Isunique

Ditto for me as well, no broken bones.

In reading all of the posts it seems that we have all done what felt right to us. When it is done with that feeling then the decision is right. I decided long ago that I would not go back and rehash my decisions, it serves no good. In a post I read when I first started coming to this one and others was about going back and changing the way you did something in the past. It was about smoking. But, you know what I would not want to change a darn thing in what I did. Good or bad I made the decisions and some good things came out of doing something that was considered wrong. Looking and moving forward is the only thing I can do. Be Well Sarah

Hi Barbara Welcome to the site. I can't add much more than what everyone else has written. I am recently new here as well and you won't find a greater bunch of people. Just remember to breathe and relax. I have to stop every now and then and thank the powers that are that I am still here to enjoy my world. One suggestion that I tell everyone is whenever you go to the docs, take a voice activated recorder with you. You won't have to try to write everything down or try to remember stuff. I take one with me to all of my appointments and it has come in handy. Be well Sarah

I want to thank all of the caregivers out there. I have been reading and crying at the posts written by the children and the husbands and wife’s about taking care of and losing their loved ones. It makes me think of my daughter and my husband and family. Forgive me about the children thing, but I’m a Mom and I will always say my children even though my daughter is 36. To be totally honest it breaks my heart to read them, I want to run to them all and give them a hug that just won’t quit. I just can’t imagine my family having to go through that. My pain will end but theirs will continue. My husband let it slip that he will watch me in middle of the night just to make sure that I am still breathing. I have to sleep in our spare room, since I still have trouble sleeping. My love for him can’t be measured. But, then I am also sure that all of us feel the same way about all of our loved ones. This is a special site for me; it let me meet all of you, even though it was because of the LC that I came here. Everyone is just so caring and loving. I find myself throughout the day wondering how Patti is or Carole is, well you get the picture. I never ever thought that I would care so much about people that I have never met before, but I do. Please keep doing what you are doing, it means so much to us. Be well Sarah

Welcome I can't say much more than everyone else has. I recently found this site as well. Everyone here has made me feel very welcome and very secure. Take care and think positve Sarah

Terrific person and he touched a great number of people. He will be remembered in our hearts for what he taught so many of us. Have a great journey Randy Sarah

"What? Me Worry." Don't forget about the secret message in every magazine. I still have a big box of Mad magazines. Sarah

First of all thank you all very much for the kind words. Yes, I do plan to be around for awhile. My husband won't be able to find ayone as good as I am, so I guess I have to stay and make sure he stays out of trouble. Besides he suffers from a seizure disorder, we never know when he might have a seizure and not come back. They imiatate TIA'S or baby strokes, he forgets everything, even who he is at times. I was fortunate that with both of my cancers, they found it in time to have a chance at firghting it. My Gallbladder cancer was found after I had it out, no treatment needed. My PCP is a gem. I had to have a RX renewed, he had to see me to make sure I still existed type of thing. He makes it a pratice to do a yearly chest x-ray of all his patients that smoked. My lucky day, it was caught while still in the early stage, 1B, T2 N0 M0. Treatment for me was borderline, 5 % greater chance of help with chemo, otherwise it was 50/50. I guess I am a little strange, I opted out of chemo. I go tomorrow night for a general check up and chest x-ray to my PCP, so hopefully that will come back okay. It was really strange, after we got the DX of lung cancer, I thanked him. He looked at me weird, he gave me a fighting chance to keep my sorry you know what around here for awhile. With regards to being in the right place for being a nutso, I was a nut long before I had cancer. Large family I am one of 8 kids (6 are boys), school bus driver, married man with 3 kids, I had 1 kid, not bad right, except that 3 of them were teenagers. Plus, I am a Scifi freak. I have thoughts that run around in my mind that are just strange, like who was the first person to discover yeast and why did they think it was okay to eat (or did they get someone else to try it first. Have you ever thought about weird stuff like that. Randy, I do the same thing in the evening and any other time I want to. I will be driving to work, and have some idiot try to be too friendly, I get a little upset and just say thank you for giving me the chance to have a bad day. This is one awesome site and the people are terrific. I read as many of the posts that I can and find myself thinking about everyone and hoping they are okay. To Carol H, you are one fantastic lady. I only hope that I have the courage (or at least the ability to give that impression), and carry myself the way you are. Take care all and be well PS I was concerned that the moderators might find my comments a little to far off the wall. I just wanted to let them know ahead of time that it was okay if they wanted to do a write out thing to it.

First of all apologies to anyone that might be offended, hurt or just totally irked off at me. But, I needed to put some things into words. I have been reading quite a few posts about death. How we are taking a loved one’s death, or how we will discuss it with our loved ones. First, I need to say we are fortunate. I know that it doesn’t seem like it but we have had the fear of the unknown taken from us. Not all of it mind you but some. Have you ever went to a funeral and afterwards debated in your head and your heart how it is going to be when you are gone. How will my family take it? How will I go, will it be quick and painless or will I suffer? Or if you are totally weird like me; wondering if you will have a good turnout? Okay, I figured if I couldn’t be popular in life, maybe…. We have the opportunity to deal with this hard and painful topic beforehand. Now, I am not saying that it is easy or that we feel good about doing it, but it can help ease some of our fears. I know I have thought about death and what it might be like. I sway between being very religious and being very logical. I have come to the conclusion that I don’t think I will mind it if we could set some conditions. 1. Could I be updated every now and then about what is going on. 2. If life on another planet was ever discovered could I be told about it? 3. If they ever discover a cure for the common cold or cancer could I be told? I think that is what bothers me the most after not being able to be with my family, I am a curious sort and I like to know what is going on in the world, if I die I won’t know, bummer. Okay, now that you know I am really strange I have some more stuff. I don’t want anyone to think I take this lightly, I don’t I am just as scared as everyone else. I just have questions and strange thoughts. When I go, I want my family to have a party, a celebration. I am tired of going to funerals and seeing everyone sit around for hours talking about what a saint the deceased was… I wasn’t and I want my life to be celebrated and remembered for what I did and who I was. My “life” will go on in everything and everyone that I have had the good fortune of coming into contact with, loving, helping, or just being with. When you think that you are sad because you miss me, look up to the sky and dream about the clouds like I did, look at the evening starry sky and wonder if you will ever see the day that life from another planet will be discovered. I don’t want my family to sit and mope about me. Talk to me and remember me, but no moping and risking losing one second of your precious time with your family. To all the daughters and sons, husbands and wife’s that are taking care of someone that means the world to them, love them, and when the time comes let them go. We as cancer patients know that the time might come that we will have to make our final exit, help us and guide us, but please don’t make us feel guilty; we already do and will need all of our strength to finish our final chapter. Well, I am going to go for now. I hope that when you read this you will forgive my rambling on. I find it is easier for me to write things like this down. Okay, I need some encouragement that I am not totally nutso. I often feel like I am a baseball player and I am playing on 2 strikes, gallbladder cancer and now lung cancer. Sorry, it is a long post and if the moderators feel the need to delete that is okay, just needed to do this. Please take care and look up at the sky in awe, tis a beautiful sight to behold. Love to all Sarah

You will find the help and support here. Sarah

I really want to thank all of you. Everyone has made me feel at home and very welcomed. It is a "B" to have this disease, but it does help knowing that there is a support system out there. Every post I read helps me one way or the other. You don't always want to talk with your husband or friends, family and co-workers, but coming here I feel I can really say what is on my mind without feeling that I am hurting or getting on their nerves by talking about it. Thanks to everyone and I would like to give a major group hug. Sarah

I can't speak for everyone, but it took me two times taking Chantix to fully quit. Of course the NSCLC DX really helped that decision along. Some strange dreams for me, b ut nothing that I couldn't handle. Takes the physical craving away, some of the mental is still there but dealable. My husband used accupunture to quit, he had a 3 pack a day habit. Sarah

Well, I am a newbie on this site, but I count each day I wake up as surviving. 16 year gallbladder cancer survivor 3 month 1b NSCLC upper left lobe removed , surgery 04/08/08, no treatments at this time. Thanks to all the survivors that have posted, it really helps someone new to all of this know that there is hope. Sometimes the doc's get so gloomy that you can't help but wonder if you have a chance. You guys prove there is more than a chance, there is hope.

No apologies are needed (at least for me). It is refreshing to see and be able to engage in a spirited discussion about the subject. You are very right about the fact that we are all in the same boat... No one ever deserves any "kind" of cancer, ever....... It is something we all have to deal with one way or the other.

My thoughts and prayers are with you. I have only been on this site for a short time, but feel like I know all of you. Sarah

If they believe that only smokers get LC, then they think they are safe from this disease. I remember years ago (and I do mean YEARS) when if you heard or knew someone with cancer, that was it. No one went to visit because you were afraid you would get it. In fact you didn't even say the whole word, you just said that they have the big"C". When aids first hit the airwaves remember the panic. Being in the same room with an aids patient..no way. The more will learn and the more we educate the better we become. I had Gallbladder cancer, does that mean I got it because I had a lot of Gall, or do women and men get breast cancer because they have breasts, give me a frigging break. Cancer of any kind is a disease that no one deserves...ever, period. Sarah

I will also say prayers and think only good thoughts for him. Sarah

Thanks to of you for making me feel very welcome. It feels good/bad to have someone that has walked in my shoes and can help me with those awkward steps. When I had the gallbladder cancer, these type of groups were not yet out there, or at least I couldn't find any. Besides the fact that at the time not much research was out there about it, even the oncologist had to do a bunch of studying on it. I sometimes think that I worry too much about it coming back. I am a extremely logical person (one of my heroes is Mr. Spock), when I step back and try to look at the whole picture I realize that there is a chance that it may come back. It is truly out of my hands. I have read about smokers/non-smokers getting LC. Going through chemo/not having chemo and having cancers return. That is the one thing that I try to remember, there is NO LOGIC in cancer. So, I thank you again and reading all of the stories make me feel like I know all of you. When we are faced with this detour in life we have to learn/re-learn a lot of things. Sarah PS I love all of the "Mutt" pics, we have two Weims (our Mutts), Stryder and Katie.

Hi all I would like to introduce myself and tell you a bit about myself. I am 54 years young, cancer survivor. My history is this: 1992 gallbladder attack, gallbladder surgery. Path report, cancer. Another surgery, targeting clips just in case. No other treatment needed. Monitered like forever. Fast forward... 2008, Feb 2 Knit Michigan, knit for a cure, raise cash for cancer and make chemo caps. Took Feb 4th off to take Mom home after event. Mom cancelled out, go to the docs instead, need to get a RX renewed anyway. Doc is old fashioned, chest x-rays on smokers, and I hadn't had one in about a year. Plus, it was time for my yearly bloodwork (leftover testing from the Gallbladder cancer). Okay, that done, ga boack about my buisiness of the normal day to day life. Doc called, there was a spot on the X-ray, wants me to get a Catscan with contrast. Okay, set it up go the next week. Not good, pretty good chance it's cancer. Okay, next step is.... Go to see a pulmonary doc, breathing function test, Pet scan, and a FNA, what fun I'm having. Breathing test, not fun if you are a smoker, but dealable. Pet scan, not bad got to get some sleep in while waiting to glow. FNA, what a mess. I had a partial lung collapse (5%), pain, and the embarassment of being transported around the hospital with my butt greeting all has we went. Okay, done, back at work in a couple of days. Go back to pulmonary doc, not good. They believe that the cancer they found in my lung is a secondary cancer. They think there is more in my abdomen somewhere because of the way the cells look. Okay, thime for a second opinion. Go to the oncologist I went to for the gallbladder cancer. He is a good doc, lousy bedside manner, but will tell me like it is and not what I want to hear, but what I need to hear. He says just lung cancer, plain and simple, easy for him to say. Still, I am concerned about the other finding, let's make sure before I go any further. Third opinion, big university hospital, major cancer and thoracic center. See two docs, first one watned me to have a repeat of all the tests I jjust had. The thoracic surgeon said BS, this is the only test you will need. So a week later I am having a colonscopy and it comes back clean. Okay, surgery is scheduled, need to use the spirometer and walk 3 miles per day. April 8th, removed my upper left lobe and numerous lymph nodes. Staged at 1B, T2 N0 M0. See another oncolgist there. Well, it appears that I am straddling the fence in treatment options. I have a 50/50 chance. If I decide to go with Chemo it would increase my chances by 5%, mayber that is if it worked and a rogue cell didn't wander off. Okay, send out an e-mail to family and friends, heck even a few folks I wasn't crazy about. Bottom line, they will support me in whatever I decide to go with. Well, I decide to opt out of the chemo. Try to keep my healthy cells heathly for as long has I can. After reading quite a few posts onthe subject, it still looks like I could have gone either way. Well, that is my story so far. I still am getting over the surgery, I am back to work and the gym trying to get my lung capicity a little bit better. Dealing with the SOB and problem sleeping, but other than that I feel great and try to live for the moment.

Hi all I would like to introduce myself and tell you a bit about myself. I am 54 years young, cancer survivor. My history is this: 1992 gallbladder attack, gallbladder surgery. Path report, cancer. Another surgery, targeting clips just in case. No other treatment needed. Monitered like forever. Fast forward... 2008, Feb 2 Knit Michigan, knit for a cure, raise cash for cancer and make chemo caps. Took Feb 4th off to take Mom home after event. Mom cancelled out, go to the docs instead, need to get a RX renewed anyway. Doc is old fashioned, chest x-rays on smokers, and I hadn't had one in about a year. Plus, it was time for my yearly bloodwork (leftover testing from the Gallbladder cancer). Okay, that done, ga boack about my buisiness of the normal day to day life. Doc called, there was a spot on the X-ray, wants me to get a Catscan with contrast. Okay, set it up go the next week. Not good, pretty good chance it's cancer. Okay, next step is.... Go to see a pulmonary doc, breathing function test, Pet scan, and a FNA, what fun I'm having. Breathing test, not fun if you are a smoker, but dealable. Pet scan, not bad got to get some sleep in while waiting to glow. FNA, what a mess. I had a partial lung collapse (5%), pain, and the embarassment of being transported around the hospital with my butt greeting all has we went. Okay, done, back at work in a couple of days. Go back to pulmonary doc, not good. They believe that the cancer they found in my lung is a secondary cancer. They think there is more in my abdomen somewhere because of the way the cells look. Okay, thime for a second opinion. Go to the oncologist I went to for the gallbladder cancer. He is a good doc, lousy bedside manner, but will tell me like it is and not what I want to hear, but what I need to hear. He says just lung cancer, plain and simple, easy for him to say. Still, I am concerned about the other finding, let's make sure before I go any further. Third opinion, big university hospital, major cancer and thoracic center. See two docs, first one watned me to have a repeat of all the tests I jjust had. The thoracic surgeon said BS, this is the only test you will need. So a week later I am having a colonscopy and it comes back clean. Okay, surgery is scheduled, need to use the spirometer and walk 3 miles per day. April 8th, removed my upper left lobe and numerous lymph nodes. Staged at 1B, T2 N0 M0. See another oncolgist there. Well, it appears that I am straddling the fence in treatment options. I have a 50/50 chance. If I decide to go with Chemo it would increase my chances by 5%, mayber that is if it worked and a rogue cell didn't wander off. Okay, send out an e-mail to family and friends, heck even a few folks I wasn't crazy about. Bottom line, they will support me in whatever I decide to go with. Well, I decide to opt out of the chemo. Try to keep my healthy cells heathly for as long has I can. After reading quite a few posts onthe subject, it still looks like I could have gone either way. Well, that is my story so far. I still am getting over the surgery, I am back to work and the gym trying to get my lung capicity a little bit better. Dealing with the SOB and problem sleeping, but other than that I feel great and try to live for the moment. Sarah