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Fantastic - as previous postings have said just take one day at a time and treat yourself for being so good ! Dawn

Make the most of your time together, always, and keep strong for your mum. God bless you and your family Best wishes and take care Dawn

What an amazing and truly wonderful person you are - your family must be very proud of you. Keep on fighting and God bless. My Dad is a sufferer of this atrocious disease and I hope he can show the same courage and spirit that you do. Best wishes to you and your family Dawn

My Dad's tumour makes him very short of breath too, I think it is the location of the tumour which makes his worse. It is quite scary coz you want to be able to help but cant. Dawn

You are in my thoughts and prayers at this sad time - you were close to your Dad the way I am to mine - my Dad has lung cancer and this disease is a terrible one for sure. God bless you Dawn

You are a true survivor and God bless you. Dawn

Many thanks Mary - good advice - I notice you were on Gem/Carbo cycles - how was it for you ? Dawn

Hi Ernie (truly amazing man !) Dad's Doctors always ignore the 'Tarceva' issue - it just doesnt figure yet in UK. I am also concerned that the chemo doesnt seem very aggressive - I want to fight fire with fire Ernie !! - but I suppose they know best what suits each individual. I am not giving up on the Tarceva issue tho and I will raise it again at the next meeting with his Onc. Sometimes I feel as though I ask them to many questions and that I should just sit in the corner with my mouth shut !! Dawn

Hi everyone - as I have mentioned in other posts my Dad has just been diagnosed with Squamous cell lung cancer T2N2Mx - he has just had his first visit to the Oncologist here in UK and they are starting him on Gemcitabine/Carbo chemo 21 day cycles 4 doses. The tumour is 4 and half centimetres so they will only do radiotherapy if the chemo shrinks it. (Liver and bones clear) I have been researching and reading some of the posts on this fantastic site about the benefits of Tarceva and wondered if it would help my Dad. In UK Tarceva is not available through our National Health Service but the questions I would like to ask anyone who can help me are - if I buy it privately can it be taken at the same time as the chemo and how would I know what the dosage would be ? If anyone can give me some advice or help I would be really grateful - I will do anything I can to help my Dad. Thanks Dawn

Words can not express the way you must be feeling but my thoughts are with you - God Bless. Dawn

Thanks so much to you all for taking the time to give me your ideas and suggestions - I am so truly grateful as I know that you all have your hands full with your own problems - this is a truly amazing site and I feel fortunate to be part of it all Dawn x

My dads is a peripheral tumour on the left lower lobe - he is hoarse too - and they have indicated nerve involvement, this is a terrible disease isnt it !! Thanks for your response. Dawn

Prayers are with you Dawn

My Dad was prescribed Reishi mushroom supplement by his Chinese Therapy Practitioner - this is supposed to boost your immunity befroe and during chemo. It is very expensive but hopefully it will work. Dawn

Ernie can I just say that I have read your story about your battle and you are a truly remarkable person.

It's really great to hear from you all - and you all have such courageous stories to tell. My Dad is 76 years old but has always been a 'young' 76 year old - he was very sturdily built and strong but now he appears quite frail and has aged in my eyes. They told us first of all that radiation was an option for the lung tumour and chemo for the malignancy in the sub carinal node - but now they say that the lung tumour is to big for radiotherapy at 4cm. We live in UK and do not get half as much info from the Doctors that you appear to in USA - most of the info I have gained has been thru internet research. I know his liver is clear and his bones are too - the staging they gave was T2N2MX. I think that the more knowledge you have about Lung Cancer the better it is when the Doctors talk to you about it, at least you can understand where they are coming from. I was hoping that my Dad might be able to try Tarceva but in UK it is not available yet (other that on trials where one patient gets the drug and one a placebo). He is currently taking Chinese medication (some sort of Mushroom called Reishi) and it is supposed to boost your immunity to prepare you for the chemo - I pray to God it is working !! Thanks for your welcoming comments - they are all very much appreciated. My Dad sees his Oncologist tomorrow for the first time so I will have a better idea of what they are going to do then. God Bless you all Dawn

My Dad has just been diagnosed with 3b NSCLC squamous cell ( sub carinal node malignancy ). He has probably had it around 18mths according to the Chest specialist - symptoms present cough, hoarseness, weight loss, anorexia, fatigue. Had been treated off and on for 6 months for chest infections anf laryngitis, then for heart problems (atrial fib) and eventually he was sent for a chest xray where a 4cm tumour was detected. After biosies to the tumour and lymph nodes they decided it was inoperable and not suitable for radiation. We are all devastated as my Dad was a big strong man and is now a shadow of his former self. He hasnt started his palliative chemo yet and my sister was wanting to take him on holiday over xmas - I was unsure as I didnt know if he would be up to a long flight and would postponing the chemo till over xmas have a big impact on the outcome ? My sister thinks that he should enjoy his life while he still can. It is such a dilemma deciding what is best for Dad and of course the choice is his. This site is a wonderful discovery for me and I have read most of the wonderful stories and comments and have taken some hope from them - thanks to everyone who moderates and contributes. Dawn