raneyf

Wendy, What's the story with antacids and Avastin? I've been on Prilosec throughout treatment and hadn't heard of this. Thanks for your help. Raney

I had palliative radiation to my hip over a two week time period. It made me exhausted. I fell asleep sitting on a couch at my husband's grandmother's house - a place where I don't feel entirely comfortable and would never have done that if I wasn't so tired. I also had to force myself to eat. Had no appetite at all. This was during a period where I was relatively stable cancer-wise. So, I guess some of her appetite and fatigue could be radiation related. I don't know about the other symptoms - my radiation was nowhere near my chest, so that may be different. Best wishes for your MIL to get some pain relief and sleep and for your whole family. Raney

Hi Heather, I don't know where you're going, but doesn't Baylor have a major cancer center in Dallas? Also, I wouldn't worry about the surgeon's words. He's calling the "mass" a "tumor" still, and it sounds like "something" is still there maybe. He can't know if it's tumor or scar tissue or whatever, without a PET at least to help guide him. Praying there's nothing left of it for you. Take care, Raney

I think it's called something like "Interstitial Lung Disease." Hope that helps. Raney

Hi Everyone, I have a question about a shoulder pain I'm having. It began 2 months ago and has not gotten any worse. I've had a CT since the pain began - The CT showed my thorax clear except for my primary, which is smaller than when chemo started. I talked to my doctor about it, and we decided to wait and see how it does. I should be having a PET in 4 weeks. The shoulder that hurts is the same side as my primary. It doesn't hurt at rest, doesn't wake me up from pain, doesn't really feel like my bone mets felt. It hurts to raise my arm, and it hurts to lay on that shoulder initially, then it will feel like it stretches and it's o.k. I don't need painkillers for it. The pain when it does hurt is on the top and front of my shoulder. The only theory I've got other than cancer is that I carry the baby with that arm only, because my port is on the other side. Or maybe Avastin joint pain, that some people report having? Does anyone else have any ideas? I appreciate your help, Raney

Hi, I responded well to Taxol/Carbo/Avastin. Switched from taxol to Abraxane because of an allergic reaction during my 2nd infusion, but it's pretty much the same drug. I could tell it was working after my first infusion, I just felt better. I never had a problem with my appetite except for a couple days following treatment. I had some constipation and general nausea that made me not want to eat a whole lot, but that didn't last long. I got a little bit more tired as treatment went on, and after my 4th-6th cycle had to have someone help me with the kids the day after chemo. Other than that, I still was up early in the am and to bed at around 10pm. Hope your dad does well. Raney

I think the book is a great idea and would be happy to help with the project, but not sure how to get started either. As far as what to include, maybe we could look at the Breast Cancer book and see how it was handled in there. Not saying we should just copy that, but maybe there was a good way it was handled. Divided into two sections, somehow otherwise combined, not combined at all? It would give us some ideas at least.

Hi, I'm fairly sure Gemzar and Gemcitabine are the same. Carboplatin and Cisplatin are different. I believe Cisplatin has more side effects but slightly better survival in earlier stage LC. I think the survival benefit of Cisplatin over Carboplatin at Stage 4 is negligible. I think I read that somewhere on Dr. West's onctalk.com site. You might want to look there. Hope that helped a little. Raney

You probably know the B.R.A.T. diet? Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast? That's what I feed my kids when they've got stomach issues. Hope to help.

Good news - Hope mom's there for many more milestones!

At Stage 4, they wouldn't usually be doing radiation for curative intent. It would be to alleviate a problem of some sort, I believe. Is he concerned about the location of the tumor obstructing her airway, or interfering with something else? It would be my guess that is the case, and maybe that information would help you make the decision.

I would call the finance offices of the centers you'd be interested in going to. Explain the Canadian insurance thing and ask them what others in your situation do. Sorry, I don't have any answers, but that would probably tell you what you're looking at the fastest.

My doctor suggested Metamucil, multiple times per day, to bulk up stools - Same as Becky. I was also taking imodium as often as needed and managed to control it with 1/2 to 1 pill a day. I'm not sure if that is the same as the medicine he's already taking? Sorry not more help. Raney

Did they ever tell you if she was getting Avastin or the placebo? I'm sorry about the progression and the talk from the oncologist. Hope they get right on 3rd line treatment and it works. You guys are due for something good to happen.

I go to Mayo in Phoenix and Scottsdale and am very happy.

I don't think you're hormonal - it would be a big deal to me too. I told my husband if I die and he remarries, I don't want the boys to call her mom. I have a grandma/grandpa that divorced before I was born. They both remarried and I called their spouses by their given names - Lou and Dottie. It didn't change my feelings for them - Lou was more my grandpa than my real one and I recognized it. But it also made it easy to explain our family history. I agree, talk to your dad and ask him to slow down. Good luck with the new baby.

Great news - Best wishes to you and Julia Raney

What wonderful news - Congratulations. Never, Never, Never Give Up - For sure!

I'm sorry Tanner. I hope this is just a temporary set-back. I'm with you and Karen. I want my life back too. Try to get in with the doctor tomorrow, and try to see the positive. If this came on kind of quickly, maybe an infection or something? Good luck and your family is in my prayers. Raney

I don't know - I'm 3 weeks out from my last treatment and my memory is kind of bad (and I'm only 30). For example, if I have a few things to do each day, I have to continually repeat them to myself so I don't forget one of them. My husband also says he tells me stuff that I forget. I would say it's my short term memory that's affected. I haven't had my brain checked since October, but my vision has been fine, no headaches, and I don't think I'm confused. I'm pretty good at monitoring this sort of thing for myself, I think, because I'm paranoid about what the next bad thing is going to be. That's my long way of saying I'm pretty sure I don't have brain mets, but I am forgetful and I'm blaming the chemo.

I just finished this chemo and found it not too hard at all. I did have a bit of nausea and vomitting one treatment because my doctor didn't pre-med with Zofran. I also found that whatever I ate during the chemo treatment and later that day through when I went to bed would make me nauseous to think about or eat any time in the future. Even right now, if I think about one of those foods, it makes me feel sick. So, my advice would be to feed him stuff he won't miss during the day of treatment, at least the first time. He might not have the same problem, but just in case. Also, the Avastin will get shorter each cycle until you get it in 30 minutes. This will shorten your days up eventually, but the first treatment will be a long day. Have him wear comfortable clothes, and if he does not have a port, make sure he drinks a lot of water before he gets there and keeps his hands and arms warm. That will help with getting the iv started. That's all I can think of for now. I was really scared of the chemo before I went, but it was nowhere near as bad as I thought in reality. Good Luck! Raney

My bone pain didn't really "shoot". It was a constant burning ache, would be how I describe it. Not sure if that's the same for everyone. If it is bone pain, radiation helped me and took away 100% of my pain. I was taking 600mg Ibuprofen round the clock, plus 20 oxycontin in AM and PM, with the 5mg fast release used sometimes too. Now I'm not taking any pain medicine, and haven't since my radiation was complete. Good luck - hope she figures this out and gets some relief.

He has a blog listed at the bottom of his posts that I checked. He updated it a few days ago and seemed to be doing o.k. going into his second cycle of the Alimta/Gemzar (I think) he was starting on. If you search for some of his posts, the address is there if you want to check. Glad he sounds allright on the blog. Raney

I don't know how your mom's feeling, but if she's up to it, I might give it a try. Side effects are rash and diarrhea, but both can be managed. I don't remember - has she never tried it before? I think I remember she was stable on chemo + avastin for a while, then the brain problem popped up. I think I would want to try it if I were in her place, but I'm not there yet, so I would leave it up to her. Good luck - it's great of you to try to help your parents so much. Raney

Hi Steph, It's wierd how we look and feel good, but have this "horrible" disease. I don't really get it either, but I'm happy not to be having symptoms. Praying for a cure for us all. Raney