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Lyliana1277

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Everything posted by Lyliana1277

  1. I'm having trouble with all of this. My mom has accepted that she may die this year. Nothing is for sure (as it never is with cancer) since she is starting a new treatment this week, but as the cancer progresses, she seems more and more ok with it. She told me that it has just become a way of life. My problem is that as it progresses, I am less and less ok with it. I guess that I'm still coming to terms with all of this. I just can't imagine my mom not being here. I just feel useless. I don't see her as much as I would like. I'm so busy working full time and going to school full time, that I never get to make it out to her house (about an hour and a half away) unless I don't have work. I do talk to her just about every day, which helps. I just wish I could do more for her. My step-dad isn't very helpful, and my grandmother (lives down the street from her) ends up needing my mom to take care of her rather than the other way around. I don't know, it's just a lot to take in all the time.
  2. Along with what everyone else on here has said, the prognosis is an estimate. When my mom was diagnosed with stage IV ncslc, her dr told her that "on average" people in her condition live for a year. It has been over a year, and she's still with us. Granted she now has brain mets, but she's still living, she's still fighting this awful disease. She even decided this year to leave up her Christmas tree so she could enjoy her ornaments. She says if she doesn't make it another year, she will have gotten to enjoy her tree. And if she does make it another year, she won't have to put up her tree for next year.
  3. Bad news. Cancer has moved to more of her bones. It's now in her thoracic & lumbar vertebrae, saccrum, pelvis, and glenoid. Has not gone to the liver, so we're staying positive. Will be starting Alimta (?) on January 3, so she gets a little break for the holiday. Does anyone know much about this chemo? She was told by a nurse that the symptoms are less severe than the carbo/taxol. Not sure if she will continue Avastin. Mom's guess is probably not. Will be doing another brain MRI in three months to see how radiation is working. Keep us in your prayers, and happy holidays to everyone.
  4. Is it normal for someone with such an advanced stage of lc to be asymptomatic? My mom has never had any symptoms of the cancer, just the chemo and now the radiation. She had slight pressure in her head, and that's how she "knew". The doctor said it was probably nothing but he checked anyway, and sure enough it had moved to the brain. Even when she as initially diagnosed, she had a swollen lymph node in her upper chest. Nothing to big, just a lump. Doctor said it was probably nothing, but it was. Is this normal, or is this a sign that she is doing well? I'd like to think that the latter is the case. She has always been asymptomatic, even when she was younger and had to have bladder and kidney surgery. The doctor's said she had a defect since birth, but no one knew until she was really sick, and had she not come in right away she would have been on dialysis for her life. Thanks Stacia
  5. Hi Michelle, My mom was also diagnosed with stage IV nsclc last year. It was also in her lymph nodes, spine, and sternum. All small lesions, but there. Slow-growing. Did your mom smoke at all? Mine never did. She was started off with carbo/taxol combo along with avastin. Just a few months ago she had a reaction to the carboplatin so they stopped doing that. Just recently she had to start whole brain radiation for three weeks, 15 treatments. She just finished and will be getting another PET scan Monday. They held off on the radiation because the carbo/taxol, then the taxol, with the avastin was working. They decided that radiation was necessary since the chemo couldn't cross the blood-brain barrier. There is hope. My mom is still going. This Wednesday will be an important day. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your mom. Stacia
  6. Friday was my mom's last day of whole brain radiation. She has a PET scan on Monday, with results on Wednesday to see how other tumors are doing. Hopes are high, prayers are going.
  7. I'm looking for a buddy to share, help, vent, etc. My mom was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic NSCLC last year. It has recently moved to her brain and she is undergoing radiation. Would like if buddy is in similar situation (family member), around Phoenix area. Stacia
  8. My name is Stacia. My mom was diagnosed in October 2006 with Stage IV metastatic NSCLC at the age of 47. She was never a smoker, and was always healthy. The tumors are small and are in her lungs, spine, and sternum. She has been going through chemo for a little over a year now, and recently started radiation. She was having some pressure in her head, and wanted her doctor to do a brain MRI. The results came back the Monday before Thanksgiving that she has small lesions (less than 20) on her cerebellum, pons, and temporal lobes. This is her 2nd week of radiation and she says she just feels tired, no other real symptoms yet. Her doctor said that it could take up to 3 weeks for symptoms to appear. Her doctor is remaining positive. She's out of work on disability, so at least that stress is gone. I just keep hoping and praying that she is in that small group of people who can make it through this. It's so hard sometimes. You never expect your mom to be diagnosed with lung cancer when you're 20. I just get so frustrated with health magazines sometimes. They'll have all of these articles about breat cancer and cervical cancer and colon cancer, but rarely do you hear anything about lung cancer. It just seems like the world is focused on all of the smaller cancers, when one of the biggest ones is staring in our face, unwilling to back down. I understand that the others are just as formidible, but it still frustrates me just the same. I'm just looking for a place to vent, to find friends, to share, to relate.
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