Gina D.

Hello! Dump the pessemistic docs, and remember..you have just had a HORRIBLEY invasive surgery. You bones were twisted and torqued in ways they were never intended to be, EVER, and you survived it! It is going to take quite awhile to recover from this, as far as those aches and pains there go. I had a long term nerve block with mine, and I just now, 6 mos later, am starting to get the feeling back. My goodness! It is very uncomfortable, and I realise how lucky I was to have been sheltered throught the worst part of the bone settling and recovery process. I share your concerns with this. Is it mets, or bruises from the invasion? Hard line to draw. My onc is good, and investigates every little compliant I have tho. He always makes me feel better with a suggestion of how the surgery mimics some things we need to watch for. So far, he has been right This is NEW to you, and me..the balance will come, but I know the nerves will never settle. We just need to find a way to live wih this.. when I come up with a perfect answer..I'll let you know! Uhm, don't hold your breath tho

It looks like you may have missed it for this batch of runs, but if I know VH1, it will return in the near future. here is a link to some info about it tho: http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/inside_out ... sode.jhtml Ry! Sorry! I didn't make the connection! oops..silly me. Duh!

I object your honor! JK! I always enjoy reading it, and it has been a great source of inspiration for me. I did NOT buy my bike because of Lance Armsrong, ya know! You have given me that new bit of fun in my life..thank you!

uhm, Dave? Will you be playing here all week?

Hey Pattiq6! Our stories and Docs comments are very similar. My docs all said they rarely see this caught this early in anyone. Thats a good thing for us, no doubt. I am guessing we are about the same age? Mid 40s? No reason to feel guilty, and whining is acceptexd at any stage. We that have had surgery have gone through the same physical discomforts and junk associated with surgery, despite nodule size or staging. They still gotta get in there..it's the same way for everyone! Understandably, those that do chemo and rad go through a lot more and it is more difficult to recover from the cutting, but don't downplay what you have gone through. This is literally an autopsy you wake up from. It is a terrible thing to go through. We ALL get nervous at scan time (My ct is coming up in the next couple weeks, my first after surgery..boy..I am a wreck!) We all live with the fear of this re-occurring or getting worse. Heck, I had surgery for cervical cancer 20+ years ago, and I STILL have the growlies in my stomach at every PAP. I know that I am cured of that one, but hey..it still gives me a twinge! Doesn't make logical sense, but it is that way. Staging doesn't matter, and when you had surgery doesn't matter either. Your life, as you know, will never be the same. No reason to be embarrassed about it tho! It's just part of YOUR life. Enjoy your life! It's just you!

Hi there, I am so sorry you and your Mom are going through this. I have no chemo advise for you, I have not experienced it. I hope to keep it that way. I can pontificate on the anger and blame thing tho. I was angry at myself for smoking for so long and originally blamed myself for this disease. I soon came to realize that the only thing I was guilty of was poor judgement at an early age, and continued lack of action to correct it since. We all make poor judgements that effect our lives either physically or emotionally. Even non smokers. They drive too fast, they drink too much, they play with fire in so many ways. Smokers just have a different poison. That is not to justify any bit of poor judgement, by any means, but do not fall into the "special" guilt factor that smokers get or got when they smoked, and especially now. Yes, even as an ex smoker that lost a part of a lung, I still believe smokers are picked on unjustifiably compared to other vices. They seem to be everyones favorite target. It's "cool" to wail on the smoker. No one deserves this disease, no one asked for it, and I think you will find most of the smokers and ex smokers here accept this consequence with much more dignity than folks that are busted and effected by driving drunk do. I hope mom does well with her treatment, despite the current difficulties. And I hope you do too.

Sam, thats great! I am happy to hear all this! Keep it up now! Gina D.

> Musicians in this part of the world just don't make any money. LOL, don't feel bad, they rarely do anywhere! Don't get me started on the musician jokes! Dave will toot his horn again, and I understand his motivation to get back to it. I hope he can soon. It will be GOOD for his breathing, an excercise that I sure couldn't do. That's from lack of talent tho, not lung capacity! The new CD gets released tomorrow, and I will be at the store to get it too. I hope the proceeds from it go to whatever our "guest" wishes them to, and may there be plenty of them as well! And BTW, my surgeon didn't get the "will I be able to play the piano?" joke. I must be getting old..cause that joke sure is!

Ha Ha! We are glad to hear that. No one does 8 am around here

It was on VH1. I am sure they will repeat it many times. I watched it twice last nite. Yes, that version of KOHD is very good.

So, did you get new undies when you finally got the RIGHT DX? Man! If you have to have a mistake, I spose it going in that direction is the way to have it. Glad it isn't the bad thing. Good luck!

yes yes. Inquiring mind want to know!

Yes, it's sad. An athlete no less.

I work for a company the manufactures electric guitars. I work in the office, but USED to have to give tours through the mill and paint areas. They are good with me and allow me to do as I am comfortable. No pressure. I rarely go in those areas anymore, I can't stay in them for more than 5 mins before it effects my breathing. Point: they realize this without being told. I wonder why other employers don't? The company I work for is huge, and they know an osha issue would come up, but they don't do it because of that. I could legally quit and collect unemplyment etc, but there goes my insurance. Not a smart move. Besides, I really like it there. I have been there 17 years.

I don't know how many of you folks in here are "music" people. I am. I work in the industry and it is the biggest motivator and joy of my life. Hard to explain. Music folks know of what I speak tho. Zevon was DXed with mesothelioma in Aug. of 2002 and given 3 mos. to live. He made liars out of them and is still here, tho getting sicker every day. He opted to forgo treatment so he could focus all his energy on putting out one last album. He is finished with the recording and will now do treatments. All this time, he has kept his humour, (his biggest trademark) and drive to create. I hope if I am given his news, that I can have 1/2 the humour he has kept, and procede with music as my # 1 priority. This is a true proffesional. Any other artists/music folks in here? How does your DX effect your outlet?

It is my understanding the a pet is used to determine malignancies. Mine did. It lit up for an 8/10ths of a CM nodule. Pretty sensitive. It is a wonderful tool, almost Star Trek like. Yet another step towards reliable non-invasive diagnosis, and hopefully treatment in the future. I don't understand why we, as victims, can't have this done as part of our regualr routine. Ugh..the HMOs. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em!

OK Paul. Go to your room!

You come on home now. We NEED you! Gina D.

Cathy, Please accept my sincere sympathies, and please, also..go get some rest now, let others take care of you. Dad would want it that way. Gina D.

I think maybe it's time for a new onc. My GP was just about as incompetant as what your onc. sounds like. I am glad he had little involvement in my active treatment. I switched to a new and caring wonderful GP as soon as I was over the hump of surgery. Your onc is your backbone, and if it starts bending, get it fixed. Is it too late or difficult to change?

my surgeon did tell me that false positives due to the scar tissue where indeed a possibility and an annoyance I might have to live with. That doesn't mean it needs to be blown off as that. Tuff situation, I know. I can't help with the chemo question, sorry.

Hi Sally, ALL stages are curable and long term survivable, never give up hope. Look around this board, you'll see lots of late stage folks kicking about! At age 18, he has a LOT of fight and kick some of us old geezers don't have. I never had chemo, I can't answer that question for you, but just wait, you'll get a ton of responses. Gina D.

I am so sick of brocholli I could just Wommit Actually, I like it and have at least one serving a day, I don't really think thats a lot more than what I used to eat. I do contiously make it now, and if in an eatery etc and have a choice of veggies, Thats what I order. Next..they will make ice cram out of it and we can all think we are having a treat!

Hi There! OK, I'll chime in, even tho I only lost part of a lung, not the whole thing. I have experienced a couple of these things, and I am told I am crazy too The "Exhaust" issue is one that started right after surgery, and your comment made me laff really hard! I don't exhaust from "there", I belch tho. And several times a day. Spontaniously. Doesn't come from the stomach, it comes from the chest. I have never been a cronic belcher, but it started after surgery for me too! What YOU do, hey, I am italian and a pro at that (In an Italian family, that is considered a skill) and wouldn't notice a difference in it The belching thing has been brought up with all my Docs, none of them have heard of such a thing. It might possibly be do to lack of smoking too, I don't know. If this is the worst that happens, I feel pretty lucky and can just laff at it. Heat is a huge problem for me too, and I live in So. Cal. Altitude is not a problem tho. I have been as high as 7800 feet and not noticed any change. Might be the more capicity thing. My docs were concerned because I LIVEat 4600 ft, and they wouldn't let me come home after I got out of the hospital. I had to stay "down the hill" for a bit. I mentioned folks that live in Denver have this done too.. surgeon said "Oh yeah" and I was allowed to come back up. No problem. OK, here is a dumb question: Beano????

.8 cm (8/10ths, yes!) not even pea sized. Supposedly, one this small is undetectable, but it was, on an X-Ray, no less! Maybe the technology is getting better, or I had a danged good radiologist. Pet lit up too. I don't care what's typical..I'll take what I can get!