MichelleZP

Hi everyone, On Sunday, August 10th (my son's birthday) at 1:00 pm, my Bob lost his battle. His last words were, "I see something." I held him as he took his last breath. Bob was SOOOOOOOOO strong - he is THE strongest person I know, both physically and in his mind. He fought a damn good fight - all the way to the end. God Bless him. Thank You for the support I received here and God Bless you all, ~ Michelle

Well my Bob fought a good fight, but he is too weak to fight any longer. Hospice said it won't be much longer. Bob is NOT suffering at all. He is on morphine and ativan. He doesn't move anymore...and he barely recognizes even ME. I am so sad watching the man I planned on growing old with die...but he is at home, I had the priest out and he is at peace and ready to let go. Please keep Bob in your prayers, for a peaceful passing. Thank You.

I am a smoker and I tried my best to quit, but I am not ready. I sure hate it that I smoke seeing as how my husband has LC. I feel so guilty and so ashamed. I am 35 and my husband is 48, but I know age has nothing to do w/it. I sure can get LC and I sure hope I don't, yet I am having a cigarette right now as I type this. Gosh I am just plain ashamed. I don't smoke around my husband, and my husband quit when he was Dx. If Bob would have opted to smoke during chemo, I don't know that I could have stayed around either. He can smoke now as treatment has stopped, but he chooses not to. I am SO PROUD of him!! His onc. told him it is up to him now if he wants to smoke or not and Bob said, "Why would I smoke? I quit over a year ago and I am still going to fight, even w/no more chemo/rad." GOOD FOR BOB. He coughs a lot and he would just be too sick to smoke he said. I feel for you. I hope your husband chooses not to smoke. Take care,

Hi, I found myself ignoring my own health as I was more worried about my husband, after all, he is the one w/the cancer and cancer is much more important than my little aches...WRONG I was. It turns out the cavity I needed a filling on turned into a massive abscess and I almost had to be hospitalized for IV anitbiotics before they could work on that tooth!! I never had pain like that before in my entire life! I have two children and I had natural childbirth w/both - the pain in my abscessed tooth WAS WORSE than labor pains! So, I was lucky in that the oral antibiotic worked, I had my root canal, and I get my crown on Thursday. I also neglected my fibroid issue. I have fibroids and each year I am to have ultrasounds to be sure they are not getting too large. Well, I FINALLY went in just last month - 6 months late - and I got bad news. The one that was the size of a quarter is now the size of a grapefruit and it is causing my bladder to be out of place and incontinence. I also have a very large fibroid inside the wall of my uterus and I need a hysterectomy! Well, I am lucky in that I do have a few months...I cannot go in NOW - hospice just started for us TODAY. They say they feel Bob has about a month. I heard they are excellent at predicting when the patient will go so the family can be here and we can surround him w/love. I do not want to go now for my surgery, but then again, I won't be in ANY emotional condition to have major surgery when my husband passes so I find myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. I eat well, I take a vitamin a day, I make my crafts and I exercise. I try to get out and do something for myself at least every other day. Yesterday I went shopping and I am going again tomorrow. IT HELPS. I also talk to my friends and they have been WONDERFUL for support. I bought the book, "Final Gifts"...written by two hospice nurses and I have been reading it...and it is comforting. We sure do need to take care of ourselves here too. We might not have cancer, but we have a human body that has needs. I find myself always tired...as I try to be superwoman and do EVERYTHING perfectly and I keep myself so busy, perhaps in an attempt to not think so much...and I am just always so tired. Take care,

Zoloft can cause nausea. It is one of the main side effects when beginning it. I am on another SSRI, Paxil, and, like Zoloft - it caused me nausea in the beginning. Call your pharmacist and ask and ask the doctor. It may very well be the Zoloft. A few teaspoons of Coke syrup poured over an ice cube helped me. You can get that at the pharmacy. Take care,

We saw the oncologist today and he said he cannot paint a pretty picture any longer. The Iressa failed. My husband's latest scans showed the cancer to have grown in its orginating lung and around his heart. I knew how sick he was as I see it 24/7. This is a man that a mere four months ago was out there, on chemo, but fighting and winning. It all just seemed to crumble so fast right before our eyes. Bob can barely keep food down, he lost weight, and today he was told he is not going to get any better and hospice is the way to go. Bob refused hospice and I must say I am quite upset as "I" NEED THEM too! We have home health now - a Bridge program - the step before hospice. I just hate this...I am sad and scared and it kills my heart to see my husband lying there fighting to hold food in so he does not dwindle down to nothing! He is sick all the time and he has accepted that there is nothing more the doctors can do, but he still thinks a miracle might come along and perhaps it will...one never knows. (sigh) The appointment today was for the family as his Mom refuses to believe any of this. SHE STILL WON'T accept it. I am talking to my husband about his last wishes and if he wants to be cremated as the social worker instructed us to do to "get it over with"...and his Mom calls and says he is going to recover 100% and go back to work full time. I hate it that his family is not on the same page with me. I feel like the "bearer of bad news" but I only report what the doctors/nurses tell me. I don't want to lose my husband! I would give up my legs if it would buy us more time! I HATE CANCER.

Hi, My husband has been vomiting - even his water. He is on a feeding tube and this continuous vomiting is causing his weight to drop. Is this vomiting common w/lung cancer? Could it be the Iressa he began in June? I am very concerned. He was a bit dehydrated this evening and I was going to take him to the ER but I called the Bridge nurse first and she said to give him 60 cc's of water each hour so I did. The tenting of his skin did improve, but he vomited again. I found some anti-nausea suppositories he had from when he was on IV chemo - so I gave him one of those and he is sleeping now. He has got to gain weight. He has recently lost SOOOOOO much weight. We see the doctor Wednesday and he, the doctor, requested the entire family come. I have a hunch what this means. The Bridge nurse told me this afternoon after she examined my husband that I need to consider hospice now for Bob. She told me to start preparing him for death. She feels he is holding on as he doesn't want any of us (his family) to suffer. She wants me to let him know I will be OK...that is HARD. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I had a root canal right after that and I was a wreck there and I started crying to the endodontist's nurse! Luckily she held my hand, gave me a hug, and showed me support and compassion. Is this the standard way they prepare us? I never knew "I" had to be the initiator here...I thought they did this. Thank You,

Thank You all for the info. It is much appreciated! My husband started in June and he too has a three month supply. This medicine is $2000.00 a month! Thank GOD for his Medicaid covering it. WHEW. Take care all,

Hi Ada, I see you as a very strong person and a true fighter! Keep fighting! This is what I tell my husband and it seems to work!! I hope you feel better soon! Cuddle up w/a good book and your favorite jammies. I do this and it feels like total pampering and it makes me feel better.

Hello, I am making a list of questions for this appointment on Wed. and so I will ask about this. Thank You.

Don and Lucie, My prayers are with you both. Take slow, deep breaths and take it a moment at a time. That is what works for us. Blessings,

Hi Becky, My husband had that too and when we went to the ER they assumed it was a blood clot and they did a test and it was NOT. It is better to have it checked out to be safe and for peace of mind. I hope you feel better soon.

Hi Carol, WOW, good for you for getting Gene the care he deserves and getting the medical team on the same page! I have been there too. I swear people who have no one to be their voice are left to the mercy of incompetent care and that is plain SAD. The oncologist that was taking over my husband's onc. patients while my husband's onc. was on vacation was quick to say "hospice" too. No clinical trails were offered and when my husband asked, the onc. said, "There are none available." PUH-LEEEEEAZZZE! You know what my husband said...he said the onc. looked at him as if he was dead already! How utterly SAD. There is more to this and I DID report him!!!!! We have a program here now called, "Bridge". It is the step before hospice. My husband is on Iressa, still fighting. I am right here w/him - fighting too. I am prepared for whatever happens...but I still have my hope and so does my husband! Some days are good and some are bad...today is a bad day. My husband coughs and shakes when he coughs as the coughing is so very violent. He brings up so much phlegm. Bob is on a feeding tube from radiation therapy damage. He longs to eat - to taste food. He also lost his voice, from radiation therapy damage. When one gets radiation to the area near the voice box, one needs to be made aware of the risks - and we never were. Well I am rambling now. I just wanted to say you and Gene are in our prayers and I think what you did for Gene was so wonderful! It is sad how we must act as such to get the 'job' done for our loved ones...but we do what we need to do. I went from Dept. to Dept. and had to practically scream to get my husband the care he needed when he was in the hospital! I call it playing, "A Shirley MacClain". I am not so sure I spelled her last name right. Remember the movie, "Terms of Endearment"? Remember when Shirley screams to the nurses, "GIVE MY DAUGHTER THE SHOT." Well, when they are neglecting my husband, I excuse myself, saying, "I need to go play a Shirley McClain". And, it always works. It is sad though. Take care,

Hi again, Does anyone here take continuous antibiotics for infection prevention? I ask as my husband is currently on his last day of antibiotics for a lung infection, and he seems to do so much better when he is ON antibiotics. I was thinking of asking his onc. on Wed. if he can prescribe a low dose of an antibiotic for infection prevention and so my husband feels better. Is this off the wall, , or is this indeed something that is done? Thank You.

Hi all, I hope everyone is having a good day today filled w/soothing thoughts and comfort. My husband started Iressa in June. I am wondering if anyone else here is taking Iressa? Also, how long can one take Iressa? Is there a time limit on it, such as w/course of IV chemo; 3 weeks and so on? Thank You,