JB

Of that LOOOOOOONG month of August again, just like the calendar in the cab. At this point the entire crowd.....

I'll GLADLY go first Judy...as soon as the statute of limitations runs out.

I concur with Judy in Key West...there are many different options available....so this may not be the route you go. YOu asked about tarceva, so I gave you the run down of how Col got there...Hope I didn't confuse anyone or lead anyone to believe that the way Col's treatment went is the way everyone's treatment should go. Now if someone will explain to me why I MUST type Judy in Key West everytime instead of just Judy...lol...I'd be doing a lot better...It's like a person's name where you can't just say the first name, you have to use their full name.

Well, if your doctor doesn't bring it up, make sure you ask about it....Be your own or in this case your husband's advocate....Doctors often have a perfectly legitimate reason for doing things, however, they don't always tell you what they are.

Coni, Tarceva is a one a day pill that targets the cancer gene receptors, therby slowing stopping or reversing the cancer growth. Col did the carbo taxol for six rounds and after that has been on Tarceva ever since. It is a relatively "easy" treatment as it does not beat you up like the chemo...Side effects are typically diharea (i don't know how to spell that), and an acne like rash...In addition, Col has developed some cracked skin on her fingers and toes. All in all, these side effects are controllable, and again, beat the heck out of chemo....I believe that typically, chemo and radiation is the standard first line treatment, and then Tarceva typically a second line treatment...But treatments vary greatly based on cancer and the person being treated...But that is how it went for us. Col's been on Tarceva for over a year now, with stable reults everytime since then...For us it has been the silver bullet....would we like to see the cancer go away, yes, are we happy as long as it isn't getting worse, yes. Please note that I am not a doctor, and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn express last night. I've just taken a two year on the job training course in Stage iv NSCLC.

COl is at the beach with Jack, which of course leaves me home UNSUPERVISED....A very, very dangerous thing to do, just ask my parents.... As much as I miss chat Randy, Hockey on Tuesday nights is still a go..I'm pretty much addicted to it, and see myself playing year round until i can't do it anymore, or until I get drafte into the NHL. I've even scored a goal, about three weeks ago which led to a 10 minute celebration between myself, my team mates, and even some guys from the other team who have noticed how bad I sucked at the beginning and how far I've come. Just this past Tuesday I had two assists on our only two goals, and made a few other incredible passes....My line mates were calling me Mario Lemiux....I'm not sure I like that, but hey, he was a great player.

Someone asked....hey, wasn't JB passed out drunk under the back seat of the OLD party bus???? Did anyone remember to drag him to the new bus, or have we left him behind to deal with.....

YOu want to talk about losing weight...Take a look at my chubby little cherub face in that luncheon picture Ginny....I would like to try to do something, you would think that between walking whenever I play golf, 60 minutes of hockey tuesday nights, and the countless miles walked cutting the lawn that I would weigh a heck of a lot less. Once winter rolls around I'm back in the basement on the treadmill and lifting. People tell me that if I REALLY wanted to lose wieght that I should lay off the beer....I'm going to show them...lol

You got me....I did sing the ABC's and twinkle twinkle....I believe that they do sound very similar, however with no one to sing one while I sing the other, I can not prove it beyond a resonable doubt. That being said, once Jack returns from the beach, he and I will take a break from our Irish Drinking songs, and put that question to the test.

And so our trip is set...Since it is Tuesday, let's make the first stop at the ice rink to watch JB play hockey tonight....Surely a video of 22 old chubby guys skating around the ice would be funny enough to win americas funniest home videos....That will be our first fund raiser...From PA I think we'll head south for.....

and go on a tour...we'll be like our own little lung cancer canival. we'll travel around from town to town drinking beer and driving the bus, visiting hospitals and businesses raising money and bringing cheer...but wait a minute, can this plan really work? I think we should first check......

Accroding to these Studies, I am HIGHLY ABOVE AVERAGE, and get FAR FAR less miles to the gallon...In fact, in quite a twist of mathematics anomoly, it appears that I take in more gallons than miles walked.

seen a caledar with naked ladies on it before? I replied that I in fact had seen such a calendar before just not one.....

Holy crud Rich, what are you doing? Glad to see you're home and doing / feeling a little better, and I hope everything continues to improve. You just couldn't keep cruising along could you, had to throw a bunch of speed bumps in.

Well, let's just say it took me A LONG time before I decided to post. I've never been one to ask for help...Like Patti B said, I'm a rub some dirt on it and get back in the game kinda guy. In reality I still am, and you can look at my posts and you'll see that I'm typically talking about ridiculous things unrelated to cancer and feelings and thoughts. Why, Cause I'm a guy, and I don't want to talk about cancer, or feelings, or thoughts. I'm quite content to go through life having others believe that the only two emotions I have are normal and angry. What I like to do is interface with others who TRULY understand the perspective at which we now go through life. When so many of our friends continue to welcome new children into the world, or get married, or buy a house, or do anything that normal 30 year olds do, Col and I are like yeah, that's great, we just had a really cool echocardiograhm done on Friday. It's almost like we no longer have ANYTHING in common with our friends. The other part of it is that I believe that we are very lucky at how Col has progressed through this, and how amazingly well she's done with what is a rather severe dx. So I feel like us being here gives hope to others who have just been diagnosed, as I remember how extremely crazy those initial months are. I love the support we get here, but more so I love to think that I may be able to support someone else. Finally, I believe that my extremely wierd sense of humor in the face of all of this may help others as well. If Col and I didn't laugh at this stuff, we'd both be crazy, scratch that, crazier than we are.

Someday I will get a tatoo, as soon as I can figure out how to explain it to Jack. Someday, I will tap my well hidden and little known talent and write a book.

ROCK ON SHARON!!!!! Great news.

Well Diane, you came to the right place...Welcome. You'll find tons of information, support, and many many new friends. Oh and we're all like you, so you'll fit right in. If your oncologist says you're doing well, then you're doing well. You'll find that old terms take on entirely new meanings around these parts. Wishing you all the best, and once again welcome.

UGHHHHHHH...Will it ever stop? Where is Ottsville? Gotta be down by us somewhere.

I'm so very sorry to read this Debbie. I have no words. Continued prayers for strnght and comfort.

Heck yea, I'll drink to that...Congrats Muriel on a great, great anniversary...Five years is an enormous credit to your strength and determination. PS. since my reputation precedes me, and Fred is only offering 5 beers per person, (probably because of my display at the Delaware Valley Lunch) i'm looking to take a couple off the hands of others who don't like to drink.

Smithwicks, smithwicks, smithwicks smithwicks, smithwicks, smithwicks.... For thos of you cheering along at home please note that Smithwicks is pronounced as follows: Smit - icks. Smithwicks, smithwicks, smithwicks.

Kristi, That all sounds like perfectly normal responses to this mess we're in. I've been there done that, thought that, said that and a whole lot more. IT SUCKS...and there isn't a whole lot we can do about it.

Beer, beer, beer, tiddly beer, beer beer. We'll have a drink for you Judy, maybe next time you can catch us.

Laurie welocme to the site. Colleen had brain surgery to remove one large Met, and all went well. I'm sorry to hear that your sister had some complications. All surgeries have their complications, and when you start messing with someone's noggin, it ups the ante a bit. Col still suffers from headaches, but we can't say that it's from anything related to the surgery, I guess just part of the mess of the disease. As for Tarceva, Col's been on it for a year. I think she would tell you it's a piece of cake considering everything else she's been through. In fact, prior to Tarceva, Col would have told you that the brain surgery was the EASIEST part of her treatment, as Chemo really knocked the crud out of her. The Oncologist's quote was "we'll stay on it untill it stops working, and then we'll find something else." There'll be some side effects, but for her they aren't anything crazy. Rash is the most predominant, and it goes from bad, to worse, to absolutely ridiculously terrible, and back to just bad again. Small price to pay for the results we've seen from Tarceva. Best of luck.