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Mary Colleen welcome, I had stage IV and I had chemo. I had Carboplatin, Taxol and Tarceva all at the same time. I have been cancer free since November 2005. Any questions that you think I can answer let me know. I think Tarceva is a good drug. Actually I don’t like any of them, but it may have saved my life. Stay positive, Ernie

Welcome, I had stage IV nsclc, diagnosed in July 2005. I was told that it was inoperable and there was no cure. I have been cancer free since November 2005. It sounds like your dad is getting good treatment and I would not only plan on him walking you down the isle, I would plan on him greeting his grandchildren into the world. Stay positive, Ernie

Russ, Welcome, sorry to hear about your mom. Your mom should know because then she can help plan on the best treatment to beat the cancer. This web site has a lot of people here that did not believe the prognoses of the doctors, I being one of them. If you have not already had a second opinion, you might want to encourage her to get one. Statistics are history and we are living today and for the future. Stay positive, Ernie

Susan, Welcome, glad to have you here. Ernie

Thanks, I think every post has the potential to help someone. Stay positive, Ernie

Barb, If you post something we can always find you. If you want to check and see when someone has posted last, just click on their profile, then click on find all post and bingo you will see every post they made with the latest first. Just something to help you navigate the site. Stay positive, Ernie :

Thanks Randy, That is great, but I can't wait till 2031. I am trying to figure mine out now. I already figured out how much I like dark chocolate, and you can get some with no sugar. Ernie

Jille, It sounds like your mom is getting very good treatment. The treatment is similar to my own. Avastin and Tarceva are both targeted drugs and have had very good results when used with Carboplatin and Taxol. In three months my stage IV pleural effusion was gone. Let’s pray your mom has the same results. Stay positive, Ernie

Barb, I am the only one that I know of that was given Tarceva 100mg from the beginning along with Carboplatin and Taxol. This is not the recommended way to use it, but I am glad we did I started treatment in August 2005 and three months later I was cancer free. I asked my oncologist what he thought did the trick and he said “Carboplatin, Taxol, Tarceva or Divine Intervention. I go along with the later. I never had a sick day with any of the drugs. I think Tarceva is a great drug, but it is used differently by different doctors. Dosage and time to start using it vary. I think Tarceva offers a lot of hope for a lot of us. My oncologist believes that it was wise to get them all at once if you can handle it, because some could be killed off by Taxol and others could be killed off by the Tarceva, so his attitude is lets get them all the first time if we can. Let us know if there is any trouble with side effects, a lot of us have some tips. Stay positive, Ernie

Nancy, We will be praying for you. Ernie

Welcome Deb, Your friend should ask all the questions she can think of. She should have some one with here to take notes and be a second pair of ears. After all the test and they give the results, I always recommend a second opinion. Even if it just confirms the first diagnoses, it is well worth doing and most insurance companies cover it. Most of all it is important to stay positive and pray a lot. Keep us posted. Stay positive, Ernie

I just had to share today with everyone. I had a PET/CT scan this morning. Originally I was gong to get the results from my oncologist on the 13th. I was scheduled to take a golfing trip with my son-in-law. So I would be wondering all that time. My wife was able to get my appointment changed to the 6th, before I would leave. I already had an appointment with my pulmonary doctor today. I had no idea that he would be able to get the results the same day, but he did and it was NED. PRAISE THE LORD. This makes over one year cancer free and 16 months since diagnosed. Just had to tell someone. Ernie

Cindi. I am sorry to hear that you feel so bad. It is natural to be scared. All of us that have been diagnosed with cancer are scared at one time or another. To beat this disease you need to put all of your heart and soul into fighting the disease. You have to decide that you are going to beat it, then do everything in your power to do it. That means that you go to your doctors appointment and that you don’t start smoking again. These are not things that will help. Talk to your doctor about how you feel, maybe an antidepressant would help you cope with the problems that you are having. I had to take one at first for a week or so. I can assure you that there are others hear that are praying that you get the treatment that will bring you through this. I will be one of them, I will pray that you stop smoking and have an easier time and make your appointments. Stay positive, Ernie

Welcome, I am sure you will get lots of support. Stay positive, Ernie

Sorry I forgot to give you the web address: http://www.tarceva.net/home.htm Ernie

Paulette, You can go to the Tarceva web site for non US residents. You will find that Tarceva is approved in the United Kingdom. You probably can find out from them how you can get this in the UK this is one of the drugs that was used in my treatment. I have never heard of an oncologist not trying something. They really don’t know how it will work. They were amazed with the results I had. No reason why your husband can’t be amazed too. Stay positive, Ernie

Paulette, You can not believe the doctors they are not always right in their prognosis. I was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in July 2005 and was told that there was no cure. Three months later I was cancer free. There is not a cancer that someone has not beaten. You may want to get a second opinion and you need a doctor that thinks that he can cure you husband. Start planning on winning and how to do it. If I can be of any help let me know. Stay positive, Ernie

Welcome, I don't know much about large cell, but I am sure you will get some good info from others. If you have not had a second opinion, you may want to get one. Maybe from someplace like MD Anderson or Sloan Kettering. Stay positive, Ernie

We have two new forums that should be informative and fun. Both are under the heading of NUTRITION. The first is: NUTRITION Nutritional information, links and new stories that may be beneficial to health and survival. This is a place that will have links to some very informative web sites. You can also post some nutritional tips about some of the things that worked for you or your loved one. The second is: RECIPES FOR HEALTHY LIVING Nutritional recipes and food ideas for healthy living. This is a place to post recipes that will benefit all and should be a lot of fun. If you read over the post: HOW TO USE THIS FORUM-PERSONAL COOKBOOK and Guidelines, you will learn how to copy and paste your recipes into your computer in an orderly fashion. Your own Cookbook. You can also post tips on how to use your favorite spice or herb. So please post your recipes. If you would like to be informed when a recipe is updated or added to; then just make a post and say I’ll try it. That way you will be notified when someone post to it. If you try a recipe and like it come back and make a comment, if you did not like it, try another one free. Don’t forget to order your copy of the Cookbook that Andrea has put together, should be available soon. So hit your Back button scroll down to NUTRITION and have some fun. Ernie

This makes a great soup and you won’t even know the broccoli and other vegetable are there. Black Bean Veggie Soup Serves 8, Approx 350 Calories 1 pound dry Black Beans 2 medium yellow onions (chopped fine) 6 cloves garlic (crushed) ¼ cup Olive oil 4 cans low salt no fat chicken broth (14oz cans) 1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and basil or onion (14.5oz) 2 cups mixed frozen vegetables (carrots, peas, corn green and lima beans etc.) 1 pound fresh Broccoli (cut in small pieces) 2 medium yellow onions Follow directions for cooking the beans on package except, during the cooking stage replace an equal amount of water with two cans of chicken broth, so if it calls for 6 cups of water you would use the 2 cans of chicken broth plus 20oz of water. Add 3-4 cloves garlic, olive oil and 2 onions (chopped) cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Beans will be soft. Put the other two cans of chicken broth in another pot. Add tomatoes, frozen mixed vegetables, 2 cloves garlic (crushed), and broccoli (cut in small pieces). Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer for 25 minutes or until broccoli stems are tender. Add four cups of the cooked beans to the other pot of soup. Stir to mix. Let cool to the point that you can puree mixture in a blender. Puree the vegetable bean mixture, a small amount at a time in a blender or food processor till it is smooth. Return to pot. Add remaining beans and all the juice. Simmer a few minutes. Stir to blend. Remove from heat let cool to put in containers to freeze or serve. Keep stirred as you package into containers in order to keep beans distributed. To each serving ( aprox 1 ½ cups) I add ½ teaspoon Turmeric and 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper and a few splashes of Tabasco sauce. Turmeric is bitter so you may want to use a little less, but it is also said that it helps fight cancer. This may be a little spicy for some. You may just want to add the Turmeric and a little salt and pepper. I don’t add this to the whole pot so that each person can add what they want. Serving options: Chopped green onions Shredded cheese veggie cheddar A variation to the Bean Soup For a different texture omit the broccoli. Additional options at serving, a dollop of low fat sour cream or a bit of sherry. Try your own variations and let us know how they come out.

Cheryl, I had stage IV with a pleural effusing. The reason the doctors may have changed their attitude is the spot on the hip. Do they know for sure that the spot on the hip is cancer? If it is then they consider that it has metastasized. That would make it stage IV or IIIb. I had spots all over my right lung plus the fluid between the lung and chest wall. The fluid changed mine from stage II to stage IV. The chemo that your husband is getting is the same type I got, Carboplatin and Taxol. They gave me Tarceva in addition to the chemo from the beginning. I had chemo once a week for three weeks then one week off, and then repeat. You might ask why some get it every week and some get it every three weeks. I don’t know the answer but it is common to see this. I would also ask about Tarceva. The standard answer I have heard is that they are saving it for a second line defense. My oncologist told me that we might as well use everything we have as long as I can take it. It is a must to get your husband spirits up and have him convinced that he can beat this. Anything I can do let me know. If he would like to talk to me we can arrange that. Stay positive, Ernie

I did not have a problem with appetite, but it is common. I think also being depressed will hurt the appetite. Your mom needs to know that she can beat the cancer and eating is one of the ways to fight. Like others have said plenty of water and small amounts of food are great. I try to drink a glass of water for every hour I am awake. One of my favorite foods for adding weight was Organic Almond Butter on a toasted English muffin. Have your mom eat her favorite foods. I also took a lot of supplements that may have helped. Stay positive, Ernie

This forum is for HEALTHY recipes and food tips. Links and other nutrition things of interest should be entered in the “Nutritional information, links and new stories that may be beneficial to health and survival” forum. It is the intent that we can all have a lot of fun and be well informed at these two forums. After you have posted a recipe and you later improve upon it go back and add it to the original posting. TO SUBMIT A RECIPE Create your recipe in Word program Start with Name of Recipe List ingredients Give directions Give number of servings if applicable Place any comments before or after the recipe. This way the recipe can be copied and pasted including the name to a Word document on ones computer. Example using the first recipe I posted: I will start with an easy one that will put a little garlic and Turmeric in your life. Healthy Deviled Eggs, Split hard boiled eggs lengthwise Remove and discard yolks Fill with your favorite Hommus You can buy plain Hommus or make your own. You can add whatever you like to the Hommus. I add crushed garlic and some Turmeric that will make them yellow. You can see that if you highlight from the word Healthy down to the word yellow, you will get the complete recipe and be able to paste it into your word program, without getting my comments. After you have created your recipe in word, you can spell check it and cut and paste it to your posting. If your recipe is a different recipe for something that is already entered you can post it in the same thread or create a new post. If your recipe is for a new dish then post it as a new posting. This way people will be able to just scan down to see what’s new TO CREATE YOUR OWN RECIPE FILES Create a Folder; Name it “LCSC RECIPES” Create folders within the LCSC RECIPES folder for each category you wish to have some suggestions: Appetizers Meat Beverages Breads Casseroles Condiments Deserts Dips Egg Legumes Pastas Poultry Salads Sauces Seafood Soups/Stews Vegetables Vegetarian Main Dish If you are lazy like me you can create folders now by highlighting each item and right click and copy, then create a folder and paste. You now have a place to store your recipes in an orderly fashion. When you find a recipe that you want to copy to your LCSC RECIPE file, just hit the minimize button, (that is the one in center top right). Open Word program. Copy and paste the recipe including the title. Paste into Word. Highlight and copy title. Select save Paste title Select category to save it in Hit save I recommend that in the view file you select list and arrange by name. This makes it easy to find things. All suggestions are welcome. LET’S HAVE SOME FUN Any questions contact me. Ernie

Suggested by Katie, "What types of foods help you with chemo side effects?" Mine is breakfast, every day I start out with a bowel of oatmeal with a pint of blueberries, a heaping teaspoon of Cinnamon and a cup of Soy Milk. I think this is what helps me stay regular and I don’t mean a regular guy. Ernie

Link to free vegetarian cook book download. http://cancerproject.org/resources/hand ... ok2004.pdf Ernie