DawnB

Cuba approves, makes available lung cancer vaccine Does anyone know if this CimaVax EGF is in trials in the US or Canada? It sounds promising.

Hi Sandra - my Mother is 3A, diagnosed around the same time as you. Best wishes.

My Mom has had good results with Alimta and cisplatin plus radiation for her BAC. The only reason that she got this combo was because she was initially mis-diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, but we just found out today that the tumour has been reclassed as resectable, and she wouldn't have gotten there without the chemo/rads regimen that she was on.

Hi Karen I'm sorry to hear about your mother. My Mom was dx in September, and I remember how difficult it was to deal with. Don't forget to take care of yourself as well as your mother. Mom was also stage 3 inoperable, but she is responding really well to her chemo and radiation. Take care, Dawn

My mom's progress has been really good (see below), but I’m always worried about being overly optimistic, if that makes any sense. I’m kind of a pessimist by nature, really. Is it possible that she could really be cured by her first line treatment?

Last week, my Mother got a call from a financial planner at her bank, asking if she wanted to come in and review her accounts, portfolio, etc. She explained that she's in cancer treatment, so now is not a good time, and without missing a beat, the banker said, "Then I should check into your beneficiaries, and make sure your affairs are in order." Mom, God bless her, blurted out, "I'm not dying!" And instead of realizing at that point that he was being totally tactless, the banker just said that it was still a good time to be checking that sort of thing.

After three weeks of treatment so far - Alimta + cisplatin and radiation for one week, then two weeks of radiation only - Mom's x-ray shows that she is responding well - the tumour is shrinking already, and the Dr. said that the whole x-ray was clearer and easier to read because of it. (I don't have more details, because Mom doesn't want to see the x-rays. I would never, ever question a decision like this to her, but my researchy mind really wants all of the details, especially now that there have been some good results.) Anyhow, we had a little toast "to continued tumour shrinkage" to celebrate, and I certainly don't question the value of positive thinking, but I'm really curious to know if this is an unusually good result? Or is it pretty typical? Either way, it's good news, I'm soft of just trying to figure out how good, if that makes any sense. Any thoughts?

My mother just had her first round of Alimta and cisplatin, and she's only had a bit of fatigue (and I do mean just a little bit) and some nausea that her anti-nausea pills took care of handily. All the best to you, Dawn

I love sourkraut on my hot dogs! Add sweet mustard and grilled onions, and I'm in hot dog heaven.

Hi, I just wanted to pop in with a very belated "thank you" to all of you for your kind words. Mom is doing well with her treatment so far, having minimal side effects, really going on with her life pretty much as usual (though with more naps). Thanks again to everyone who participates in this community!

Hi, all My sweet Mom was recently diagnosed with IIIa adenocarcinoma. So I moved in with my parents. It seemed kind of like a no-brainer - I'm 32, single, no children, and I was renting while waiting for my new house to be built. I can help Dad with Mom's care, and with the housekeeping that now seems so unimportant. Anyway, of course I wish that I had no reason to be here, but I'm glad that I found LCSC.

Adrian, to answer your question, the tumour can't be removed surgically because of its location. Mom seems to be clinging to the hope that it will be operable if it shrinks, but I'm not sure if that is a real possibility. Dr. West, thanks for your comments. DB

Thanks so much for your replies, MaryAnn & Adrian. It's really great to be hearing form others who have bee/are going through the same things as my family.

My mother was diagnosed with 3A adenocarcinoma a few weeks ago, and she has just finished her first week of chemo and radiation. She's in a clinical trial, and I was just wondering if anyone has had experience with this regimen (or similar), or has any thoughts about it: This week she had 5 days of Alimta and cisplatin, followed by radiation. She now has two weeks of daily radiation, and then the whole cycle repeats (one week chemo + rads, two weeks rads only.) She gets three weeks off, and then has two more days of Alimta a week apart. This seems aggressive for a first line treatment based on what I've been reading, but that's a good thing, I think. (I'm a little worried that I'm kind of too optimistic at this point. I'm not really entertaining the idea that this won't work for her.) Any thoughts on this, or similar experiences to share? DB