mhutch1366

Grace, I am so very sorry for your loss. I will keep you and your girls in my prayers. XOXOX MaryAnn

Please accept my sincere condolences. RayA was a good man, and I enjoyed his presence here.I'm sorry he's gone. Prayers for his family. MaryAnn

Try substituting nicotine gum. You'll still have the nicotine addiction, but it's much easier on the lungs than smoking. XOXOX MaryAnn

Internal organs rearrange after surgery. The good lung moves over, and as you said, the diaphragm lifts up a bit. My heart is in a different place too. Rehabilitation or Respiratory/Pulmonary rehab is a series of guided exercises and breathing techniques designed to maximize whatever function is left. I had ben through it once many years ago, and it was great! After my episode this summer with aspiration pneumonia, I'm doing Pulmonary rehab again, and hopefully, it will maximize my lung function and let me do a little more before I run SOB. Yees, the cold weather stinks for breathing, but then so does high heat and humidity. There are other things one can do, with inhalers and special meds.There's a new med called Spiriva which works very well. I would recommend you see a pulmonary specialist, or lung doctor, about meds and see if he can recommend/prescribe Pulmonary Rehab for you. Breathe easy -- you can do far more than I am able to. With rehab you could do even more. MaryAnn

Frank was one of a kind. He will be dearly missed. My heartfelt prayers go out to his family. MaryAnn

God bless David Grant and his family. He will be missed. MaryAnn

God bless and keep you close, Frank. Thank you for posting, Patti. I pray for strength for you and Connie and the rest of the family. XOXOXOXOX MaryAnn

Thank you, Patti. We appreciate the direct line into what's going on. We love you all, and you all know it. Continued prayers. XOXOX MaryAnn

Thank you, Patti, for posting for Frank. Frank, I salute you, my friend, for your courage and dignity under pressure. You are my hero. Your love for your family and cyber friends shines through. Know you are well loved in return. God bless you, Frank, and Connie and your family. May He keep you all in the palms of His hands. You will be in our prayers. XOXOX MaryAnn

Love ya, Frank. XOXOX MaryAnn

Nancy, I had extensive surgery in 2000. I waited for surgery by taking walks, eating really well (steak and green veggies), watching movies to keep from thinking about it all. And I prayed, constantly, under my breath. Day and night, esp at night. Esp when I got scared. I went into my surgery with absolute faith in my surgeon, and put it all in God's hands. Took it one minute at a time. I had a special mug I bought, and some herbal tea for a special treat every night at 9. Bought some good paperbacks, small ones, as I had front and back surgery and limited use of my left arm. I did the exercises they asked me to so my shoulder didn't get too tight. And I said please and thank you alot. This is a good time to be alive and have cancer, the drugs and surgeons are so much more accomplished than they were twenty years ago, or 60 years ago when my grandmother had her double radical mastectomy and radiation. An odd blessing , to be sure, but at least one has a chance to think, and to reach out to loved ones. Not like getting hit by a truck. I won't say relax, but I will say please try not to tie yourself in knots. You can't spend your time hiding in fear, not even emotionally. So chin up, one foot in front of the other... and keep going!! You'll be in our prayers... XOXOX MaryAnn

Shellie, Good to see you post, sorry your nephew is ill. From what Theresa says, this is a known thing, treatable, and non-malignant. And kids heal very well. That's all a plus. I feel badly for your sister who must feel stretched pretty thin about now. You are all in my prayers. Don't wait for desperation to say hey, I could use a prayer or three... XOXOX MaryAnn

Terry, Just one day at a time, one foot in front of the other. Pray, if you pray. And believe in miracles, because there's more than a few of us here against all the odds. Oh, and don't believe in odds. XOXOX MaryAnn

Liz, So sorry you're battling nausea and reflux. I was taking zofran 3 x day for nausea for months - hey, it's powerful stuff, works! Plus lorazepam (aka atavan). And took Prilosec daily for over a year. The only time I felt really lousy was if I hit my gag reflex brushing my teeth the day after cisplatin. I took advantage of all the antinausea meds to eat, felt less bad with something in my stomach. Hope you start feeling better. Obviously this isn't a simple problem, but you have to keep up your strength. XOXOX MaryAnn

I agree with Becky. Any day you can get up and put your feet on the floor is a good one. My radiation problem has to do with tightness affecting the use of and feeling in my left arm and hand. I had a stay in the hospital/extended care facility this summer/fall, and the shoulder area (my resected thoracotomy area, which was extensively radiated) tightened up quite a bit --fibrosis, which is why the physical therapist kept speaking of radiation as the gift that keeps on giving. But -- ain't it grand to be here to b*tch? Chin up! XOXOX MaryAnn

Prayers coming, Ry. I hope it isn't a heart attack either. XOXOXOX MaryAnn

Hi, I was cold almost all the time for almost 2 years. Made no sense, except in having such a low energy level, all my energy was tied up with MUST DO stuff. It finally went away for the most part, but every once in a while I find I'm still chilly. Wear fun socks and fuzzy slippers, comfortable sweat pants and a nice lap robe or blanket. No shame in being chilly. XOXOX MaryAnn

It is great to know the rest of the visit went as well as the first part.... Congratulations, Kasey! (I wonder how you pour a person into the MRI..... would have liked to have seen that...) Many more spring and summers to come... XOXOXOX MaryAnn ( Heidi too).

Wow!!! Terrific news! I am so happy for you both! Lots of hugs all around.... Celebrate! (.. doing Betty's Happy Dance..) XOXOXOX MaryAnn

Lori-- Welcome! You are in good company now. Many of us have survived this thing, and we all draw strength from the company around here. There is strength to be found in numbers. Keep us posted! XOXOXOXO MaryAnn

That's GREAT!!!!!!!!! XOXOXOX MaryAnn

Prayers...... XOXOX MaryAnn

Carleen.... Profound sorrow... love.... prayers.... May God hold you close in the palm of His hand and care for you... XOXOXOX MaryAnn

Carleen, I know you hurt, hon, very deeply. Put one foot in front of the other, and again.... and try to remember to be kind to yourself. Be your own best friend; be gentle with yourself. We love you so much here, and we feel the pain through your words... and feel for you. I wish I could take some of the pain on myself, to spare you. But I can't. So give yourself a big gentle hug from me, and remember to keep putting one foot in front of the other, no matter how slowly you go. And be your own best friend, your own loyal advocate. Take the time to think about yourself, and do for yourself a bit now. You could use a little spoiling. And never ever forget -- we love you, Carleen. Let us help lighten your load however we can. XOXOXOXOXOXOX MaryAnn

Lori, I too was advised to take a break from antioxidants while on chemo, from beginning first to 3 weeks after last. Antioxidants are good things to have in your cells, but they have the opposite effect -- they essentially are working against the chemo. I wouldn't worry that you've done any great harm or bollixed the first chemo. Just quit taking the antioxidants until after you're done with chemo for a while, as chemo continues to work for a while. Remember these are over the counter "food supplements" and they do not have the potency of a drug, never mind chemo. Just why bother fighting yourself? When comes time to heal up, take the antioxidants and all the supplements your doctor okays. And relax. It's okay. MaryAnn