niececola

I too was going to suggest knitting. My mom is knitting some baby clothes and donating them to a charity that helps families in need.

Thank goodness! This is wonderful news!

Hi, My mom is having a terrible week. She had chemo on Monday and all the good feelings and faith she had have gone away and have been replaced by despair and anger. So many people ask for prayers, for their loved ones that are suffering from physical ailments and I feel that my mom's struggle is not as tough right now as others because she is handling the physical side of things ok. But her emotional spirit is suffering and I ask all that read this to please say a prayer for her that her spirit will be restored and that her attitude and fight to beat this will increase ten fold. Thank you. God Bless!

What wonderful news! Congrats!

Natalie, Here you go! http://www.join-the-circle.org/. I read through the website and found it very informative. Not meaning to bring any negative thoughts to the board, but while the website is informative and gives some very good stats on why quitting is good for your health, I think they would have made a stronger statement if they also listed the other stats out there. The ones we all choose to ignore, but know in our hearts. I am perhaps the most naive person on the face of the earth , but I had no idea before my mom was diagnosed how deadly lung cancer was. I mean, I knew her smoking was bad for her health and there are the warnings on the cigarette packages, but let's face it, the real message out there about smoking is that it is ''cool'', as portrayed so frequently by the media. I will continue to believe my mother is going to defy the odds and will always be proud of her that she quit smoking 5 years ago (after 30 years of my begging ). I just wonder had we truly been made aware of how deadly it can be, might she been so scared that she would have stopped sooner? You are all in my thoughts and prayers each evening. My friends worry when I tell them how much I read the board and when I tell them of our friends that have passed. I would not want to be anywhere else, because for each story that is both sad and heartbreaking, there is another of hope and support. It makes this journey a little easier knowing there are people out there who truly understand what I am going through. God Bless

Thanks Berisa for sharing this story.

Hi Jana, I know exactly how you feel, some days are great and others are unbelievably difficult. My mother is having one of those weeks, it is always worse in the week following a chemo treatment. I suspect many patients feel that way after a treatment, I know how crappy and sad I feel sometimes just dealing with a common cold. Somehow the emotions just get going and things you don't even think about when feeling ok suddenly become a major issue when you are feeling unwell and tired. At least that is how my mom feels. I just try to be encouraging, reminding her that this feeling is only temporary and that she will feel stronger soon. I don't know if you can be with your mom on a daily basis, but I think I am going to take off after my mom's next treatment to be with her in those hard days following the chemo. I am hoping that when she does feel sad and discouraged that my company might keep her mind off it, if only for a while. And I try to tell my mom to focus on day to day, but to remember the plan in place for her recovery and to focus on the end result, REMISSION! All the fatigue in the world will be worth it when remission comes!! If you need someone to listen, please feel free to PM me. Our moms were diagnosed around the same time...

James, I am so sorry at the sudden passing of your mother. My heart breaks with you. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this sad time. God Bless!

As you can see from below, my mom was recently diagnosed and began treatment this month. Because it took SO long, in my opinion (almost 3 months), to get a diagnosis, we decided to forgo the second opinion and start treatment immediately. I did not push my mother to get a second opinion b/c I knew she was comfortable with her onc and I also knew it would get a lot more complicated, or so it seemed, if we went to see another doctor. You see, my mom does not know her staging or what the statistics say and we are all ok with that. I sometimes worry that she needs to know how bad it is, b/c I am afraid IF the day comes and the chemo is not working, she will be so surprised by the grimness of the situation. I no longer truly believe this, b/c my Mom is not in denial, she knows this is serious and just wants to do what is takes to get better. I was afraid to be put into a situation that some of you have, where the doctor is not supportive and gives no hope. At least her doctor now understands her approach to this and is somewhat hopeful. These are my questions to you all. I feel that I have done my mother a great disservice by not pushing for a second opinion. What if this standard form of treatment does not work? What if a clinical trial is better for her? As we all know, time is of the essence and I am afraid that by not getting a second opinion, we might have made things worse. My thought right now, as it has been since we decided to begin treatment, was to wait until after her second treatment (on September 30) and get the results of the scans to see if the chemo is working. If not, then we would investigate other doctors. My last question to you, and if it is an inappropriate one for the boards, please PM me. We live on Long Island and are being treated at a facility close to my parent's house. We thought of heading into the city to go to Sloane, but heard many mixed opinions. Does anyone have any recommendations on doctors at Sloane or at hospitals on Long Island? Any advice on this and all my other ramblings will be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! GOD BLESS!!

My mom was suffering with pain in her lower back that just got worse with time. Hope this helps.

Morning! I just wanted to update you all on the weekend. My mom made it! It was a very rough day for all on Saturday, but she was able to find the strength to go to the church and the reception! And she even got up from her wheelchair to dance a little. She was very nervous, but was able to remember that God was there with her, watching over her and protecting her the whole time. We had many things to be thankful for on Saturday. Everyone was so excited to see her and they all just said the right things. Thank you all for your kind words and prayers, I know they were with us this weekend! God Bless!

I am so sad Joe to hear of this recent news. I am afraid that I do not have many words of wisdom to offer you, but please know that you and your family are in my prayers.

Hi Paula, Welcome! Sorry for the reason you are here, but know that you are going to have tons of support here and meet people who really understand what you are going through.

I amso happy to hear Lucie's recovery is coming along smoothly! And I am happy to hear you are enjoying yourselves! God Bless!

My mom has been having an awful week. She starting losing her hair early this week and rather than watch it fall out daily, she decided to cut it all off. I have not yet seen her, but I am sure she is as beautiful as ever! She is becoming depressed, sad and anxious. We are to attend a family wedding this weekend and I pray that she has enough strength to enjoy herself and enough courage to say when she has had too much fun and it is time to go home! She likes to keep her pain to herself. We have been very lucky to date, as she has not experienced too many side effects from the chemo, but her spirit is starting to waiver a bit and I am asking for your prayers that she remains strong and keeps in faith in God. Thanks. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Very glad to hear the great news!

Hi, My mom is currently receiving chemo and one side effect is definitely blurred vision. We confirmed this with her oncologist and are awaiting our doctor's appt. to find out if they can do anything to help it. Hope this helps. God Bless!

Thanks Jenny for sharing. Denise

Don't feel bad at all! We are so happy to hear of your good news! God Bless, Denise

Shordy, I am very sorry to hear of your Dad's passing. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Denise

Hi Don, Glad to hear Lucie is home! My thoughts and prayers are with you both! Denise

My mom Sharon was diagnosed last week with NSCLC Stage IV. She was a smoker for a very long time and quit about 5 years ago. She is a remarkable woman who has suffered her entire life with panic attacks and great anxiety and prayed everyday for the strength to survive. She has always been close to God, but not until this experience with lung cancer did she ever truly give up her worries and fears to him. She has amazing faith and plans to fight this cancer with all that she has. She does not know her prognosis, I am the only one at this stage who is fully aware of what she is up against and it is a lot to hold onto by myself. I sometimes, mostly all the time, think she is a lot better off not knowing the mortality rate of this horrible disease. My mom started Chemo today, Carbo/Taxol. As far as we see right now, the cancer has spread only to her lower back. She was on steroids for the back pain, but now that she has been diagnosed, the doctor wants to see how the tumor in her back responds to chemo and plans on taking her off the steroids. He has not made any immediate plans to begin radiation. Sorry for the rambling above, just wanted to let you know a little about my mom. She has a loving husband of 37 years and a son and daughter and great daughter-in-law. I think the idea of maybe a grandchild in the works by my brother and his wife might just keep her motivated to beat this! Whatever works! It is unimaginable at this point to think of life without her. One question for you all, is Carbo/Taxol one of the most aggressive treatments out there? It is hard to determine this on the web? I have been reading this website day and night since last week. All of your stories are heartbreaking and inspirational at the same time. You are all in my thoughts and prayers each day. Denise

I just found out last week that my mom has NSCLC Stage IV. We have just begun the process, so I am afraid I do not have a lot of advice to offer. You will be in my thoughts and prayers from this day forward. God Bless. Denise