Joe

My dad died this morning at 7:15 a.m. He fought his cancer until the odds against him were too much for him to continue. I am very proud of my dad for his courage and spirit throught this entire year. I miss him very much.

Dad had a stroke Thursday night while staying in the hospital to elevate his very low blood counts. Since he was bleeding from his colostomy site and coughing up blood, his Lovenex was discontinued. Sadly, that was probably the reason for his stroke also. He is having trouble speaking but it is improving slightly each day. Before the stroke, my dad was lessed than pleased with the results of his last scan. It showed slight growth in most of the tumors and possible new spots at the bottom of each lung. Because of the scans and stroke, dad has decided to stop treatment and leave the hospital until he is with God. I am unable to describe how I feel right now. A little part of me is glad that there will be no more tests or waiting to see if the news is good or bad. The rest of me is unbelievably devistated at facing the loss of my dad. I'm worried about everything right now and don't know what to do. All I know is that the Good News Section is no longer an option for dad.

After two months of waiting, dad finally got a CT scan to see how things were doing. His oncologist felt it was a good time to do it while dad was in the hospital with very low blood counts. Well, the news may not be good, but we have to wait a little longer to know for sure. The two primary tumors in the left lung don't appear to have grown, but they didn't shrink. The superclavicular lymph node tumor on the right side appears to have grown a little. The possible bad news is the appearance of two spots at the bottom of each lung. The oncologist doesn't know yet whether its fluid or cancer and didn't seem to be leaning either way. Dad just got 7 bags of blood transfused over the last 3 days. The first day he had fluid build up and needed medication to get rid of all of the excess fluid. He hasn't had the medication since the first day so we are all praying for good news. Unfortunately, dad is very discouraged. He apparently was expecting better results than the rest of us. The rest of us are trying to be optimistic and wait to see what the pathology report says on the other spots. I just needed to tell someone. I'm hoping to have the other results tomorrow. Everyone please pray for good news. We could really use it right now. Thank you.

My dad was admitted to the hospital, again. This time it was because his blood cell count was very low. They plan on transfusing 3-4 units of blood. He was also bleeding quite a bit. He was put on Lovenox (sp?) for blood clots he developed just before he was diagnosed with his cancer. Today I found out he has been coughing up blood, bleeding from the entry site for his colostomy and bled a lot when he got his Lovenox shot yesterday. He hasn't had any known problems with blood clots for about 1 month now so they took him off the meds today. Has anyone seen or experienced anything like this blood loss? Does it mean he is getting worse or does it mean that the chemo is attacking the good blood more because the there are less cancer cells to attack? I'm confused. Joe

Can anyone provide me with their experiences at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, especially in Zion, IL? My parents are looking into receiving treatment there for my dad and I would like to hear about some experiences, good or bad. Thank you.

Has anyone on this forum been diagnosed with NCSLC Stage IIIB and beat their cancer back to remission? The statistics and doctors make it sound like it's impossible so I want to see what the real world has to say. Also, has anyone who has been diagnosed with Stage IIIB ever had surgery? The statistics and doctors also say that isn't possible. Thank you for your input. Joe

Thanks to all of you who responded. Just like those who have cancer, the support people have good and bad days. I've been down for the last few days. My mom told me that dad seem to be getting tired of the chemo side effects and that if the scans don't show any progress, he may stop treatments. While it is quite understandable to become tired of all the side-effects of chemo, I really don't want him to give up. I still think he can beat this (and it's not just because I want him to!). There are too many treatment options out there that he hasn't tried or heard of. The only encouraging news right now is that despite the continued nausea, he is still looking forward to his next chemo treatment. Right now dad is having back pain which I think is due to sitting in a chair all day. I've been encouraging him to get up and walk when he can but he is tired and still has nausea from the chemo he had 3 weeks ago. It seems to be worse when he moves so he likes to stay in one place. I also just found out that he has had blood in his urine long before his cancer was diagnosed. Since he hasn't had any problems other than that, it's being attributed to an enlarged prostate. (He will be telling the doctor at the next appointment). Speaking of appointments, my parents are becoming increasingly unhappy with the oncolgist. He seems to be way behind at all appointments with people waiting up to 3 hrs for a visit. The nurse who referred him said that it is because he is very good so everyone wants him. I guess if he is that busy, he should limit the number of patients. I found a different oncologist they could see if the decide to switch. They are going to wait and see what the scans show before deciding. Thanks again for listening.

It seems so long ago that my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer but in reality, its only been 1 1/2 months. He goes for his 3rd chemo treatment in the beginning of Sept, which is about 3-4 weeks from his last. I'm getting very anxious having to wait to see if there are any results. His oncologist told me that he would wait until about 3-4 weeks after his 3rd treatment before he would do more scans. So much can happen in that amount of time! What if the tumors are growing instead of shrinking? I feel as though the waiting gets harder every day. I'm trying to just take things one day but I'm not doing a good job of following my own advice. Like everyone else, I'm praying that the medications are working as hard as it can and destroying every cancerous cell. Thanks for listening. I just needed to vent.

I hope the news continues to be good. Enjoy the time away from the doctors office!

Sally, The way I understand it is that each series of chemo treatments is a round. There is no limit as to how many treatments = a round but is seems to be based on a few different factors. A new round sometimes starts after each new scan or when the meds are changed. Basically, there are no rules. I also agree with Gina. This site is full of people who have beat cancer. If you start to believe that it can't be beat, you are over 1/2 way to losing the fight. Always believe that your brother can beat this!

Congratulations on making it through a very rough year. You both deserve credit for all of the fighting it takes to beat cancer. Before you know it, another anniversary will be upon you!

Carleen, I'm so happy for you and Keith! I'm praying that this is only the first of many good scans. Keep the fighting attitude.....I does make a difference!

Sally, I did a lot of research on cancer stages when my dad was diagnosed. (The doctor never told him about the stages or where my dad ranked). Based on everything I've read, it sounds like your brother is at Stage II, most likely IIA. Try the link below and see if it provides any additional information. www.nci.nih.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/treatmen ... Keypoint10 Let me know if you have more questions. I'll try and help. Joe

My dad hasn't had any diagnosis related to the vena cavas. He has had pulmonary embolisms and needed a filter inserted into a vein to break up the bigger clots. I checked out the symptoms of the Superior Vena Cava Syndrome and swollen extremities is one of the primary symptoms. I hope this helps. Joe

I certainly agree with finding a new doctor. Cancer is not something you just forget about after one clean scan. Too many people think that a doctors word is equivelant to the word of God. It's good that you showed your dad how unhappy you are with his treatment. While you can suggest that he find a new doctor, don't push too hard or you may strain your relationship with you dad. Hopefully your dad will see the doctor for the person he or she really is and take your advise. Even though you are upset, I'm glad to hear the good news about the scan. Joe