Bud Baker

I'm not a big believer that attitude alone can heal the body, but it can have a very large impact on what you do, which in turn can have a lot to do with how well you do with the disease. After my surgery, on days when I was thinking about riding my bike, but not feeling all that great, I reminded myself that I was fighting my way back to health, and there isn't much better therapy for lungs than riding a bike. And bike riding is a funny thing, in that there will be days when you don't feel much like riding when you start out, but you'll almost always be enjoying yourself after just a short distance of riding. It takes the attitude to get started sometimes, though.

That sounds pretty familiar. My tumor was just a bit bigger than his (2.8 cm), and near the outside of my lung where a VATS procedure would probably have worked. I was also unhappy with how long open surgery would keep me from exercising. But I didn't find a surgeon near me who did VATS, and traveling somewhere else would have been no guarantee that VATS wouldn't turn into open surgery before the surgeon was finished, so I just had open surgery locally. Some of the treatment decisions we face can be tough. I was back on my bike in 16 days, but with 20/20 hindsight, I would have traveled for the VATS.

So glad he is doing better, Michelle. Around here, we love seeing doctors' poor prognoses being wrong.

Wow, that's great news, Lilly!

Glad that Bill's home, Barb. I hope he's feeling better soon.

That sounds great, Richard. Congrats!

Wow, eight and a half years! Congrats, Geri!

That's the news we wanted to hear, Judy. Congrats!

Michelle, I'm with the others who say you were overdue for some good news. Smile and enjoy, like I will!

I'm here too late to wish you luck ahead of time, but I'm sending positive vibes your way now. Looking forward to your update.

Big congrats, Donny! ts is right; you have to go though chemo or be close to someone who does to really realize how tough it can be.

Welcome, Casey! Best wishes for you and your husband.

Welcome, sclcsurvivor! I just missed Vietnam, serving in the Army from 1971 to 1973. You'll find a great bunch of folks here, with all kinds of experiences, who are also good listeners.

Looks like a great excuse for me to go bike riding, I'm thinking.

That's just excellent, Denise! Hooray for Tom and you.

Dana, I think I can appreciate where you're coming from. These serious treatments with possible long term issues are pretty tough to pull the trigger on when you don't even have symptoms. I did a 125 mile bicycle ride two weeks before my lobectomy, then came home five days after the surgery and couldn't even put on my own socks! When I finally started regaining some strength from that, it was cisplatin that fried my fingers and toes and gemcitabine that gave me horrible headaches. It's not so easy making these "take your best guess" decisions on whether to take your chances on remaining cancer free without any more treatment, or take a chance on what the treatment will bring. Small cell is just so aggressive that I'm thinking every doctor you see will recommend the PCI. I'm going to support whatever you decide. Best wishes!

So sorry to hear this, Jean. Condolences to you and your family.

Cynthia, Dang, sorry you had bleeding problems after surgery. Glad you're better now. Studies haven't show a conclusive benefit from chemo for stage 1a NSCLC, and you'll find doctors (and patients) on both sides of the argument on whether to have it or not. Like you, mine was squamous cell, but unlike you, I had a single cancerous lymph node, making mine stage 2, so I did the chemo. Continued best wishes for you!

Big congrats, babylove!

Carol, Yes, after lung cancer, most other diagnoses do sound like good news. Glad that you're doing well.

Wow, that does sound outrageous. I have a pile of unopened bills from diagnostic stuff for my wife's cancer. I'm trying to wait until I close on my new house (downsizing) and get all that handled before I open the medical bills and start sending checks for them. I hope none of them look like yours.

It sounds like an awesome weekend, Tova. No one can appreciate more or be inspired more by this kind of event than someone who has been directly affected by lung cancer.

Happy birthday, Donna!

Being the quickest to overtreat makes us the best? I don't think so. We'll have to get a lot higher than 27th in life expectancy before I can consider agreeing with you. Personally, I wasn't all that impressed with our system's responsiveness as my wife sat in an Arlington emergency room, waiting 10 hours to be seen by a doctor. It wasn't because all the other people's conditions were more serious than hers. It was because the emergency room was overfilled with uninsured people who couldn't get to see a doctor any other way. These people could receive better care at much less cost away from an emergency room, but that's where "the BEST system in the world" forces them. In Congress, even those who don't like what's proposed don't even attempt to argue that the system doesn't need fixed. I had no clue that anyone did, but I see now that they do. It's insulting enough to me that I'll take my leave of this thread now.

Happy Birthday, Tom!