The Bosses Wife

It's been a while since I last posted. My Mom (age 81) was diagnosed with stage 3A NSCLC in June, 2008. She completed a regimen of radiation M-F for 7 weeks, chemo (carbo/taxol) once a week for 6 weeks. Even though this was an emotional roller coaster for all..physically she came through the treatments with flying colors. Very few physical side effects. One day we were told about something called "chemo brain" which is what we attributed Mom's confusion, loss of memory and change in demeanor to. The treatments are completed for now...however, the "mind" stuff is still present and not only troubling to us but to her as well. She says that she doesn't feel like herself anymore, she can't remember phone numbers, medications, etc. This is a person who has always been intelligent and sharp as a tack (sometimes too sharp of tongue!!!). The doctors are very pleased with her progress thus far and we are looking toward 2 more chemo treatments of stronger doses of the same meds just to gather up loose ends. Am I making sense? I feel like I am rambling but I'm concerned about her and would love some insight. Looking forward to hearing from you again..past explanations have been terrific! Thanks! Susan

Hi everyone...so far, so good. Support stockings seem to be helping. Thanks for all the input...it is greatly appreciated. Take Care to all. susan

Nope, her meds are taxol, carbo. It was suggested that she get some Ted support hose, that this acheyness and cramping might be from her age (she's almost 81) and just coincidental that it occured during her treatments. we'll see how this works. I also suggested to her to try some tonic water as the quinine is supposed to be beneficial as well. I'll keep you all posted. Susan

Hi everyone! Hope this post finds everyone doing well! My Mom was diagnosed with NSCLC in June. After a wild roller coaster ride she is finally having treatments and doing very well (knock on wood!!) The problem that has been bothering her daily are pains and achey-ness in her calves. Although she has had a dopler ultrasound which came back negative for clots, positive for some sluggish blood flow in one of her legs....she is in a lot of discomfort. The doctors suggested that she be fitted for support hose. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this discomfort? It's not in her joints, just in her calf muscles. Thanks so much. susan

Thank you again for all of your posts in response to my Mom. They really help..especially the first one from Ned which I read over and over. Mom is so tired all of the time now but truthfully, she is really tolerating her treatments well (knock wood!). The doctor suggested a small dose of ritalin to boost her energy. Has anyone heard of this treatment? Let me know. Thanks! susan

Was away for a week..Mom completed her second week of treatments with relatively no problems. She is experiencing fatigue and some mild nausea. Returned today...Mom wasn't able to go for chemo/rad today. Felt very weak and says knees felt like jello. She insisits that she's eating and drinking, although she did lose 3 pounds last week. Brought her a snowball to try to hydrate her, my brother brought her gatorade and here I sit. She did eat today....fruit, bagel, coffee for breakfast and waffles for lunch. She is so wiped out...this is so hard for all of us. Does anyone get cured of this horrible disease or are we just prolonging the inevitable. A 20-30% success rate doesn't sound so good.

Amber, Just remember that your nanny will always be with you...as long as you hold her in your heart and memories. My Mom was just recently diagnosed with NSCLC stage 3A and I pray that we make it through each day. A very wise friend of mine told me that it is best to take life one day at a time, so I wake up each morning and see what it's going to bring..some have been really good for Mom and some have not been so good. I've received so much good information on this site and have been so touched by all of the wonderful support from the kind people who respond to me. Please remember that we're all here for you and are always willing to listen and read everything you need to say. My best to you and your nanny. Love, susan

After Mom's treatment we all went to lunch. she ate and felt better..we also went out to dinner and she ate some. looked better tonite than she looked this morning. We kept reminding her that Saturday and Sunday are her "days off"...maybe this in itself will be a reminder to her that the weekend is coming and help her to get through her second week and third. The CNP told Mom to look at eating as her job for the next 6 weeks....I'm happy to say that Mom's sense of humor is still with her..her response was that she was filing for unemployement than! Thanks again for all of your support......Love, Susan

What started out as a good week for Mom is getting worrisome. Mom wouldn't go to her radiation treatment yesterday. Even though we know we should have strongly we encouraged her to go...we ) finally convinced her to continue. When my siste in law and I picked her up today, she was feeling slightly nauseous and said that she hadn't eaten this morning. She's unsteady on her feet and I feel like she's just dying in front of my eyes I am sitting here in the waiting area as she has her treatment, they are arranging for her to see the doctor after radiation. I'm having trouble keeping it together as I write this. Gotta go before her rad is done...don't wanther to see me like this. Susan

Hi! So far, so good. Mom had her first treatment and she was quite the trooper! Had radiation and chemo on Monday. Was tired from the benadryl, just like you said (thanks!!) but basically ok. Had another radiation treatment today, still just feeling tired. No immediate allergic reaction from the infusion. Everyone at the hospital was great. The patient advocate sat with Mom and talked with her for a while..Mom commented on how nice this person was. Keep your fingers crossed. Couldn't have gotten there without all of your support, you got me through a rough week with Mom. thanks. Hopefully, everything will continue to go well. Susan

Well, tomorrow is the day Mom starts her treatments. At this point she's doing better than I am. I am scared that we are just delaying the inevitable and only for selfish reasons. Hopefully I am wrong and somebody upstairs will help her through this. Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and honest answers to my questions..each one of you has answered questions not only honestly but compassionately....I only wish the best for each and everyone of you and your families. I will keep you posted on Mom's progress. Thanks for getting me through this week. Love, Susan

Hi! Once again thanks for the responses. Mom will be getting radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Chemo is on Monday and radiation Monday through Friday. The doctor told us today that he has come up with a really good plan for her treatments and feels really positive about them. Mom keeps asking and emphasizing that no one is telling her for sure if her hair is going to fall out. The doc said that there may be thinning. I explained to her that each person is an individual so they cannot really answer this questiong definitively....or can they???? Let me know. I'll probably be a constant fixture on this site for at least the immediate future....will try not to be a nuisance.

Thanks for keeping in touch....the meds planned for Mom's chemo are Carboplatin (Paraplatin) and Paclitaxel (Taxol). Today she sounded great...if she's up to it on Saturday, we may even go out to "play"....treatments start on Monday. What a scary ride for all. I truly appreciate everyones support. By the way, my name is Susan... Thanks again.

Mom called me today and told me that she'd go ahead with the treatment. She sounded so deflated and defeated...second phone call sounded much better. I so appreciate all of the support from you all. I told her to just start the treatment and try, that we're all there for her. I will share all of your good thoughts and advice with her when she's in a better frame of mind. Friday we go to finish up the radiation work up and Monday she starts treatment. Keep your fingers crossed.

After finally falling asleep at around 2:00 AM this morning I awoke to purposefully check my email. Thank you so much for your insight and words of encouragement..hopefully this will be a better day for Mom and I'll be able to share all of your insights with her. I wish she were computer lliterate herself, maybe during treatments, should she decide to go ahead, I can teach her!!! I will stay in touch and thank you all again.

My Mom was recently disgnosed with non small cell squamous lung cancer, presently staged at 3A. Having been extemely healthy through her life this is understandably freaking her out. We're just about ready to start chemo and radiation and she's told us that she no longer wants to have treatment...that she'd just like to live her life out however long this may be. The doctors have suggested giving her a few days to digest all of the very sobering info that they have given her/us....what am I to do if she decides not to go ahead anyway? I'm feeling like my brain is on overload, I can only imagine what she's feeling, but I literally do not know what to do at this point. Somebody please tell me about prognosis for this type of cancer (we've been told 20-30%) and about quality of life. Although the doctors feel that her being 80 would have no bearing on how well she can tolerate treatment...she's seeing things differently..I don't know where to turn for her or for myself. Please someone, offer me something tangible to hold on to.