LolasDaughter

Thank you, Connie!

Hi all, Well, Mom finished round 2 of her chemo this week and she has a CT scan on Friday to see how the chemo's working and if the tumor has shrunk enough to start radiation. I have to say to those of you who reassured me while we were waiting for official dx, etc. (less than two months ago! it feels like a lifetime ago), that was the worst part and we would begin to settle in to a new norm after we had a treatment plan - you were right! One thing that I didn't necessarily expect - we have been doing a lot of laughing! We find humor in just about everything. Here are a few examples: - Mom's prescription for a wig - 'upper cranial prostetic'. What?!?! - Looking on line at hats, mom reads 'made of a cotton/lyrica blend...' Mom, it's Lycra! (Lyrica is a med she takes for face pain - we chalked it up to chemo brain!) - We laugh at chemo a lot. Especially the day I took her and she was in a pod (with multiple chairs in one large room) for the first time - after she'd had private rooms the two days before. She was playing the part of chemo diva very well - 'POD? What is this POD? Where is the bathroom? I pee a lot during chemo. I have to go into the HALLWAY to get to the bathroom?!' And a lot of times we're talking and laughing with the folks around us (when we're in a pod). It's actually a good time! Mom makes it fun. I wanted to share (I hope the humor of the stories comes through in the written word - I'd prefer to use body language and facial expressions!) and ask, what has been funny or how have you used humor/laughter to cope through the LC journey? And to give some hope to those just starting out - there are light, fun times ahead, mixed in with the other. At least for me, it was all so heavy and dark in the beginning - not knowing - and this is definitely a rollercoaster. But I felt compelled to share the 'lighter side' this morning! Any other humor stories out there?

I thought I would give this one a bump. I just finished the book and it's excellent. I would recommend it for all caregivers, friends, etc. Lori Hope is a LC survivor herself. The book is an easy read and I found the info very helpful.

Hi Hopeful, First of all, welcome! So sorry about your mom's diagnosis - I understand that feeling of everything being turned upside down and not being sure when your feet will be back on the ground again. My mom was dx'd in October and just finished round 2 of her chemo this week. Her treatment also includes the cisplatin/etoposide (no radiation yet as her tumor is too big) and she is handling it very well. She is tired but still keeps much of her same routine, with a nap each day and dozing earlier in her chair before bedtime, usually. She started losing her hair this week (and had it shaved yesterday). The doc's said with her chemo plan it would happen around week 3 and they were right on (for her). Everyone is different - as a caregiver I have found great comfort and information on this board. The search option is great - if you want to educate yourself on specific topics, etc. I have also enjoyed the book 'Help Me Live - 20 things people with cancer want you to know'. It is written by Lori Hope, a lung cancer survivor. Best wishes to you and your mom, Nicole

Welcome! And you are right - you have found a great place of support from survivors and caregivers a like. It sounds like your treatment plan is working! Best wishes for a successful surgery and smooth recovery. Nicole

That is great news! Thanks for coming back to share the update.

Hi Lorie - My mom has that same treatment plan. She's now three weeks from her first treatment and she starts round 2 tomorrow. She does take anti-nausea pills on her treatment days (I don't know the names) and receives one via IV before each treatment. The IV anti-nausea is Decadron, which I have read has a side-effect of increasing appetite. Mom has tolerated her first round of cisplatin/etoposide very well. She is tired - goes to bed earlier, sleeps later and naps every day. However, she is working to keep as much of her normal routine as possible and continues to clean the house, do the laundry, etc., at home. The first few days after round one she did have diarhea, which went away on its own. But she has had little to no nausea and has, in fact, gained weight! (Which she, too, needed to do.) Her onc had told her she would probably lose her hair during week three and she has noticed lots of it coming out now when she brushes her hair (she has just started week three - so it sounds like that will be true for her). I know everyone is different but wanted to share that we've been pleased with how well Mom is doing. If you're needing to gain weight as well, the Decadron may be worth asking about. Of course we don't know for sure if that's what's helped with Mom's appetite, but thought I share the info. Best wishes for a successful treatment with minimal side effects.

Hi Gayle - So glad to hear you got the PET moved up. Good job! Mom is treated at the Clinic and we have felt very good about the care she receives there. Her pulmonologist is Dr. Muchasick (sp?) and we all really liked him (just fyi). Best wishes for good news next week! Please keep us posted.

Hi Gaylee, Welcome to the board. I'm sorry to hear of your nodule - the waiting and not knowing is so hard! I believe two months is WAY too long for the PET scan. We had a similar situation with my mom - and after making some proactive phone calls, got the testing and appointments moved up. There was recently a post about 'Being your own advocate' under the LC Survivors forum from Max L - you may want to check that out. Bottom line - don't be afraid to make some calls and get the scan moved up. I'm sure others here will be chiming in soon. Best wishes that the scan is moved up and you hear the words 'no cancer'. But if that's not the case, please know you've found a great group here. Please keep us posted.

Welcome kadams - I'm sorry for your situation but glad you found the board. You are in the right place! I have no words of wisdom for you but I know others here will. I too have a Mom fighting cancer (her story is in my signature below - you can update yours if you'd like by going into My Profile and adding a signature). Please keep us posted on how things are going. Prayers for you and your family -

It sounds like you have a great attitude, AS USUAL Connie! You are such an inspiration. And so sorry to hear of your husband - but so glad you two have eachother through this time. Prayers for a successful surgery and smooth recovery.

Nicole Medina, OH (40 min south of Cleveland) I work part time as a non-profit fundraising consultant out of the house. Married 13 yrs to a wonderful man and we have two boys - 9 and 4. Our Labradoodle puppy, Samson, is 9 mos old.

Congratulations! You are truly an inspiration to us 'newbies'.

Welcome! Sending best wishes for a successful treatment plan and more importantly... HOPE!

So sorry for the loss of your mom.

Hi Richard, I'm so sorry to hear of your diagnosis - but so glad you found this board. While I am a caregiver and not a LC survivor, I know the numbness and confusion I felt in the days after mom's diagnosis. You'll see the details of my mom's diagnosis and treatment to date in my signature below. We are in Medina and she is being treated the The Clinic. We have felt VERY good about her care there, tests and results and schedules have moved quickly and her onc's are fabulous. I agree with what others have said here - let your doc's know you want to be agressive in your treatment plan. The Clinic has 'Tumor Board' that meets every Tuesday to discuss the cases which includes the onc's, pulmonologists, etc., on your team. We have found the team approach to be very effective in managing my mom's treatment plan. Please keep us posted on how things are going and how we can help.

Interesting (and promising!) approach my Dad found info on: Human lung-cancer tumors grown in mice have been shown to regress or disappear when treated with a synthetic compound that mimics the action of a naturally occurring "death-promoting" protein found in cells, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center report. The findings, appearing in Cancer Cell, suggest that the compound might one day be used in targeted therapies for lung and possibly other cancers, the researchers said. "We found that certain kinds of lung-cancer cells were sensitive to this compound, which sends a signal to cancer cells to self-destruct," said Dr. Xiaodong Wang, professor of biochemistry at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study. In 2000, Dr. Wang announced the discovery of a cellular protein called Smac, which plays a key role in the normal self-destruction apparatus present in every cell. This process, called apoptosis, is activated when a cell needs to be terminated, such as when a cell is defective or becomes unnecessary during normal growth and development. In cancer cells, the self-destruct mechanism is faulty. In 2004, Dr. Wang and his colleagues developed a compound that mimics the action of Smac. They found that in cell cultures, the compound killed cancer cells but left healthy cells unaffected. In those studies, however, the Smac mimic only killed cancer cells when it was introduced along with another molecule often involved in the cell-death machinery, called tumor necrosis factor-a, or TNFa. In the current study, Dr. Wang's research group tested 50 human non-small-cell lung-cancer cell lines in culture and found that 22 percent of them were sensitive to the Smac mimic alone, without having to add TNFa. The researchers also found that the Smac mimic alone was effective against some types of breast cancer and melanoma cells in culture. "The apparent ability of a Smac mimetic, as a single agent, to induce cell death in nearly one-quarter of lung-cancer cell lines tested was quite remarkable," said Dr. Wang, who is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at UT Southwestern. The researchers then introduced those sensitive cancer-cell lines into mice, where they grew into tumors. When the lung-tumor-bearing mice were injected with the Smac mimic, the tumors reduced significantly in size, and in some cases, the tumors disappeared completely. Also tried was a similar experiment treating breast-cancer tumors in mice with the Smac mimic alone. That treatment, however, showed little effect. The researchers then investigated what made those particular lung-cancer cell lines so sensitive to the Smac mimic alone. "We found that these sensitive cell lines produce their own TNFa," Dr. Wang said. In addition to aiding in cell death, TNFa also is known, paradoxically, to sometimes play a role in aiding cancer-cell survival and growth. In combination with the Smac mimic, however, the role of this molecule is clear: cell death. "The Smac mimetic is able to exploit certain cancer cells that secrete TNFa and usurp this pro-survival signal to promote cell death," Dr. Wang said. "Not only is single-agent Smac mimetic treatment highly effective at inducing cell death in these cell lines, but it also offers the possibility of highly specific and relatively nontoxic future therapeutic treatments by exploiting certain cancer cells' own production of TNFa." Additional research and tests will be needed before the Smac mimic is tested in humans, Dr. Wang said, adding that detecting the presence of TNFa in a patient could serve as a marker to indicate that the cancer might be sensitive to treatment with the Smac mimic alone. "The challenge for cancer therapies now is that they also tend to kill normally growing cells as well as cancer cells, which results in undesirable side effects," he said. "Because this compound affects cancer cells selectively, it could combat this problem." ---------------------------- Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. ---------------------------- Other UT Southwestern researchers involved in the study were: lead author Sean Petersen, graduate student in biochemistry; Dr. Lai Wang, postdoctoral research fellow in biochemistry; Asligul Yalcin-Chin, graduate student in biochemistry; Dr. Patrick Harran, professor of biochemistry; Dr. Michael Peyton, research scientist in the Nancy B. and Jake L. Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research; and Dr. John Minna, director of the Hamon Center and of the W.A. "Tex" and Deborah Moncrief Jr. Center for Cancer Genetics. Lin Li of Joyant Pharmaceuticals also participated. Drs. Wang and Harran are cofounders of Joyant Pharmaceuticals, a Dallas-based company and UT Southwestern spin-off that is developing medical applications of Smac-mimetic compounds. The research was supported by the National Cancer Institute and HHMI. Dr. Xiaodong Wang Source: Amanda Siegfried UT Southwestern Medical Center

Just a quick hello and welcome from me, too! I don't have an answer to your question, but I'm sure others here will. And if you have not already, you could post the question to Dr. West at www.onctalk.com - he is very quick to respond and is extremely knowledgable.

I unfortunately can't speak to the change in her treatment plan, but I couldn't help but notice that your mom and my mom are on a similar schedule (as far as dx dates, etc). My mom is on the cisplatin/etoposide cocktail and is on three days (day 1 with both, day 2 and 3 with just the etoposide). She seems to be handling it well (she's one week out from her first treatment) so I hope your mom has the same. Our goal is to get Mom to be doing rad/chemo concurrently as well, but they need to shrink her tumor first (and she has a mixed Dx with SCLC). Anyhow, I really can't answer your questions but just wanted to let you know there's another daughter out here at a similar stage in this process. Also, any research I did on this chemo combo had it come back as the 'gold standard'. You may be able to find some docetaxel/etoposide comparison info at onctalk.com. Best wishes that the concurrent rad/chemo will do its thing and with minimal side effects for your mom. Keep us posted!

I am thankful for a Thanksgiving celebration recently concluded with our entire, extended family. I am thinkful for my over-the-top-helpful husband and our dear family that surrounded us today. I am thankful my Mom was here and fun and happy as always. I am thankful that her cancer makes me realize to be extra-thankful that Mom, and the entire family, was with us today.

Thanks, Ernie! And I couldn't agree more. And what a great fellowship LCSC provides! BTW, have you participated in Rick Warren's 40 Days of Community? It follows his 40 Days of Purpose (The Purpose Driven Life) and emphasizes the point of your post - we were ALL designed to do this thing called life TOGETHER. Our church is wrapping it up this week and it's been a good study. Regardless, I enjoyed your post this Thanksgiving evening. Thank you and God bless! Nicole

Great thinking, Patti! How are things, fellow Buckeye?! I am THANKFUL for mom being diagnosed and now fighting this beast. (I'd rather know and be fighting than go on in ignorant bliss.) I am THANKFUL for my Dad - he takes such good care of Mom and they together provide us all a wonderful example. I am THANKFUL for the medical professionals and the tools they have to help her in this fight. I am THANKFUL for our family's faith for that is what will get us through. I am THANKFUL for my wonderful husband and two beautiful, healthy boys. I am THANKFUL for LCSC and all of the wonderful folks here. And I am THANKFUL for Dr. West and his generosity with his knowledge. Blessings to all this Thanksgiving! Nicole

Hi Mommadukes - So glad to hear the treatments are off to a good start for you and your hubby! And yes, I know exactly what you mean by feeling like God is carrying you along. I have that visual in my mind a lot these days. Today was our last day of this round (Mon-Wed) and it was a rougher day. Mom started out tired and from there little things just didn't go quite right. Then her doc ordered an ultrasound of her leg due to swelling and that made the day longer (the ultrasound came back good - no blood clot!). She goes back tomorrow AM for her MRI and then she gets a break until 12/2. She is so ready to be DONE for a while, so I'm glad this first round is behind her and after the MRI tomorrow she'll be done with the docs for a couple of weeks. I'll continue to pray for you and your family as well - keep us posted!

Hi Patti, I just had to thank you for what is probably a wise warning to me (and my family) as we are just starting on this journey with Mom. We are still in the 'overwhelmed with help from everyone' stage. Which is great, don't get me wrong. But what a wise reminder to be mindful of as we get further along and help from others may change. Hugs to you at yet another stage in the journey, Nicole

Hi Dick & Welcome! My mom has also been diagnosed with inoperable NSCLC, Stage 3 as well. (Details in my signature below.) But I wanted to say HI to a fellow BUCKEYE! I see you're from Ohio. There are a few of us here. I'm a newbee myself and I hope you find the board as helpful and reassuring as I have. Best wishes for much success with your chemo and radiation treatment plan.