billhouchens

Thanks so much to all who've responded!! My wife and I have found so much strength in just talking thru all this. Every single one of you have become my heroes!! I guarantee you all I have never, ever been a quitter, and there is no time in my life where that trait will be tested more than right now. I fully expect to weather this storm, and will continue to read and post on here! Special thanks to all who posted about the tummy troubles...kinda miserable to walk around crampy and mildly nauseous. I'll give all the tips a try. I did get a prescription suppository, don't recall the name (I'm at work right now); it stayed in for just a half-hour, before it was "overcome by events", but it seemed to reduce the intensity and frequency of those "waves". Again, thanks and good luck to all!! Bill

My wife was diagnosed over seven years ago at age 47 with an odd adenocarcinoma. Upper right lobectomy, follwed by several very tiny recurrences, always appearing to be new growth, easily treated with "melon balling" or wedge resection. More recently, she's been treated VERY successfully with Cyberknife. AMAZING technology. I was diagnosed at age 54, in mid August, with a primary squamous cell upper RIGHT lobe. Lobectomy was successful as heck, all margins clear as a bell. Elected to do the adjunctive chemo of Carboplatin and Taxol, sixteen treatments, once per week. First one was last Friday. Question as to side effects; I didn't get particularly ill or tired, although I began mild abdominal cramping that evening of the treatment, and it still is coming and going as of today (Monday afternoon). I get VERY mildy nauseous each time one of these cramps rolls thru, much like that diarrhea feeling, although I don't have the trots. Quite the opposite, since I'm taking Oxycodone for some ongoing thoracotomy pain. Did anyone else experience this? Do the suppositories, if taken proactively (and which I learned about this morning, not last Friday) help if you get out in front of the upset? My understanding is that with the exception of cumulative fatigue, pretty much all other side effects (except for hair loss) can be managed. Can this griping cramping be minimized or stopped? Thanks for listening! And yeah, I'm scared.