ronna

Hi There!!! Just got my results back from my chest xray I had on fri...showed my compressed fracture, which it showed in March, but everything else is un changed since March....My counts were still up as of my appt. fri, and I dont go back in for 3 weeks......sooo and hanging on and still riding it out!!!! HEE HAW!!!!!!!! Take care....Ronna

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THERE IS A SITE SUCH AS THIS, THAT IS FOR BRAIN CANCER????? MY BOYFRIENDS STEP DAD WAS DX WITH THIS RIGHT ABOUT THE TIME I WAS WITH SCLC. THIS SITE HAS BEEN SO GREAT, I THOUGHT IF THERE WAS ONE FOR HIM, HE COULD REALLY BENIFIT...THANK YOU RONNA

THIS IS THE KIND OF NEWS EVERYONE WANTS TO HEAR AT THE END OF A PERFECT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YEAH GOOD LUCK AND KEEP STRONG!!!!!!!!!RONNA

IM SO SORRY ABOUT YOUR DAD....HES AT PEACE NOW AND IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE, ITS JUST SO HARD TO LET GO, EVEN THO THIS IS TRUE. MY DAD DIED TWO YEARS AGO DECEMBER..VERY UNEXPECTED, HE HAD A MASSIVE HEART ATTACH, AND THEN THEY FOUND IN THE AUTOPSY, HE HAD LC..THE WAY I LOOKED AT IT, HE DIDNT HAVE TO SUFFER THRO ALL THE TREATMENTS ECT....AND THEN, 5 MONTHS LATER, I WAS DX W/ LC...LIFE IS FUNNY SOMETIMES...ABOUT THE TIME YOU THINK YOU HAVE IT FIGURED OUT, IT SHOWS YOU, YOU DONT...YOURE NOT EVEN CLOSE......OH WELL, IM GOING DAY BY DAY NOW, AND NOT TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT, JUST LIVING IT... IVE LEARNED ALOT AND LOOK AT THINGS SO DIFFERENT SINCE I WAS DX...IVE LED A VERY FULL LIFE AT 47, I JUST WANT MORE TIME W/ MY BOYS, AND IVE GOTTEN THAT THIS PAST YEAR AND IM GRATEFUL......GOOD LUCK, BE STRONG, AND IM SORRY.....PUT THE BEST PICTURE YOU HAVE OF YOUR DAD OUT WHERE EVERYONE ESPECIALLY YOU, CAN SEE IT......IT HELPED ME ALOT, I CRIED AT FIRST, EVERY TIME I LOOKED AT IT, BUT AFTER A LITTLE WHILE IT REALLY DID HELP....I DID THE SAME WHEN MY GRANDPA DIED.....HANG IN THERE........MY PRAYERS ARE W/ YOU OK??????? RONNA

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HANG IN THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RONNA

THIS IS SUCH GOOD NEWS....CONGRADS!!!!!!!!!!!!TAKE CARE!!!!!!RONNA.. IM PRAYING AND PRAYING FOR ALL OF OUR 'FAMILY MEMBERS', PRAYING THAT THEY HANG IN THERE AND GET THE BEST RESULTS POSSIBLE........

FOR THE MONTH OF MAY, IVE BEEN PUT ON A CHEMO TREATMENT THAT SEEMS TO BE WORKING...FIRST TIME IN A YEAR I COULD GO A FULL 21 DAYS.NO NAUSUA ETC..ITS SUCH A MIRACLE..AND LIKE I SAID IT WAS THE LAST CHEMO THE DR. WAS GOING TO TRY.....BUT EVERY DAY I FEEL STRONGER AND 'NORMAL'. I ACTUALLY STARTED DRIVING AGAIN!!!!! SO NICE, JUST LIKE IM 16 AGAIN... FOR THE MONTH OF MAY, MY COUNT HAS BEEN UP. NO SHOTS NEEDED..IM ON MY 2ND ROUND OF THIS CHEMO, STILL NO SIDE EFFECTS..I GO IN TOMAROW FOR MY BLOOD COUNT AND MY 'ZOMETA'. I LOVE THAT STUFF, I CAN FEEL THE DIFFERENCE EVEN BEFORE THE 15 MIN. IV IS DONE...TAKES AWAY ALL ACHES, WHICH IS WHAT IM DOWN TO...NOT MUCH PAIN ANY MORE..IVE CUTS MY PAIN MEDS. WAY DOWN TO ALMOST NOTHING.... NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THAT...IVE GONE FROM 13 MEDICATIONS TO 4!!! ALL THIS IN A YEAR......ANYWAY...IM RAMBLING NOW....THE POWER OF PRAYER IS SOOOO POWERFUL!!! I REALLY BELEIVE THIS MORE THAN I EVER DID IN THE PAST......SO LIKE I SAY, HANG ON AND RIDE IT OUT!!!! RONNA

SANDI,THATS SUCH GREAT NEWS...CONGRADS!!!!! GOOD LUCK AND HANG IN THERE....BE AS POSSITIVE AS YOU CAN.....THE BEST YOU WILL FIND...... RONNA

SUCH GREAT NEWS!!!!! GOOD LUCK AND TAKE CARE....HANG ON AND RIDE IT OUT!!! RONNA

i WENT IN YESTERDAY FOR TEST RESULTS ON MY BONE SCAN.....ITS NOT JUST THE FACT THEIR WAS NO PROGRESSION, BUT THE FACT THAT THEIR WAS IMPROVEMENT...NO BOOSTER SHOTS WERE NEEDED AND I DONT HAVE TO GO BACK FOR 2 WEEKS INSTEAFD OF ONE......IM SO RELEIVED AND HAPPY...THE POWER OF PRAYER IS VERY STRONG....I DONT BELEIVE THIS...MY DR. WAS READY TO THROW IN THE TOWEL BEFORE WE TRIED THIS LAST CHEMO.......THANK YOU.RONNA

I WENT IN YESTERDAY FOR THE RESULTS ON MY BONE SCAN AND IT DID JUST SHOW ANY PROGRSSION BUT IMPROVEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!! I ONCE AGAIN HAD TO HAVE TO "BOOSTERSHOTS" AND DONT HAVE TO GO BACK IN FOR TWO WEEKS INSTEAD OF NEXT WEEK...MY DR. IS SOOOO EXCITED, I THINK SHE WAS READY TO THROW IN THE TOWEL BEFORE MAY, WHEN WE STARTED THIS CHEMO. I START MY NEXT TREATMENT MONDAY........ITS A MIRACLE I DO BELEIVE AND THE POWER OF PRAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TAKE CARE, RONNA

HELLO EVERYONE!! I, JUST A FEW DAYS AGO FOUND THE MESSAGE BOARDS AND THIS GREAT WEBSITE, I INTRODUCED MYSELF, BUT GUESS I LEFT OUT MY STORY. SO HERE IT IS. IM 47 YRS OLD, I HAVE 3 BOYS 29-22-18 AND A GRANDSON THAT WILL BE 2 IN JUNE. I HAVE ONE GREAT BOYFRIEND FOR THE PAST ALMOST 4 YRS, THAT HAS GIVEN ME SUPPORT AND ALL THE LOVE TO KEEP ME GOING...HES THE BEST....I TRY TO SPEND MORE TIME W/ MY BOYS, BUT THEY ALL HAVE VERY BUSY LIVES, LIKE ALOT OF US. WELL, OCT 12-01 I WAS LAYED OFF MY JOB ID HAD FOR 13 YRS. DEC 13-01, MY DAD DIED OF A MASSAVE HEART ATTACT. WHEN AN AUTOPSY WAS DONE, IT SHOWED HE HAD LC. MY DAD AND I WERE VERY CLOSE. WE WORKED TOGETHER,ETC. I WAS ALWAYS THE BOY HE DIDNT HAVE. MY DAD SMOKED SINCE I COULD REMEMBER, I TENDED TO COMPARE MYSELF TO HIM, SINCE HE SEEMED SO HEALTHY AND ACTIVE, I COULD SMOKE AND BE THAT TOO. I WAS ALWAYS VERY HEALTHY, WENT TO DR. ONE TIME A YEAR FOR A PHYSICAL AND THAT WAS IT. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WAS CRUSHED WHEN MY DAD PAST AWAY. IN JAN, I SOLD EVERYTHING I OWNED AND MOVED TO OKLAHOMA WHERE MY BEST FRIEND LIVED, IN THE MEAN TIME I WAS HAVING COLD/.ALLERGY SYMPTOMS THAT I COULDNT SEEM TO KICK, I JUST FIGURED IT WAS ALL THE STRESS AND CHANGES THAT WERE CAUSING IT...DEEP DOWN I HAD A FEAR IT WAS MORE WHEN I STARTED FEELING A PAIN IN MY RIGHT LUNG WHEN I INHALED. IN MARCH, MY BOYFRIEND CAME TO OKLAHOMA AND BROUGHT ME BACK TO LIVE W/ HIM IN lACEY WASH. I FINALLY WENT TO THE DR. HE TREATED ME FOR ASTHMA, I WAS ON STERIODS AND INHALERS. THIS WENT ON TIL MAY, MY HEAD AND NECK KEPT SWELLING.. COME TO FIND OUT I HAD A SEVERE CASE OF SUPERIOR VENA CAVA. I WAS SENT TO THE HOSPITAL, FINALLY GOT THAT XRAY, AND WAS DIAGNOSISED 5-15-02 W/ SCLC. EVERYTHING HAPPENED SOOO FAST, I KEPT WAITING FOR SOME ONE TO TELL ME A MISTAKE HAD BEEN MADE AND THAT I WOULD BE JUST FINE. LIKE I SAID BEFORE, WHAT HURTS THE VERY MOST IS THE LOOK IN MY FRIENDS AND FAMILYS EYES, THAT THEY TRY SO HARD TO HIDE. I LET THEM KNOW IM FINE AND THEY NEED TO BE ALSO....THEY ARE GETTING BETTER, MORE COMFORTABLE AROUND ME, KNOWING ITS OK TO SAY WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE WHOLE THING. AND LIKE IVE SAID, I THINK IT WAS GODS WAY OF TELLING ME 'STOP' AND SEE WHAT YOU HAVE AND APPRECIETE IT ALL. I KNOW IVE TENDED TO TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTITE. I HAVE SOOOO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR...I SEE IT ALL NOW....IVE ALWAYS GOTTEN WHAT I WANT AND ALL I WANT NOW IS MORE TIME TO ENJOY ALL THE LOVE I HAVE TO GIVE MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND HOPEFULLY HELP THEM SEE THE SAME, WITHOUT HAVING SUCH A DRAMATIC WAKE-UP CALL LIKE I GOT. OVER THE PAST YR NOW IVE BEEN NOTHING BUT SICK, UP UNTIL MAY...IVE SPENT TIME OUT OF EVERY MONTH,(EXCEPT MAY) FROM 1 WEEK UP TP 3 WEEKS....I KNOW ALL THE NURSES ON THAT 4TH FLOOR AND LOVE THEM ALL!!!! THEY ARE THE BEST....... IN THE PAST 3 WEEKS, MY COUNT HAS BEEN SO GOOD THAT I HAVENT NEEDED A BOOSTER SHOT AS I CALL THEM,.. NOW TOMMARROW I GO IN FOR A BONE SCAN......SCARY AND ANXIOUS I AM....MY BOYFRIEND, MARK WILL BE THERE W/ ME...HIS FAMILY HAS BEEN ALOT OF SUPPORT TO ME, GIVING ME RIDES TO THE DR. ETC. MARKS STEP DAD WAS DX WITH BRAIN CANCER ALMOST ABOUT THE TIME I WAS DX W/ LC. HES STILL RECEIVING KEMO. HAD SURGERY RIGHT AWAY, BUT COULDNT GET IT ALL. THEY LIVE 2 HRS FROM SPOKANE, SO IT QUITE A WAYS FOR US TO GO SEE THEM....THEY SEEM TO DOING GOOD THO. THE CHEMO IM ON NOW, IVE DONE ONE SERIES, OF 21 DAYS AND DIDNT GET SICK OR ANYTHING...MY DR. TOLD ME IT WAS THE LAST ONE SHE WAS GOING TO TRY..ITS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE FIRST ONES I DID VP16. THAT WAS IV, NOW IM ON THE PINK PILL...SEEMS TO BE WORKING....WELL SEE TOMARROW.... SO THAT IS MY STORY, HOPE I DIDNT RAMBLE TOO MUCH....HA HA.... TAKE CARE AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR RESPONSES... RONNA

I LIKE ALL THE OTHERS, RESPECT EVERYONES PERSONAL BELIEFS ON RELIGION. I AM A FIRM BELIEVER THAT THERE IS A PLACE WAITING, ALONG W/ FRIENDS AND FAMILY, FOR ME ON THE OTHER SIDE...IM PRETTY TORN SOMETIMES THO, KNOWING HOW MUCH I WILL MISS MY SONS 29-22-18 AND GRANDSON WHICH WILL BE 2 IN JUNE....BUT KNOWING WE WILL ALSO BE TOGETHER SOMEDAY AGAIN, MAKES THAT EASIER. IVE BEEN LUCKY AND LED A VERY FULL LIFE, BUT IVE ALSO FOUND THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AFTER 47 YEARS, WEVE BEEN TOGETHER FOR ALMOST 4 YEARS, AND I KNOW WE WILL BE TIL THE END..THIS WAS THE PERSON I ALWAYS LOOKED FOR AND ACTUALLY FINALLY FOUND....SO I TRY TO ENJOY EVERY MINUTE I GET TO SPEND W/ HIM AND THE REST OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY..........TAKE CARE AND STAY POSSITIVE.......THATS THE NAME OF THE GAME..I HAD A YOUNG BOY WHEEL ME DOWNSTAIRS OF THE HOSPITAL, WE TALKED AS WE WENT AND THE ONE THING I REMEMBER WAS WHEN HE SAID, YOU JUST HAVE TO HOLD ON AND RIDE IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND THATS EXACTLY WHAT IT FEELS LIKE IVE DONE.. RONNA

GAYLE, I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT, AND HOW VERY SCARY JUST NOT KNOWING CAN BE. NOV 12,2001, I GOT LAYED OFF FROM A JOB I'D HAD FOR 13 YEARS. ID ALWAYS BEEN VERY HEALTHY, NEVER WENT TO THE DR. EXCEPT FOR YEARLY PHYSCAL. DEC. 13,2001, MY FATHER DIED FROM A MASSIVE HEART ATTACT, AND SINCE HE DIED AT HOME THEY DID AN AUTOPSY. THEY FOUND HE HAD LC, IT WAS ALREADY IN HIS LYPHNOIDS . MY DAD AND I WERE VERY CLOSE, WE WORKED TOGETHER, ETC...HE HAD SMOKED SINCE I COULD REMEMBER, IM 47 AND HAD SMOKED SINCE HIGH SCHOOL. I COMPARED MYSELF TO MY DAD AS FAR AS THE SMOKING, NOT REAL SMART, BUT I FIGURED HE HAD SMOKED THIS LONG AND WAS QUITE HEALTHY, VERY VERY ACTIVE THEN I SHOULD BE ALSO. A FEW WEEKS AFTER MY DAD PASTED AWAY, I NOTICED A PAIN IN MY RIGHT LUNG, MOSTLY WHEN I WAS SMOKING AND INHALING. WENT TO THE DR., HE TREATED ME FOR ASTHMA, I WAS ON STEROIDS, INHALERS ECT...(THIS IS WHEN I RETURNED FROM OKLAHOMA) I SOLD EVERYTHING AT THE FIRST OF THE YEAR 2002 AND MOVED TO OKLAHOMA, WHERE MY BEST FRIEND LIVED...IN MARCH, MY BOYFRIEND CAME DOWN AND BROUGHT ME BACK, IN THE MEAN TIME I HAD COLD SYMPTOMS I COULDNT SEEM TO KICK. AROUND THE FIRST OF MAY, I NOTICED MY HEAD AND NECK KEPT SWELLING, COME TO FIND OUT I HAD SUPERIOR VENUS CAVA. MY DR. FINALLY SENT ME FOR "THE XRAY"....I WAS SENT TO THE HOSPITAL, AND ON 5-15-02 WAS DIAGNOSISED WITH LC. BUT I HAVE TO SAY, IN ALL THE TIME I WAS BEING TREATED, IT WAS LIKE I KNEW IT WAS MORE, I JUST DIDNT WANT TO FACE IT. I WAS NOT SURPRISED AT ALL, ESPECIALLY SINCE MY DAD HAD HAD IT ALSO. MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY SEEM TO TAKE ALL THIS SO MUCH HARDER THAN I DO. THATS WHAT HURTS MOST TO ME, TO SEE THEIR FACES, AND HOW THEY THINK THEY ARE HIDING HOW THEY FEEL. EVEN WITH A YEAR PASSING BY, I STILL SEE IT. NUMBER 1) DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF....EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON, I AT FIRST WAS SO UPSET W/ MYSELF, THAT I LET THIS HAPPEN JUST BECAUSE I WANTED TO SMOKE,...BECAUSE OF THAT, I WILL BE CUT SHORT OF SPENDING TIME WITH MY BOYS. AGES 29-22-18. AND MY DARLING GRANDSON WHO WILL TURN 2 IN JUNE, ALONG W/ ALL MY OTHER FAMILY AND FRIENDS. WHATS DONE IS DONE, YOU JUST HAVE TO SLOW DOWN, TAKE EVERYTHING IN. I THOUGHT IT WAS GODS WAY OF MAKING ME STOP AND APPRECIATE MY LIFE AND WHAT ALL I HAVE. IVE ALWAYS GOTTEN WHAT I WANT, AND I KNOW I TENDED TO TAKE SOME THINGS FOR GRANITE, UNTIL SLOWLY BUT SURELY THEY ALL STARTED BEING TAKEN FROM ME, STARTING WITH MY JOB, MY DAD AND THEN MY HEALTH. ITS WEIRD HOW LIFE CAN BE. I SEE AND WATCH PEOPLE, HEALTHY PEOPLE, WHO ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THEIR LIFE BECAUSE OF PETTY THINGS, IF ONLY THEY KNEW.....WEL, IVE RAMBLED ON LONG ENOUGH...BUT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT, YOUR VACATION, ETC. AND THAT THEIR IS NO BLAME PUT ON YOU, BY YOU. ENJOY EVERY SONGLE DAY THAT COMES. GOOD LUCK AND KEEP US POSTED.....RONNA

WOW>>> I never expected to get such a fast and uplifting resspnse from you all. It gave me such a warm and fuzzy feeling...I have alot of support from friends and family and boyfriend, but nothing ccan be the same as consersing with someone who is affected by lung cancer...only they understand, like i said im so glad i found this website...its something i really needed........ibokie2002@yahoo.com take care and tahnks so very much.... ronna

Hi my name is ronna, I was diagnosised almost exactly 1 yr ago, 5-15-02...I was going on my 4th chemo and according to my dr., my last...she had tried everything and told me this would be the last...It is the vp16, which was my very first chemo, in iv form, this time its the pills, and its seems to have had made a difference...in the past year, every month except may, ive spent more time in the hospital than out., and the past two weeks, my count has been up so as not to need any of the booster shots, i call them...I went in for a bone scan to see where we are and will get the results day after tomarrow Im 47 and have small-cell lung cancer.....im so glad i found this on the computer tonite.......wish me luck!!!!!!!!! thank you, ronna