creekgirlsc

Hello All.....I want to thank you for all the info on the Chantix. Should have posted sooner about it but am now dealing with the repercussions of some health problems that my DH has. He had 5 blockages in his heart & was in hospital to have a stent put in. They didn't do anything about the other 4. He has a very low heart rate & doctors are trying to find a medication he can take without it affecting his b/p. It's always something, isn't it? I am on my 4th week of Chantix (scrip given to me by pul doc) & haven't smoked since August 1 which is 18 days....... not that I'm counting. The only side effects that I notice are some drowsiness & also I have been having some really strange dreams. I know that everyone dreams but all my life I've only been able to remember a few of them when I wake in the morning so in a way I consider the dreaming a plus. And the dreams are in color! There have been a few times when I still wanted to smoke but when giving the idea a second thought have decided that I just was not going to do that. DH stopped smoking about a week before I did (without any patch or Chantix) so that makes it easier for me also. Healthwise I do notice that I have less sob & at pul rehab I am making very good progress. I think some of it is due to the no smoking. Thanks again.....Creekgirl

67 years old...former smoker. 6-11-07 I went to my GP because I had an ache in my right arm. He thought I might have either pulled a muscle or broken a rib. They took X-Rays & he gave me pain pills...called me back in 2 days to be seen again. Then said he saw a spot on my right lung & thought I might have pneumonia. Put me on antibotics. 6-24-07 Woke to find that my left leg was terribly swollen from groin to ankle & very red & tender. At ER was given shot of heparin immediately & then had ultrasound, EKG, MRI & X-Ray. Doctor then told me I had lung cancer & massive blood clots in my leg & that many of them had also travelled to my lungs.Stayed in hospital for four days & was given heparin shots & coudamin. Also had pulmonary tests. 6-28-07 Released from hospital & on 6mg. coudamin daily. 7-2-07 Readmitted because leg swollen from ankle to knee. Another untrasound done. On heparin/coudamin again. Total bed rest for next 7 days. Told that until blood could get regulated they would not be doing anything about the lung cancer. 7-12-07 PET scan done. Shows 3.4 cm x 2.4 cm mass in the right upper lobe posteriorly & adenopathy in the right hilar region that extends along the protracheal-retrocaval, and right paratracheal region of the thoracic inlet.(This info taken from the PET scan report). 7-30-07 Bronchoscopy done. Two enlarged lymph nodes biopsied. Both cancerous. Staged at 111A well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. 8-3-07 Appt. with hemotology oncologist to consider "plan of attack". He also is to take over treatment/dosages of coudamin for leg. Has decided I will do Lovenox injections at home to get this blood thinning to a magic number (between 2 & 3). I am now at 1.4. 8-7-07 MRI of brain....all okay. CT of abdomen & pelvis. Ct shows 11mm low density lesion in the left lobe of the liver. Cannot exclude metastatic disease. Too small for biopsy. Followup in 2-3 months to asses this finding. 8-8-07 Appt. with cardiothoracic surgeon. She thinks if radiation/chemo will shrink the mass that it can be operated on but has concerns regarding my DVT. 8-9-07 blood work...under 2. 8-9-07 Appt. with radiation oncology doctor. She has concerns about a "thing" that showed up on the PET scan on my left lung. Will get back to me regarding this. 8-16-07 blood work...under 2. 8-24-07 Appt. with hemotology oncologist...they have decided that "thing" is nothing to be concerned about. Also appt. with rad. onc. to have mapping done. 8-24-07 blood work....2.3 9-5-07 CT of chest done. 9-7-07 more mapping done. 9-7-07 blood work.....2.8. Doc happy regarding blood work results. 9-10-07 Will start 7 weeks of radiation. Also will have chemo every Monday. 130mg taxol/150mg carboplatin. Nausea med. to be given 30 minutes previous. Also 12 hr. & 6 hr. previous to treatment 20 mg. decadron. 9-10-07 to 9-14-07 First week of readiation. Went well. 9-10-07 1st chemo. carbo/taxol. Bad reaction to taxol. Treatment aborted for today. 9-12-07 2nd Chemo treatment Navelbine/Carboplatin. Went well. No light shows or fainting. 9-12-07 Met with rad. onc. They have now decided that the "thing" on my left lung is something to be concerned about....something about lymph nodes.She was supposed to give me a report but neglected to do so. Will have to get it. Therefore no surgery will be done as I have been reclassed as 111B. 9-12-07 Blood work.....1.3. Wondering if it will ever get stabilized! 9-18-07 CT done. Doc thought I might be throwing blood clots but all okay. 9-20-07 neulasta shot. 10-04-07 3rd chemo. INR 1.6 white blood count good. 10-05-07 Follow up CT w/contrast. Mass has decreased in volume as well as size from 2.4 x 3.4 to 1.3 x 2.8 and is more strandy than soft tissue. The lymph node area went from 1.6 x 2.2 to 1.5 x 1.9. No additional mass lesion developed. The liver is difficult to assess due to technical differences. Measures 11mm x 10mm. Was told that technical differences I was told meant that different technicians looking at the results formed different opinions! 10-08-07 Admitted to ER. Dehydration. 10-09-07 Radiation finished. 22 treatments. 10-10-07 Met with thorasic surgeon. I am a candidate for surgery. The "thing" in left lung is now referred to as an "unknown" & she is not concerned about it. I will have an umbrella filter put in to control the DVT before the lung surgery. 10-11-07 Last chemo. Didn't lose my hair or ever have vomiting. So glad of that. Saline drip...dehydration again. INR 1.8 10-12-07 Neulasta. 10-18-07 Onc. doc. appointment. He not happy with bloodwork. INR 3.2. Also he is not concerned about the "unknown" on left lung. 10-19-07 INR 2.3 PT 21 10-31-07 Starting Lovenox. 60 mg twice a day since I am 5 days out from having the umbrella filter put in. 10-04-07 Will be admitted to hospital at 6am Mondayfor the filter, stay overnight & surgery scheduled for 8am on Tuesday. They will do a lobetomy & also remove lymph nodes. I am eager/anxious to have this done. 11-05-07 Admitted to hospital. Umbrella filter put in. 11-06-07 Surgery. Upper right lobe & 7 lymph nodes removed. Very drugged & don't remember anything. 11-13-07 Released to home. We have home health services coming in twice a week to do b/p, temp., bloodwork. The results of bloodwork are sent to my onc. doctor. He wants to be sure I am on correct dosage & within normal limits. 11-29-07 X-Ray of chest done for surgeon. She pronounces "all okay". 12-07-07 Seen by pulmonary doctor. Put on Spiriva as my breathing is only at 50%. 12-07-07 Seen by oncology doctor. Will not need follow up chemo as the pathology report shows no cancer in my body at this time. Such good news! Will see doc in one month. 12-11-07 Aspiration done to check out large lump at surgery cutting line which is very sore. No fluid....just some blood. Supposedly it will eventually become smaller. 12-31-07 The end of the year. Feel lucky to still be here. 1-11-08 Seen by onc.doc. Will have a CT scan of chest & abdomen on 1-22-08. 1-22-08 CT scan chest & abdomen. Onc. doc. Has decided that spots on liver are cysts since they haven't enlarged since previous CT scan. The chest scan shows that I have radiation pneumonitis. Put on predinsone for 10 days. On lavaquin for 5 days. 1-30-08 Seen by vascular doc. Ultrasound done. He would like me to be off coumadin. MY INR's stay at 1.4-1.6 regardless of my coumadin dosage. 2-7-08 PET scan done to compare to previous one. 2-13-08 Off coumadin. 2-22-08 CT scan of chest.Pul. doc. appt. immediately after. Breathing at 65% which is good but I have radiation pneumonitis again. On prednisone again. Will have a CT scan done in April to be sure this has cleared up. 2-22-08 Onc. doc. appt. He wants another CT scan done in May. Doesn't see any sign of cancer at this time. Classes me at somewhere between stable & NED. 4-4-08 CT scan w/o contrast. Pulmonary function remains the same. Will schedule pulmonary rehab. asap. 4-21-08 pulmonary rehab. cancelled due to having costrochrondritis. Taking Aleve to help with the soreness/pain. 5-19-08 CT scan of chest & abdomen w/contrast. 5-23-08 Office visit with onc. Good news. He considers me NED at this time! Will have a CT scan every 3 months for the next 1 1/2 years.

I'm wondering just how effetive Chantix is & also what side effects anyone has experienced. I"m off cigarettes as long as I wear the Nicoderm patch but when I finish the course I am back to smoking. I'm smoking about 3 cigarettes most days but I hate myself for doing that. I am just so addicted to those d*** things & don't have the will power to stop on my own. Thought the Chantix might work better. Creekgirl

Thank you Sandra & Carole for your replies. Yes, that prednisone is nasty stuff with so many side effects. I know of a gal that was on it for a year, then got off it , then doc wanted her on it again & she refused. Said she would rather deal with her disease...MG....then with the side effects of the prednisone. I do notice that my face doesn't seem so firm to the touch so that is a good thing. I gained 17 lbs. but hopefully will lose some. I don't have the desire to eat all the time & that will be a help. Again, Thanks.....Creekgirl

I know that some of you have been on prednisone & perhpas can give me an answer. I started on it in Feb. 60 mgs, then down to 40 mgs, then down to 30 mgs, 20 mgs, 10 mgs & finally 5 mgs daily. I finally finished on Tuesday. I have the moon face still. When can I expect it to go away so that I will have cheekbones again. We are travelling to Ct. to see my gran graduate high school on June 17 & I am hoping that by then I will look normal again. Any chance of that? Anything I can do to hurry it along...maybe cold packs? Thanks, Creekgirl

Got the results of my CT scan from my onc. doc. this past Friday. (Would have posted sooner but for some reason I couldn't until I re-registered). He said "consider yourself NED" & proceeded to give me a nice little backrub & hug. He's a sweetie! I will have a CT scan done every 3 months for the next 1 1/2 years. Creekgirl

Thanks to all of you for the info on the prednisone side effects. I think that maybe the 1st time I was treated that it wasn't for a long enough time & it was a flare up (or at least that's what I'm hoping). Sure wouldn't want to keep on having this again & again. I am keeping this back ache but now taking darvocet & it does relieve it. What I really would like to be able to do is just sleep it away but that's not gonna' happen. I've done some reading up on the side effects & am now waiting to see if I bulk up like Hulk Hogan....lol. Also waiting to see if I get that "moon face" that it also another side effect. Thanks again, Connie

Hello All..... I'm having a 2nd bout of radiation pneumonitis & my pul doc put me on prednisone to treat it. The 1st time I had it I was put on 3 days of 3 pills, 3 days of 2 pills & 3 days of 1 pill. This time around I'm on 3 days of 6 pills (10 mg), 14 days of 4 pills & then 3 pills per days until further notice. The scrip is for 150 pills. He also gave me 5 days of factive (for bacterial purposes) & lorazepam (for anxiety/agitation). I am having a terrible backache & wonder if it's from the prednisone. I didn't have one the last time around. I do notice that I'm not as tired as I was & don't need the afternoon naps. Also the coughing is a lot less....so happy for that. I was wearing myself out with that. I was told that I could keep on getting this radiation pneumonitis again & again. Any truth to this? Would appreciate any input from others dealing with this. Thanks, Connie

Don...... Bless your heart....being able to walk a mile on flat ground! You make me want to get out there & try to walk even more than I do now which is not even close to a mile. Creekgirl

Connie.......Will have you in my prayers every night! And God will have you in his hands. Be assured of that. Connie L.

Hello All..... Thanks & a special thanks to Randy for posting the "prayers needed" for my surgery. I should have posted sooner but for some reason I have very little energy or stamina...I wonder why? Could it be because I am a lobe short...lol. The surgeon got everything that she went in to get but I ended up staying longer in the hospital because of my DVT & having lost more blood than they thought I would. I was given 2 pints to make up for the loss. I have been walking as much as I can & doing my breathing exercises & taking my meds. but it is really slow going. The pulmonary doctor told me that for my age group I am right on target but to not expect to be back to what I was before. It can take months according to him.I will probably always have the breathing problem. I have also had a large swelling along part of the surgery cut. My husband is referring to it as my "third breast". It is painful & I was in the hospital for a day last week while they tried to aspirate it but all they got was a little blood. I am trying to get in touch with the surgeon to find out what she might want to do about it. It is getting smaller but very gradually & there is bruising there also. But.....& this is my very, very good news. The pathology report showed that there was no cancer in my body at this time so no follow up chemo. The oncologist said there is nothing there to treat. They will do scans at some future time as there is a chance that cancer could come back in 2 years, 5 years or never. But his thought is to just go on with my life as if I will not get it again. I could waste a lot of time worrying about something that may or may not happen. So that's it from the Creek for now....thanks again for all your prayers & positive thoughts & good wishes. I know they had a lot to do with my feeling that I had support from others during this time. Connie

Hello All..... Tomorrow I head for the hospital to have an umbrella filter put in for the DVT...one of my onc. doctor's major concerns is blood clots. Will stay overnight & on Tuesday thorasic surgeon will do a lobectomy on upper right lobe and as she put it "scoop out" the lymph nodes near the center of my chest. All I could think of when she said that was a melon baller! The hospital has rollaway cots & recliners that almost become a bed so my husband & daughter will take turns holding my hand. I am so glad that they will be there as I am getting a wee bit anxious about this. From what I've read about the surgery (and heard from other posters) it wil not be the easiest in the world but not the hardest either. I have been listening to imaging tapes for the past couple of weeks & feel they are helping me. I will imagine having a circle of guardian angels (aka relatives & friends)around me to support me during this time. I know that I will probably have to do the rad./chemo thing again at some future time but feel that I am up to it & that it will be worth doing. Any prayers that you wish to say on Tuesday will be most welcome. Hint..Hint. I appreciate that there is a message board for lung cancer. I have learned much from all of you & so glad of your support & caring. Blessings.....Creekgirl

Kasey...Don...Andrea. Thanks for the input on the lobectomy. My surgeon hasn't said anything about VATS to me. Could it be that it isn't a possibility or they don't have the technology to do it here? I am just hoping that she (the surgeon) doesn't get confused between lobectomy & lobotomy...lol. Do you think I should put a post-it on myself just to remind her of why I am in the OR? Not making light of the whole thing but if I didn't laugh I would cry. That's the only way I can get through this. Creekgirl

Hello All..... I have now been classed with NSCLC well-differentiated adenocarcinoma 111A. After finishing rad & chemo the CT scan showed a 54% shrinkage. After many, many dicussions between my onc. doc., my rad. doc. & my cardiothoracic surgeon it was decided that I am a "candidate for surgery"......if I wanted it. We (husband & I) discussed it & decided that doing "something" was better than doing "nothing" so I am scheduled for a lobectomy on Nov.6. They will take out my upper right lobe & some lymph nodes. I need to go into hospital the day before to have an umbrella filter put in as I have DVT. I would like to hear from anyone who has had this done. I don't feel afraid at this time but when hearing about what could go wrong I am a wee bit nervous. Onc. doc. tells me I could have 1. stroke, 2. pneumonia, 3. infection, 4. heart attack, and of course 5. the blood clotting situation . Then he also said that I could be in a car accident on the way home from his office & that these 5 things don't happen 98% of the time. Daughter will be coming to help me out at home after surgery & I am wondering just how the whole thing will be coming down. I'm hoping that recovery from this won't be too incapaciting or take very long. Any input from anyone who has had this done would sure be appreciated. Thanks, Creekgirl P.S. I am going to make it a point to update my profile. A lot has happened since I orginally posted it.

Thanks to all of you for your input on the Neulasta shot side effects. I finally took some Tylenol & it relieved it somewhat. I still am not anywhere near where I was before the treatments energy wise but hopefully by the time the surgery is done (scheduled for Nov. 6) I'll have built up some strength & stamina. Mary.....I will update my profile as soon as I can sit at the computer long enough to get everything entered. The days are going by so fast & I am so slow at getting household chores done that there is no extra time for fun things. Thanks again.....Connie

I've finished up radiation...22X & chemo 2X on Thursday and was given a neulastra shot on Friday. Now, today Monday I feel really 'punky'.....more so than I had felt last week. Could this be from the shot? Creekgirl

Today I am grateful to all the people who are praying for me to have the strength to overcome this disease. Thank you all......Creekgirl

Hello All...... I am trying to catch up on what has happened to me since the last time I updated my profile. Doctor decided to delay my next chemo until after I had Neulasta shot. The next blood test showed the white blood count at 9,100 but my INR went up to 3.4 so have to get that back down between 2 & 3 before another chemo. Today was #17 radiation treatment. (I had called it 'zapping' but was told that only refers to bugs). Another CT scheduled for Friday. I developed a sore throat & trouble swallowing due to the radiation treatment near the esopagus. Got a scrip for the "magic mouthwash" & it helps. My medicine cabinet now looks like a mini drug store. But I have to tell you I am starting to develop a real liking for the cherry flavored milk of magnesia. I don't recall ever taking any before in my life. I am turning into a real pill popper but so glad there are meds out there for just about everything under the sun. Good wishes & thoughts & prayers going to all out there who are walking this same path. I hate that any of us have to deal with this but I am glad that there are others I can 'talk' to. Creekgirl (not really a Creek...Native American. I just live on a creek).

Hello Carol......No, there was no biopsy done on the "thing" in my left lung. This I guess is something that we are going to have to pin the doctors' down on. The hem./onc. never said what it was.....just nothing to worry about. The rad./onc. once hazarded a guess that it might have been a cancer that had died...sort of like a tree that dies inside & leaves a hollow shell. When I had the PET scan it never showed up & I wonder why. If it was an active tumor/mass I would think it should have lit up like the one in the right lung but you say you had one show after your treatments so maybe mine will go the same way. Thanks for your input. I appreciate it. Creekgirl

Thanks all for giving me input on the Taxol & Navelbine reactions. I go again tomorrow & they'll do the Navelbine (or as I've heard it called Navy Bean) & then the Carboplatin. Then I'll get one week off. I had to get another CT of my chest as I was having pain & the rad. onc. doctor thought I might have been 'throwing more blood clots'. The CT showed that wasn't what was happening & they gave me a scrip for pain & said that it might just be pulled muscles. They also changed my staging from 3A to 3B. I don't know if this will rule out any possible surgery. I was originally told that no surgery could be done. But apparently the onc.surgeon & rad.onc.doc. are at odds on this. Hopefully they will let me know something at some point....lol. Thanks again for all the good info. I appreciate it & the fact that all of you are here & willing to help out. Creekgirl

Hello All..... I went for my first chemo today after having taken 20mg decodren at midnight & at 6 this am. At the chemo treatment they gave me 0.25 mg aloxi, 50mg zantac, 50mg benadryl, & 8mg decodren. We waited 1/2 hr. & then they did the Taxol. Within a few minutes I started seeing hundreds of little flashing white lights, developed bad pain in upper right chest & limbs changed color & I felt like I would pass out. Put me on oxygen, stopped the Taxol & started giving saline drip. After a couple of bags of that my blood pressure came up enough that they let me come home. I was amazed at how fast my doctor must be able to run because he was on the scene within a couple of minutes of being paged.(There was some talk of a hospital stay but we convinced the doc that if anything looked wonky my husband would take me to the nearest ER.) They want to switch me to something called Naveline combined with the carbo on Wednesday. Has anyone been treated with that? I have no one that I can ask about this as I don't know anyone else who has cancer. I could google it but would rather hear first hand experiences. I hate that all of you have to be here on the cancer messageboards but you sure are a blessing to me. Any info much appreciated. Creekgirl

I just wanted to thank everyone who posted with good wishes & prayers directed to me for the treatment that is to start Monday. I am hoping that since my onc. doctor placed me at the "high end" of being 111A that I'll come through the rad/chemo without too many side effects. As he said to me "You are VERY healthy except for your leg & your lung". I had to laugh at that. I have faith in all my doctor's "plans of attack" to do the very best that they can for me. I am praying for all of them...Rencken, Pastis, Keogh, Kline & Decker that their knowledge & skill will be put into play to my benefit & also for anyone else that is under their care & treatment. Connie L

Hello......I am Connie L from South Carolina. I was diagnosed on June 24, 2007 & am working my way through reading posts from other members. I am very glad that I found this site. It gives me hope for a good outcome. I didn't keep good records when this first started but will try to put it in good order by my next post so that I can add it to my profile.. I am at stage 111a & will start radiation this next Monday. I am anxious to get on with this.