SandraL

Wow. He must really be a trooper if he is managing to work through all of this. Great to hear. Continued best wishes Sandra

Hi there. Well whatever you are doing to beat this thing to the ground...just keep on doing it. Very nice to hear from someone like you. Have an awesome tip and thanks for checking in and inspiring all of us.

Hi Shelley and welcome to this site. You are way too young for this. I agree with everything in your post. Lung cancer has way too low a profile for the killer that it is compared to other cancers. When I first figured that out I got real MAD too! It's the smoking stigma for sure, and unfortunately not a large survivorship to advocate on it's behalf. While I was in treatment I did several advocacy things (radio, newspaper, TV, etc.) and I found that for me, it helped me to feel better that I was doing something about it. Here in Canada, November is Lung Cancer Awareness month but very few people would actually know that. Nobody deserves cancer of any kind. I know full well that I would not have LC if I hadn't smoked...but discovered early on that I needed to forgive myself for that and move on. Anything that any of us can do to get the word out there will help fight this thing and hopefully start to attract more funding so we can have more success rates with treatments in the future. My best wishes to you Sandra

Hi Gracie. There may be many reasons why she slurred her words. Maybe just sheer exhaustion from all of this. it she has Stage 3 then that means I think that it has not metasticized to her brain...so it doesn't sound to me that the slurring is in anyway related to the cancer. I am sorry you have to go through this along with her but she is lucky to have such a kind sister. Once she starts treatment things will start to look brighter and the crying will lessen. I promise. Take care Sandra

Good doctors are a special breed. What would we do without them. They give of themselves to their patients...I sometimes do not know where they find the strength and compassion. Am sure he would appreciate a card with your heartfelt thanks. And how thoughtful of you to be thinking about how you can express your gratitude.

Hi Gracie. Someone else already mentioned Bernie Siegel. I found his book "Love, Medicine and Miracles" really helped me in getting my head wrapped around how to be "an exceptional patient" in the early days. I read it before I got my treatment plan and it sure helped with the waiting. Best wishes in finding some reading that will help. I think it is very important in calming the mind. Sandra

Hi there. The best advice I received during chemo was drink, drink, drink....and if you can't eat drink some more. This will really help the patient "tolerate" the chemo and if you can tolerate the treatment, the more effective it will be. And the best a caregiver can do is prepare food, after that it is the patient's choice and you should not feel guilty. Sounds like you are doing all the right things and have received some good suggestions here. Take care Sandra

Hi there. Keep on hoping for the best. Hope your mom's treatments go well...focus on getting her through that. Lots of good information and supportive folks here. Take care

Hi Bucky. Sorry to hear you have had a tough week. Hope the weather is nice and the lacrosse game enjoyable. Maybe a good "cheer" at the game will get your blood and spirits going. Take care Sandra

Well, where I live, Victoria, BC Canada, is called the "city of gardens". The better question for us would be what spring flower is not in bloom right now. It is the most beautiful time of the year to me, all the flowers, shrubs and trees in bloom. And the grass is green, green, green. In February, the eager beavers are even out mowing them!! Also in February, we have an "annual flower count" where everyone counts the flowers in bloom in their yards and phones it in. Really just to gloat to the rest of the country. The rest of the country will catch up fast though! Hope everyone is enjoying a taste of spring wherever the live.

Hello again. Remember that inoperable does not mean not curable. They have cancer clinics and oncologists to help people beat this disease and people do survive it. I would pursue the inoperable thing a bit further though. It does seem that in the US, surgery is an option more often than it is in Canada for Stage 3. At a minimum make sure you guys really understand why it isn't and then you can move on from that. I wish I had explored earlier. Be sure to ask "tons" of questions re treatment options when you go to see medical oncologist. And ask re "all" treatment options, not just the one they might be recommending. Good luck with all that.

Hi again. Took me awhile to figure the NED thing out when I got on here too. It means "no evidence of disease", a really really good thing! What we all hope and pray for!

Hi Liza. I am glad you have your dad with you now...so sorry he is not doing well. The cough could be caused by some fluid build up and might significantly relieved if it was drained. The draining procedure can usually be done on an outpatient basis. It involves local freezing and putting a tube in side of chest and then draining the fluid out. I think they can only tell if there is fluid through a CT scan. Maybe he had one done in the past. If not, maybe you can convince him to get one of those done. This is just a possibility, as cough could also be caused by tumours. But worth looking into for better quality of life. Hope this helps You and your dad are in my thoughts Sandra

Hi Gracie. I really understand how terrified you must be and I am glad you found this website. I wish I had found it much earlier on because I know it would have helped me in the early days. You should ask any and all questions you would like and many hear will respond. Please know there is always hope. It sounds like your sister's case may be very similar to mine. Possibly Stage 3b with pleural effusion (fluid on lungs). I have had successful treatment to date...and so can she. Please see my medical history below. Also, if you look under the NSLC posts, I started a thread asking for anyone in Stage 3a or b, so there is a good list of there of folks in Stage 3 successfully fighting this disease. It is SOOO scary at first but I promise you that it will get better. Once a treatment plan is in place everyone will start to focus on that and fighting!! My thoughts are with you, your sister and families. Take care. Sandra

That all sounds like great news. Good luck on your wedge resection. TAke care

Randy is right. It may or may not be serious. The waiting is simply awful though. Whatever it is, have faith that they will figure it out quickly and start treating it. Then things will start to look better I promise.

Great news on hitting the one year milestone. I understand how the worrying never stops. I have never heard of headaches being associated with radiation. So hopefully it is just something "normal" and can be treated or will just go away. Take care Sandra

That sounds like very hopeful good news to me. Hope the news keeps getting better. Take care Sandra

Well if it was me, I would take the opportunity to educate the trainer. Offside of course, and as diplomatically as possible. He may just not be aware of how hurtful and inappropriate his comments are. Hope your company isn't paying him too much. If nothing else, I would provide whomever in company responsible for training, your feedback. Just my 2 cents.

A sunny day and clear results!! Super news. Continued best wishes. Sandra

Hi Patti. You just go ahead and vent. Waiting is simply awful. If you are feeling really badly, shortness of breath in particular, then you should go to ER. That's what ended up happening with me. I want you to know that you can experience this awful wait and still have successful treatment because I sure did. Even though when I first walked into my GP's office saying I thought I might have LC...still had to go through system protocol and not until I could hardly breathe was I instructed to go to ER. There I had biopsies, etc. and was staged. Then think it was well over a month after that before I met with doctors at cancer clinic. And then a fair bit of time before treatment began. So you can experience the wait and still be able to successfully fight this thing. Keep being the squeaky wheel. Take care Sandra

Hi Deb and welcome. I am sorry it took so long to figure out what was going on with your husband but glad to hear treatment is on the way. Lots of inspiring stories and support here. Best of luck with upcoming treatments. Sandra

Hi Carol and welcome. I am a 3b as well. So nice to hear about all the "life" you have enjoyed since your diagnosis. Take care Sandra

Congratulations Dave. Continued best wishes

Hi Jackie and welcome to this site. If you go to the NSCLC postings you will see one entitled 3A's and B's that is a pretty good list of others. I am a 3B as well, see my profile below. The beginning is very scary but I promise it does get better. Feel free to ask any questions here. Sandra