mary colleen

Robin, I can only speak for our situation, but we have honestly found chemo to be less daunting then anticipated. Not too terribly disruptive most of the time. You can do this! I'll be thinking of you - please let us know how it went for you! MC

Thanks, all. It helps to know approximately what to expect. Second question - will his port probably be taken out at the end of his current chemo regimen? Thanks

My husband has successfully recovered from October bilobectomy, and has completed most of his planned chemo treatments. He should finish the entire course of chemo in about 1 month. In other words, all treatment will stop soon. I'm thrilled about this, and am operating under the hopeful assumption that this will be the end of LC in our life. However, I assume also there will be some form of medical follow up over the first year or so. No one at the cancer center has yet discussed with us what comes next (after chemo ends.) What is standard follow up after surgery and chemo? Will there be CAT/PET/MRI testing on some sort of schedule? Will there be new scans immediately after chemo ends next month? ( I really hope so.) I know that many of you have experienced the post-treatment follow up protocols, and thought you may be able to give me some insight regarding what to expect. I can best help my husband if I know what the next steps are, and can discuss them with him in advance. Thanks very much!

Terry, I will be thinking of you this week. Remember that you have a lot of friendship and support here!

Flo, welcome to the board. I am pretty new at all of this, but have found my husband's chemo to be less intimidating and less disruptive than I expected it would be. Though we've had to make a few accomodations, life has continued pretty normally overall. As mentioned previously, when you let us know what the treatment plan is, everyone will help you with their own experiences and whatever practical tips you need. You are not alone in this. Merry Christmas to you and Terry.

My husband is receiving Cisplatin/Gemzar, and recently developed a severe rash over his entire torso and scalp. In researching chemotherapy related rashes, I saw in the literature that nearly all of the drugs used in first-line LC chemo, including Cisplatin, Gemzar, Carboplatin, and Taxol can be associated with rashes. FYI, his rash cleared spontaneously after about a week.

Rochelle -- Still thinking of you and your brothers. God be with you during this very tough time, and remember that we are here for you. Peace and love, MC

My thoughts and prayers are with you. Have a peaceful trip.

Terri, I don't know a lot, so I do hope Dr. West has time to answer this one. I cannot find anything specific on the web. I did find the following regarding general precautions around children from the "Chemocare" site, and here it is: Infants, babies and children: Contact with human feces (diaper changing) can potentially expose people to a variety of infections. It is preferable that another family member be the principal diaper changer when you suffer from low blood count. But if it becomes necessary, wash hands thoroughly after changing diapers, and avoid caring for babies with diarrhea. Wear gloves if at all possible. Avoid contact (kissing, hugging) children who have been exposed to childhood diseases or "who do not feel well." This is especially applicable for children exposed to chickenpox and have not been vaccinated, or had the disease. If the immunosuppressed person has not had chickenpox, discuss the possibility of vaccination with your physician. Most of the time however, hugging and kissing your family members and close friends is fine! By the way, when is your grandchild due to arrive?

Nick, you did it kindly and tactfully. No harm, and possible help.

I echo those sentiments. Your information (and the time you devote to providing it) has already assisted me in several ways. Hope that the favor comes back to you ten-fold.

Rochelle, I am so very sorry. I just hurt for you. Not sure that you need to be sorry that you did not have a "success story"; your Mom's disease was not successfully treated, but you were a loving daughter, and your Mom left you knowing that she was loved and cared for. That is success, too. Please hold your brothers close, and please stay in touch. We are all with you and your brothers. Mary Colleen

Merry Christmas to you as well.

Robin, I pray it will work for you as well. Stay with us, and remember that you have a support group!

My husband is not undergoing radiation, but is in the middle of chemo. He has worked full time through most of it (there have been a few short days.) We are trying to live as close to normally as possible. Lilly, those are lovely children in your photo!

A very, very Merry Christmas! Bless you and yours!

Ernie has the right idea:)

I think you did a very smart thing in calling in hospice. Are they helping you out quite a bit? I hope so. Regarding your insurance payments and deductible - does your oncology office or hospital have a social worker available to you? They are usually very experienced in helping patients and their families with these types of concerns and related arrangements. You have a lot on your plate. In spite of that, happy holidays. I will keep you in my prayers.

So Aaron, this is a little late as a confidence builder for the wedding you were to attend, but I thought it might help with the hair loss a bit - I ran into it on AOL's home page today: Total hair loss is often an unfortunate and undesirable complication of the agents used to treat and cure cancer. Yet baldness — the hairless look — can for some represent spirituality and religion, or for others may suggest that they are athletic, smart, cool, reeking of testosterone. So - if anyone looks at you twice now, just tell them that you are athletic, smart, cool, and reeking of testosterone.

Thanks, that helps a lot. I agree that the onc, surgeon, and pulmonologist acted as if they had heard these issues before after patients had seen the radiologist. For some reason, however, it seems to be the protocol at our cancer center to make new patients a one on one appointment with the radiologist in addition to the standard appointments. ...and you're probably right; no one knows anything for 100% certain. I am coming to view even the most careful cancer staging as an exercise in educated opinion. On to January and new scans!

Thanks for your response, Barb. I admit that the "MX" notation made me a little nervous, since I have never really felt 100% comfortable with the mets situation. You have to understand that the when my husband went to see the radioligist prior to surgery being scheduled (by himself -I could kick myself for that one), he came home very shaken, and sure that the radiologist had told him that he had liver and adrenal spread. When I circled back to the surgeon and oncologist they simply said that they were judging the lesions to be benign, and were not going to worry about them for now. So, seeing that "MX" on the report, rather than a nice "M0" made me a little worried that they weren't sure. Yes, his margins were clean, he had 2 positive N1 nodes, some vascular and lymphatic invasion, and a tiny non-invasive second spot of cancer in the bronchi. He is mid-way through cisplatin/gemzar now, and going pretty well most of the time. I guess upcoming scans will tell the story; none are scheduled, but I assume they will be done at the end of the 4 cycles of chemo (?) Thanks!

My husband had his surgery back in October, but I just recently called and asked to have the path report sent to me. (Until reading some posts here, I had not realized that was even an option. Not too sharp sometimes... Anyway, I noticed that the path report states his "M" status as 'MX' (mets unknown). The oncologist has always treated him as M0 (no mets), and he is staged as IIB, using that assumption. Question: is it maybe just standard on path reports to indicate 'MX', since the pathologist is not looking at mets at the time of surgery, just looking at what has been resected? As a side note, my husband did have all of the standard screens/scans prior to surgery. Though the radiologist told us that there were lesions on his liver, and a largeish lesion on his adrenal gland, the oncologist and surgeon told us at the time of surgery that they had decided to consider those all to be benign and call him a stage 2B. Anyone else see this on a path report, or know the reason for it? Thanks!

Not sure what kind of relatives that you are dealing with that they need to be so difficult, but I'm sure that you can do this. In the last 2 years, I have done extensive care for both my Mother and a lifelong friend in their respective final months. I was especially scared in the case of my friend, because she had a complex set of meds and equipment, but I and my other friends got comfortable with it all pretty quickly. Here are my suggestions: - Make sure that you have all of the phone numbers that you may need for her physicians, etc. - Make sure that your Aunt (or whomever the main caregiver is) gives you all fo the info that you need before you are on your own...things like med schedules and other care information. (I liked using a spiral notebook. ) - Make sure that you can call her usual caregivers with questions that may arise. You can't possibly anticipate in advance every question that you may have. - Do comforting and special things for your Mom, like nice massages, manicures, etc. Whatever works for her. - As Nick suggested, hop on the board when you need to. As you have seen, people here are all very helpful, and many are experienced at acute and ongoing types of care situations. Don't be intimidated by the situation, or by any relatives who may have unusual agendas. Remember that the time and companionship that you and your Mom will have together is as important as medical caregiving. Caregiving in illness situations is one of the most compassionate things a person can do, and in the long run, it will enrich you personally. Let us know how it is going!

Aaron, I personally can live with whatever you do with your hair/brows/whatever....frankly, most women are now a/ok with the baldness thing. Just let us know if you have fun at the wedding!! MC

Deb was a very lucky woman.