Heather J

Jay, Be strong.... You are a young, strong man and you have so much in front of you. I have never posted with you. Everytime that I seem to post you are making another hurdle in your effort to kick the crap out of this disease. I wish you every blessing in the world. I'm only about 7 years older than you so with everything that I've seen on this board I really believe that not only is my Mother my hero but you are my hero too. Anytime you want to talk about anything, please write. I know you will overcome this adversity. Heather

Lily, I've been there with my Uncle, waiting for him to begin his journey to begin, and I pray that my Mother waits for years before making it there. I feel an overwhelming urge to reach out and hug you for I know this is the most difficult thing a child will have to go through. May your family be blessed with all that God has to give, whatever that may be. Take care of yourself and may all the peace be with you. Please contact me for anything. Heather

I haven't posted for the last month or so. I've kept up my reading to make sure everyone is managing. I'm so happy to read and post in the "Good News" section since it has been a year of Peaks and Valleys. It had originally seemed more valleys than peaks but I think the peaks may actually win out. My mother is doing excellent. She will finish her preventative radiation the day before Thanksgiving. It seems like such a wonderful thing to be able to give Thanks for the very next day. It's been very hectic as I was engaged on November 1st to the Love of my Life for the past 2 1/2 years. My Mother was overjoyed by the news and we plan to be married on our 3rd year anniversary on March 2. Of course in addition to my Father walking me down the aisle my Mother will be on the other side walking me down as well. I can't wait! It's been a very tough year with the news of my Mother's cancer in May and five days later finding out her brother had lung cancer as well. It's put many things in perspective since loosing an Uncle to cancer and two very close friends to tragic accidents. Life is very precious and I plan to make sure that I become an advocate of living that life to the fullest. Everyone on these boards are truly an inspiration and what a privelege it's been to have comforting words for the last 6months. I wish everyone a very special Holiday Season and may God Bless every single one of you. Heather J.

Wow, that was quick I just left the other site and jumped on here and there you were. That's great Don!!! I'm so happy for you and Lucie. Looking forward to a very Blessed Holiday Season. I'm sure for me the first snowflake I see ( which per the weather will be Monday) will be one of the most beautiful things to see and to remind how blessed we all are. It's truly amazing how going through the tough stuff makes things that once seemed simple truly one more of God's gifts.

Don, All my prayers for Lucie. You both are in my thoughts.

Don, That is wonderful news!!!! I'm so happy for you and Lucie. You provide so much hope and inspiration to everyone on this board you deserve a million miracles. Here's looking at many more years! With a big smile on my face Heather

My Mom had bouts with nausea from carbo/taxol. There is a drug called Anzment that is fairly new and very effective. I also found another drug which is very new called Emend that enhances any anti nausea drug. Both drugs are pretty expensive and may need to be approved through insurance. I know that the Emend was just FDA approved in March of this year.

I haven't posted much since I came to this site back in August although I do a lot of reading. Without knowing everyone of you has given me strength to get through the difficult times, Hope to get through the down times and knowledge to get through times of question. I felt nervous about posting because I haven't been there to support each one of you. It has been a very overwhelming summer and in lieu of posting and speaking my support I prayed for everyone. I should probably get to my good news.... Today after almost 4 months of treatment my Mother was given the news that her cancer is in remission. Both the CT scan of the lung came out clear as well as the follow up CT scan of her brain. She will start preventative radiation to her chest in 4-6 weeks. I can't even begin to put into words how happy/grateful I am! This has been the most wonderful day in my life and I wanted all of you to know that you helped me get to this point!!!!! My prayers to all- Heather

That is super news!!! It sure is nice doing things that feel normal again You gave me words of encoragement when I first posted and now this has come full circle. I wish you and Lucie all the best!

Has anyone out there had any dealings with dehydration? My Mom has had a couple bouts here in the last couple of weeks. The doctors indicate that this is a normal reaction to the chemo. I don't doubt that I was just wondering if anyone has been through this and if there's any way to try and combat it. Mom has always been a little thing ( 4'10, 106lbs) so I assume that with the ongoing chemo she would eventually require something more. Her blood work is always excellent, we just end up a little dehydrated. I just wonder if there could be something more we could do. She tries to drink as many fluids as she can but she does not like anything that is sweet nor does she like anything that has a milk consistency. Basically she's left with diet soda and water. She likes water but it can do a number on her stomach. It seems that we can tell when she's getting dehydrated. She tends to be very cold and much more tired than normal. Of course after we go to the Onc clinic they give her a liter of fluids and she bounces back wonderfully. Just thought I'd throw this out and see if anyone has any experiences. Thanks!

Hello to everyone, My name is Heather. My Mother was diagnosed with SCLC with mets to the brain on 6/2/03. This has been a very trying summer and I have been trying to do as much research as I can. Just as others have mentioned the information on SCLC is very bleak. My mother has been on chemotherapy since 6/6/03 and it's finally start to take it's toll. She was on carbo/taxol once a week for her first 6weeks along with radiation to the brain. On 7/23/03 we were told that her two small tumors in the brain were gone and that her mass in her lung had decreased by more that half. She started carbo/taxoteire(sp) on 7/29/03 Once a week every three weeks and is beginning to get very tired. I have been very active in her treatment, However all of this is beginning to take a toll on my mental well being. I'm so glad this website is here. It will be so nice to talk to others and have them understand. I look forward to talking to you.

Hi, My name is Heather. My Mother was diagnosed with SCLC with mets to the brain on 6/2/03. Since that time she went through 4 weeks of Carbo/Taxol and Whole brain radiation to erradicate the two small tumors in her brain (7mm) and (2mm). On 7/23/03 we were told based on the CT scan of the chest and brain that the tumors in the brain were gone as well as her Mass in her lower left lung had shrunk by over half. On 7/29/03 she started 12 more weeks of chemo (carbo/taxiterie sp?) She is much more tired and sick then before. I have been looking over several websites since all of this started and today is the first time I have decided to register in any specific website. I want to thank all of you for giving me support over the last few months even though I never spoke with anybody. I'm beginning to become so emotionally drained I thought this would be a perfect time to search out others who are dealing with this terrible disease. I hope to chat with many of you. This is such a wonderful site. I'm so lucky to have joined.