may deprive me of some of the greatest days of my life, has made it easier to be positive. Here are a few facts about being positive. You always feel better when you have a positive outlook. Being positive strengthens the immune system and gives you a better chance of beating this disease or any other disease. Your friends and family will become more positive. Feeling positive can turn a bad day into a good day. These facts are true even if you don’t have cancer and I believe can extend life for anyone. Changing from negative to positive thoughts is not always easy, but if you pray and try as hard as you can, it is well worth the effort. Each day we are positive is a better day in our life. I hope and pray that this will help those of you that are having trouble staying positive make the change. The real truth is that thinking negative can shorten ones life. So let the good days roll. This all supports one of my favorite verses: MATHEW 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Stay positive Last edited by ernrol on Tue April 19, 2008 3:10 pm; THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN ADDED SINCE SO MANY HAVE REQUESTED IT Many people have requested a list of things that I thought helped me beat the cancer, including what I did and still do to fight my cancer. Thanks to Don I am posting them so that anyone that wants to take the time may view them and if they have any questions just PM or email me. I hope there is something here for everybody. This is a statement that I gave my Oncologist after going into remission Statement to doctors, November 2005 Supplements taken during cycle 1 and cycle 2 of chemo: 2 grams AHCC 3 times a day between meals, 10mg melatonin before bed, 100mg CoQ10 breakfast and dinner, 1 tab Centrum Silver breakfast, 500mg Calcium breakfast and dinner, 4 tab Citrucel breakfast and dinner, 2 cap Cardio-Edge breakfast and dinner, 1 cap Policosanol breakfast and dinner. Added after first 2 cycles taken with cycle 3 and 4 and still do, but not within 24 hours of chemo. 500mg Green Tea, 100mg Grape seed extract, 320mg Garlic, 30mg zinc, 100mg B-6, all taken with breakfast. Foods I consumed every day, 3-4 egg white omelet, 1 cup Blueberries, 1 cup Raspberries, ¼ cup Dry Steal Cut Oatmeal, 4-6 oz Pomegranate Juice, 1-2 oz Noni Juice, 1 cup Soy Milk, 2Tbl Flax seed milled, 1Tbl Wheat Germ. 1 Whole Tomato, 3-4 Tbl Organic Almond Butter, 1 Whole Grain English Muffin, 1 tsp Cinnamon, 1 cup Yogurt, 12-15 8oz glasses of Mountain Valley Water( High Alkaline), Stevia instead of sugar. Other foods but not every day, Fish, heavy on Salmon, Lots of green veg, Chicken, Whole Wheat breads and pasta, sweet potatoes, Nuts, heavy on the Almonds, Soy meat substitutes. Foods excluded, Sweets- sugar, Alcohol, beef, White bread-potatoes-pasta. This got me through the chemo without losing any weight. I actually gained 10 pounds, so I have cut back on the quantity and increase the exercise to try and loose it. Other things that contributed most to managing my cancer. The knowledge that I have a God that has the power to heal me. Strong family support. Support from my Pastor and church. Support from prayer groups all over Florida. The doctors that God led me to. The ability to look forward to each Chemo treatment, I enjoyed every one of them. Being able to maintain my weight. No adverse side effects from chemo. Exercise Program. Exercise 6 Times a week, Weights 3 times a week upper body 40 mins, Aerobic 3 times a week. Tread Mill 47 min including 40 min 12 degree incline @ 4 MPH and 1 min 1.5 degree incline @ 8MPH. Daily Supplements and Meds I take now I have started a series of reports on the supplements, herbs and foods that I take. I will be doing a short report with links on each Supplement/Herb that I take. If you would like to have these reports e-mailed to you, send me your e-mail address. erniepuckett@comcast.net Items with date to right were added or updated since original posting. Last update 10/20/2007 Supplement/ Med__________________PURPORTED USES One hour before Breakfast AHCC 2 grams_____________________Cancer prevention and treatment * ________________________________.Chemotherapy side effects * Astragalus Supreme 4 caps_________Chemotherapy side effects, Immunostimulation *6/11/07 Breakfast Citrucel 4_________________________Regularity Centrum Silver 1___________________Multi Vitamin Calcium Citrate + D3 630mg__________Cancer prevention * 6/9/07 Cardio-Edge 2_____________________Cholesterol control CoQ10 100mg_____________________Cancer prevention and Chemo side effects * Magnesium Citrate 200mg___________Heart and muscle--12/16/2006 Garlic 320mg______________________Cancer prevention and Cancer treatment * Zinc 15mg (In Centrum Silver)________Cancer prevention * 6/15/07 Green Tea Extract 500mg___________Cancer prevention and Cancer treatment * Grape Seed Extract ActVin 100mg____Cancer prevention * L-Glutamine 500mg_________________Cancer-related cachexia * Vitamin B-6 500mg_________________Immunostimulation * Vitamin B-12 5000mcg______________Lung cancer* 5/9/07 Selenium 200MCG___________________Cancer prevention and Cancer treatment * 2/6/07 Cool Cayenne 600mg _______________Cancer prevention 4/02/07 American Ginseng 1000mg____________Cancer prevention 10/20/07 After Breakfast Ultra Thistle 360mg (milk thistle)_ Cancer Prevention* 10/20/07 Quercetin 500mg__________________Cancer prevention* 10/20/07 Between Meals AHCC 2 grams_____________________Cancer prevention and treatment * Super Curcumin 4 grams____________Cancer prevention* 6/9/07 After Lunch Ultra Thistle 360mg (milk thistle)_ Cancer Prevention* 10/20/07 Quercetin 500mg__________________Cancer prevention* 10/20/07 Between Meals AHCC 2 grams______________________Cancer prevention and treatment * Astragalus Supreme 4 caps___________Chemotherapy side effects, Immunostimulation * 6/11/07 Super Curcumin 4 grams____________Cancer prevention* 4/12/07 Dinner Citrucel 4___________________________Regularity Cardio-Edge 2______________________Cholesterol control CoQ10 100mg______________________Cancer prevention and Chemo side effects * Magnesium Citrate 200mg____________Heart and muscle--12/16/2006 L-Glutamine 500mg__________________Cancer-related cachexia * Cool Cayenne 600mg _______________Cancer prevention 6/09/07 After Dinner Ultra Thistle 360mg (milk thistle)_ Cancer Prevention* 10/20/07 Quercetin 500mg__________________Cancer prevention* 10/20/07 30 min Prior to Bed Melatonin 20mg_____________________Cancer treatment, Chemotherapy side effects * • Taken from Sloan Kettering’s Herb web site: Any of the above with an asterisk can be checked out on the Sloan Kettering web site: http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11570.cfm Diet Exercise I try to drink an 8 oz glass of water (Mountain Valley- highly alkaline) for every hour I am awake. Foods that I eat to help with my cancer treatment and prevention Things I try to eat every day Brreakfast Oatmeal (¼ cup dry steal cut) 1 pint blueberries Soy Milk A heaping teaspoon of cinnamon 1 tablespoon Flax seed whole, then ground. Other than breakfast ½ to 1 teaspoon Turmeric 1 to 2 ounces Noni Juice 4 to 6 ounces Pomegranate Juice Things I try to incorporate in my diet as much as possible. Lots of vegetables. (organic if possible) Beans, Kidney, black beans etc Whole wheat pasta with lots of tomato sauce Whole Wheat Bread Soy meat substitutes Nuts especially Almonds Fish a lot of Wild Salmon Mushrooms Shitake Chicken Things I don’t eat Beef White Flour White sugar White Pasta White Bread Things I eat a limited amount of Veal (Very Little) Lamb Sweets (only occasionally) Grass fed buffalo meat--12/16/2006 Exercise I exercise 6 time a week, 3 times aerobic (must do till I sweat) and 3 times weights. VERSES OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO WEATHER THE STORM Sent to me from many friends I printed these out and would read them from time to time for encouragement. ISAIAH 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you, Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you: I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. MATHEW 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? PHILIPPIANS 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, But in everything by prayer and petition, With thanksgiving, present your request to God. HEBREWS 4:12 For the word of God is living, and active. Sharper than any double-edge sword, It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. I Peter 5:6-11 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's almighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of sufferings. ****And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. AMen Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. Isaiah 43:12 "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Mark 14:35 "He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed" Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be STRONG AND COURAGEOUS. Do NOT be terrified; do NOT be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Jeremiah 29:1 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. HEBREWS 10: 35-36 DO NOT THROW AWAY THIS CONFIDENT TRUST IN THE LORD, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. REMEMBER THE GREAT REWARD IT BRINGS YOU!! PATIENT ENDURANCE IS WHAT YOU NEED NOW SO YOU WILL CONTINUE TO DO GOD'S WILL. THEN YOU WILL RECEIVE ALL THAT HE HAS PROMISED. MARK 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours PSALM 41:3 The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed And restore him from his bed of illness.

Teri, I lost 4 pounds my first week of chemo. I then went into my eating mode. Here is what my breakfast was every morning through chemo. I gained 20 pounds that I am now shedding. A bowl of oatmeal (1/4 cup dry steal cut) plus 1 pint of blueberries 2 tablespoons of Flax seed ground, ¼ cup raisins, some chopped almonds and about a cup of so milk. Then I had a 4 egg white omelet with salsa. I finished off breakfast with a toasted English whole wheat muffin covered with a lot of Almond Butter and a little naturally sweetened jelly. That got me off to a good start. If you want to know more of some of the other things I did let me know and I can e-mail them. Stay positive, Ernie

Bill, It’s great to here that you have that right attitude. It sounds like you are ready for the chemo and to fight to win. With that attitude I expect to see you around many more Christmases. If you are going for the Drip, Drip, Drip chemo like I had, about 4 hours. You might be interested in what I did. I bought a DVD and some funny movies, packed a good lunch and really enjoyed my chemo. Sounds nuts, but it worked for me. Keep us posted. Stay positive, Ernie

Welcome, We have many people here that have gone against all predictions of their doctors. I am one of them. It sounds like you have the beginnings of a good team to beat this with Teri. Staying positive is sometimes very hard to do in face of some of the medical predictions. You are absolutely right when you say anything is beatable. Learn all about your disease so that you can make good decisions concerning your treatment. The more you learn and read some of the bios here the more comfortable you will become. Let us know more about your treatment and how things are going. Stay positive, Ernie

Welcome Judy, I am sure you will find a lot of friends here willing to share. By sharing with others you will be able to keep a positive attitude and beat your cancer. You have so many options to communicate here PM message, e-mail, and posting. If I can be of any help let me know. Keep us posted. Stay positive, Ernie

Connie, I wish I had some magical advice that I could give you, but you have been through a lot more than I. I can give some extra prayers. With all of us praying it has to help. Stay positive, Ernie

Michele, Welcome to the site. You will find a lot of friends here. You will know a lot more after you go to Moffitt. Keep us posted I am right down the street from you in Naples. When you find out what stage and what treatment they plan let us know. Plan on beating whatever cancer you have. When you go for your scans ask for a copy on a CD, then you will always have them if you go somewhere else for a second opinion. Stay positive, Ernie

Welcome Debra, There are a lot of us doing very well that have had stage III or IV cancer. If you would like I can e-mail you some of the things I did during chemo and things I still do. They may be of some help to you. Keep us posted. Stay positive, Ernie

Melissa, A CT scan is the best to get and some places have newer equipment that is better than the older. One is called a spiro CAT scan. My daughter had a scan because of family history, myself and my dad. Had no problem with the insurance. Sounds like your doc could be a little more cooperative. Stay positive, Ernie

Arron, Welcome, it sounds like you are getting some good chemo treatment and are havein similar results as I had. I did not have any bad side effects, but my chemo was a little different. One thing I do is drink lots of water. I think this helps. Keep us posted. Stay positive, Ernie

Nice to have you here Jack. Hope you can add some info for us. We all seem to react differently to the treatmnents. Stay positive, Ernie