beckyg

I love it! My favorite joke for a while. Becky

God, I just want to read a story to my daughter all the way through without having to stop and catch my breath. Please. Becky

Don't know the answer for sure, Eileen, would have to research it, but I think the most likely answer is that there are more former smokers out there than current smokers. Becky

I know how you feel--I was sleepless and excited an worried and all that in February before my surgery. I remember being wheeled into surgery and telling the resident I hoped they got the catheter in soon because my bladder was ready to burst. I'll be thinking of you this wekend, and especially on Monday, and watching for updates from Jack. You'll do great! Becky

Jackie, The protocol you mentioned is exactly what I have been given. It is fairly standard treatment. For me, the hardest part was the Cisplatin--I really had a hard time with nausea for a few days after each treatment, but it was temporary. The radiation has given me long term problems--radiation pneumonitis is a side effect that is worse than I was led to believe. But look in New Research--somebody recently posted about a new drug that dramatically reduces the likelihood of radiation pneumonitis. Keep researching. This is doable and worth the fight. Becky

I agree with Sam that Iressa as a first line treatment is very unusual. i have been taking it for 6 weeks or so, and the side effects have been extremely mild. I have an acne-like rash that comes and goes on my nose and forehead; my scalp is sensitive, so I use baby shampoo and that takes care of it; and I am either constipated or have diarrhea, nothing in between. But my cough has improved and I have had no other problems. So I guess my point is, don't be afraid of Iressa because of its side effects. There are things to watch for, but for most people it isn't a problem. But do get a secodn opinion and find out about other treatments. Iressa is usually used when other things have failed. Becky

Hi Tam Tam, I haven't had the really hard effects your described in your husband, but i have been in this fight for almost 8 months now and so far nothing has worked to shrink my tumor. Hang in there and keep us posted. Becky

Cheryl, Classes are going well. I am still having trouble getting my students to talk to me, but that's the way it always is in the beginning of a semester. They are so worried about looking stupid in front of their classmates that they won't answer anything, and right now I am asking easy questions! I have heard about the drugs you mentioned, and I have also heard some good things about Alimta, and there is a clinical trial right now at MD Anderson involving Alimta that I seem to meet the requirements for. We are ehading out of town this weekend--my brother-in-law has a new girlfriend he wants us to meet, and one of my oldest friends is having a baby shower. Some weeks I think I am too mean for things like baby showers, but this week I am nice again, so I'll make the drive out there. Becky

Cheryl, The reason, according to the surgeon, that he didn't go ahead and remove my lung at the time was because my tumor was "too close to the bronchus." The reason I am not considered a candidate for surgery at the moment (according to doctors I am in the process of replacing) is that I had too much radiation. Also, last time I was in Houston I had a malignant pleural effusion, so I was not a candidate at the time because of that. I am in the process of getting CT's to a doctor in San Antonio who does RFA in the lungs to see what he thinks. We have e-mailed a couple of times, and he cautiously says that based on what I can tell him, I might be a candidate. But he won't say more than that until he sees some films. Right now I am still short enough of breath that I kind of jealously guard all the lung capacity that I have, so the thought of actually removing part of my lung makes me more nervous than it did a couple of months ago. Not that I wouldn't go through with the chance to get this tumor out of my body if someone would give me that chance, but I am so tired of having to tell my daughter, "Not now. Mommy has to catch her breath." I am also working (slowly) on getting a referral to MD Anderson to see what they think. Some fries went to a conference there this weekend and collected everything they could find on lung cancer for me. One of them talked to the doctor running the lung cancer session on Saturday about me, and he told her to have me e-mail him. I did today, and maybe I'll hear back from him before long. It might even motivate me to make all the phone calls I need to make to get all the records sent to the right place. Becky

I have wondered for months about this, and thought I would see if anyone knows an answer. As I have posted before, during my mediastinoscopy in February, I had a hemorrhage which caused the surgeon to crack my sternum and open me from the front to stop the bleeding. (Now every time I get a scan, the radiologist comments about my "heart bypass" because of the wires holding my sternum together.) So I have had the recovery from major chest surgery that is slightly different than what so many have been through here with tumor removal. Here's the question--why is the lobectomy and pneumonectomy done through the side instead of the front? My broken sternum seemed harder in the beginning--I was in ICU longer than seems to be the average here, and I was out of the hospital "quickly" in 6 days. I couldn't drive or ride in the front seat for 6 weeks (because of the air bags--physically, I was able to handle the strain of driving much sooner), and couldn't lift anything heavier than 5 pounds for six weeks. So the beginning part was pretty bad. BUT, I can wear a bra comfortably; I don't and didn't have movement difficulties with my shoulders. I have a sensitive spot on my sternum where it didn't heal completely smooth, but I have all my ribs. It is just my perception from my experience and what I have read that my surgery was harder in the short term, but I have fewer long term problems.

This fires me up for another reason--I am aggravated about it for the guilt it tries to impose on those who have smoked, but for my own case, the fact that I didn't smoke delated my diagnosis because it was taken for granted that lung cancer wasn't the problem. I am not advocating that everyone get regularly CT scans regardless of their risk, but DOCTORS at least should know the warning signs and know that not all lung cancer has anything to do with smoking, or even any of the known risk factors. Becky

Thanks for asking. WEdnesday night I took my usual dose of steroids and yesterday felt like my old self again. Now I am taking half a dose each day instead of a full dose every other day. Last ngiht I was able to sleep. This morning I have the brain fog I had on Wednesday, but not as bad. I feel much better than I did Wednesday all over. Now I know why they wean you off steroids instead of just abruptly stopping them!

Amen. At the moment I think radiation did me more harm than good, since my disease progressed during that stage and my breathing is significantly worse than before radiation thanks to the pneumonitis.

My experience with Taxotere was that it was very easy. Unfortunately, it didn't do much for my cancer, but I had no problems with it other than being jolted into menopause. I didn't have nausea; my appetite stayed good; I went back to work about an hour after I left the oncologist's office (I went out to lunch first). Good luck to you both. Becky

For me, after cisplatin and VP-16, Taxotere was a walk in the park. The infusion takes about an hour, including the other drugs they give you before hand. I had no nausea. I went from the oncologist's office straight to get something for lunch, and then back to work for the afternoon. The only problem I had was that the antihistamine they gave me made me sleepy, so I would end up going home early to take a nap. I think Taxotere was the one that jolted me into menopause, but that won't be a problem for Darrell! Good luck to you both. Becky

I have struggled with this myself over the last seven months. I know that I don't believe in the God who appears to live in the churches I have attended over the year. I have'nt come up with a better way to say it than this: I think God is bigger than churches. I don't think God cares about at least half the stuff that goes on in church, or at least my experience of church. I find myself angry a lot at things people say about God--for example, I can't stand it when athletes say, in the post-game interview, things like, "All the glory goes to God for making me able to score the game-winning pont." I want to ask them if they really believe in a God who is more concerned about the outcome of professional sports games than about whether my daughter grows up with a mother. I was going through some old CD's recently and came across one I hadn't listened to for a while. One of the songs talks about facing mortality and says, "Somebody tell me please.. that life is eternal and love is immortal and death is only a horizon." It makes me cry everytime, like she is talking to me. Becky

I have started weaning off the prednisone that I have been taking for six weeks for the pneumonitis. I have been on a pretty low dose, but even so, today was miserable. I have had insomnia from the pred for the last few weeks, but i wasn't feeling tired during the day. Last night I didn't take one (I am on an every other day schedule for two weeks), and i went to sleep at a reasonable hour and was completely useless today. I couldn't focus mentally. Walking down the hall to the bathroom seemed like too much effort. Every muscle in my body hurts--like I went to the gym and enthusiastically lifted weights after not doing so for a long time. A lot of that is because the cough has been bad lately, but that doesn't explain why my calves and knees feel so achy. I am going to call the onc tomorrow and make sure this is expected and get him to call me in a different cough medicine. I have been on this one for the better part of a year, and it is no longer doing the job. My cough has been dry the last 4 weeks or so, but that hasn't stopped me from doing it all the time. My ribs and sides and chest all have a dull ache most of the time now, which becomes anything but dull when I cough. I am in a vicious circle--when I get out of breath, I cough. When I cough, I get further out of breath. Cancer stinks. I would have been in bed three hours ago if I could have persuaded my daughter to join me. Somehow at three years old, she just doesn't find sleep as appealing as I find it!

Yea! Becky

I had forgotten how good that first shower felt!

Cheryl, I am so happy for you (and so jealous) that you are scheduled for surgery. As you know, I still have both lungs, such as they are, but I do have experience with major chest surgery. The morphine PCA is wonderful except after sleeping when you haven't pushed the button for a while. I woke up in ICU on a ventilator with my hands tied down, which was scary, but once they determined I was awake, they took it out. I'll just echo everyone else's comments about pain medication and walking. Once they take the chest tubes out you begin to feel dramatically better, and the sooner you are up walking around, the sooner you get to go home away from people waking you up in the middle of the night to check your vitals. (Oh, and bring your own pillows!) Becky

Mine were stronger and healthier looking than usual. Weird.

I have three cats. My doctor told me to stay away from the litter box, to make sure their shots were up to date, and to keep them inside, but otherwise he didn't see a problem. I didn't have any trouble with them. Becky

Most likely they will try a different kind of chemo if there is not substantial shrinkage. The good news on that is that chemo without radiation is easier than chemo with radiation. I don't know what kind of chemo he has been on, but I have a feeling it was Cisplaitn or Carboplatin and something else, and there are definitely drugs that are easier to take than those. It is discouraging to get the news that surgery is not an option, but it's by no means over. Becky

Heather, Good for your dad! We all know that we might not make it, but it sure doesn't help having doctors try to force us to bvelieve that we won't. We also just might make it, and that's the thing to concentrate on. As for the info at the bottom of the posts, click on "profile" and you will get a screen that allows you to put in all kinds of information. Becky

I didn't take Camptosar, but my oncologsit put me in the hospital for three days each time I got Cisplatin and Etopiside becaue he said the Cisplatin is hard on your kidneys and he wanted my constantly hydrated. It was boring and I didn't sleep much, but I also had someone with really good anti-nausea drugs just a buzzer away, and the second round of chemo I took a lot of advantage of that. Becky