Don M

Hi Kathy

It does sound like your mom and older sibs may be somewhat complacent. Fortunately for me, I don't have that problem. I serve as my own advocate and am forward looking as I know how in seeking the best treatment possible. Maybe you can interest your dad in learning about his disease and its treatment and then maybe he will be interested in trying stuff like cyberknife or getting a second opinion... a second opinion can be educational if nothing else. I spend a LOT of time on the computer, and most of it is lc related. Don M

I missed this post Debi...hey Eric, happy birthday! Don M

Hi Dana, I just want to welcome you. I have not had to deal with esophagus issues, but see that you have had good advice. Don M

Welcome Sherry: I hope you don't have any insurance problems down the road. It sounds like you have it figured out though...if you can just work a few days a year. I have been doing lc more or less on my own too. My wife and I are legally separated, but we grew closer after my diagnosis. We live in separate houses, but she has been very supportive. I prefer to be my own advocate. Most of the time I attend my appointments and treatments by myself. My wife sometimes attends consultations when I need a second set of ears. My wife is going to be my driver when I have an upcoming bronchoscopy. I have learned a lot about my disease and its treatment. I keep my wife, children, mother and many siblings updated. I hope the taxotere does well by you and that you get your life back. Don M

here is a discussion about antioxidants and chemo. I suspect that using antioxidants with tarceva or avastin would not be as big a problem. Dr West knows a lot about tarceva. You could ask him. http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/cont ... 91/24/2073 http://www.onctalk.com/ Don M

Sue, you all have my continued prayers for your mom. Don M

I think Dr West has addressed Meso, it's treatment and possible surgical treatments. http://www.onctalk.com/bbPress/ Don M

I will just reiterate that having pets is important. One of my most favorite things is to come home and to go through the greeting ritual with my cats. Acknowledging your feelings is a good one. I have been dealing with situational depression a little bit. I was just sitting letting my feelings come as they would and I felt some anguish and grief. Then it occurred to me that my depression is just a way to dampen down deeper feelings of sadness, anger, whatever. My situation has improved and I feel fine now. Don M

Hi Betty: it looks like you are doing well. Keep it up! don M

hi: I wonder what stage your mom's cancer is? If all she has is the 3 cm tumor, she could have it treated with cyberknife and kill it. Visit this message board and speak to radiation oncologists there about your mom's situation. http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/ They can be very helpful and may be able to address the symptoms your mom is having now and can answer if she is a likely candidate for cyberknife. If you don't have cyberknife available these are still good guys to ask questions. Your mom might be able to have image-guided radiation to treat the tumor, but if she has already had recent radiation, maybe she cannot have more. The docs at the cyberknife site should be able to address reirradiation too. You can always treat a previously radiated site with cyberknife. The majority of cyberknife patients are elderly persons who can't have conventional surgery. You can also go to Dr.West's site to ask about the treatment and symptoms: http://www.onctalk.com/bbPress/ I hope you mom gets some relief soon. I have a large tumor in my remaining right lung, and I have noticed a lot more mucous and coughing, I think it must be tumor related. I hope to have it killed with cyberknife. Don M

Keep Capullo.

Keep it going Eileen! Don M

With this disease, you are considered lucky if you are a candidate for a surgical cure. I had my upper left lobe removed 3 years ago, and then the rest of my left lung was removed 2 years ago. My doctors say that I do better than most one lunged patients they treat. I can do every day stuff just fine. If I get active, I have to breathe harder than anyone else to keep going. I cut firewood, split firewood, tote it into the house, mow the lawn and work in the garden. All this stuff I can do, but I will have to take more rest breaks. I had to retire early because I could not do the physical side of my job any more. Part of my job required walking up steep hillsides in the forest and I just can’t do that any more. I can’t walk up a steep trail without stopping at least every 300 feet to catch my breath. When I really exert myself, and I run out of air, it is like I come to a wall and I just cannot get enough breath in my lung, no matter how much or how fast I breathe. I usually recover in a minute or 2 when I stop to rest. I don’t let my not being able to walk on steep trails the way that others do, stop me from hiking. I just stop and let my one lung bellow itself until I get enough air. I miss my lung. I wish I could walk on steep trails and not struggle for breath. I won’t try to walk cross-country any more up steep hillsides. But, I can walk a mile on flat ground in 16 minutes without getting out of breath. One lunged people are at a greater risk for getting pneumonia than others. I have a chest cold now, and am babying myself. I also have persistent chronic congestion in my bronchial area. My pulmonolgist theorizes that the congestion collects on my scar tissue in a little pocket and is not easily dislodged. It is annoying, but I live with it. I am constantly clearing my throat. I push myself aerobically every day. I think that if I do this, I will get more stamina back. My pulmonologist says that by exercising my lung vigorously, I may wake up some alveoli to do more air sucking while they have not done much in the past. At one point after my last surgery, I was able to blow 2000 ml on the spirometer thingy. It has since gone down, but only because I had to have more treatment on my right lung. I have been out of treatment for 3 months now, and I think I am getting some lung capacity back. I was down to 1500 ml, but lately I have gotten 1750ml several times in a row. I had a dry cough that would often lead to spasms shortly after my surgery. I eventually took codeine to suppress the cough. It went away by 2 months out of surgery. My pulmonologist thought that my lung was being irritated by stretching (mediastinal shift) causing the dry cough. after my lung got used to its new postion and increased size, the cough went away. Some people get acid reflux after a pneumonectomy. I did not have that problem. I had to have oxygen for 2 weeks after my completion pneumonectomy. Don M Note: I wrote this last November. I think I may have deteriorated a bit in my lung capacity and what I can do, but that is only because I have a large tumor in the upper lobe of my remaining lung. I was cutting wood today for the first time in months, and although I will have to take even more breaks, I think I will be able to cut next year's wood. I hope to finally kill off the tumor with cyberknife.

Hi: You are in a tough situation. I guess there is no avoiding the fact that sooner or later your dad will need to have someone drive him in for treatment. I managed to drive myself back and forth for all my chemo and I did well at gathering information and learning about my treatment, but I absolutely HAD to have a driver for my bronchoscopys. I was lucky in that I tolerated my chemo well and could drive with no problem. But, I did not have to drive 70 miles. I drove 25 miles. There may be occasions where your dad will HAVE to have someone drive him in for chemo. If there is someone in your dad's community who can help in driving and be a contact that your dad feels comfortable with, that will make things go a lot smoother. You could also ask your dad to sign a document to make you able to gather and view all his medical records so that you can track his treatments and scans and such. Whenever he has an appointment or a scan, he could ask the provider to send you a copy. If your dad has a computer and is comfortable using it, that will go a long way to providing support. He could go to a site such as this and you and he could contact each other on an everyday basis if you want and discuss treatment. I have a computer with fax capability. Whenever I have a scan or a treatment, I have a copy of the report faxed to me. I get the reports the same time as the provider. If you can make a trip to see your dad and help get him setup, now would be the best time. It is especially stressful and overwhelming for many when you get the initial diagnosis. Once a treatment routine is setup, it becomes more manageable and less overwhelming. Good luck to you and your dad. Don M

Hi Jen: I remember you from the other site. I go to both sites too. I hope your mom has continued NED. Don M

Hi Lily I try living in the present moment as much as I can, but there is no way for me to get away from the reality that lc is the central fact of my life. I am putting off going on trips and other things that involve spending money because I will need it for my treatment. For more than 3 years now I have been either doing treatment or about to start another treatment. I had a few months worth of breaks where I was NED. That was nice. I still manage to stay positive and am not depressed, but boy I am really getting tired of dealing with it all. Make it go away. Don M

I am sorry Beth that your mom is not doing well. i hope she can allay her fears and be at peace. I suppose the methadone should help. don M

Mary Colleen, I am sorry you got such bad news. you all have my prayers. Don M

You and your mom have my prayers. Take the antianxiety meds. I have never had bone mets, but I have read that they are easily treatable. Don M

Hi and welcome. I get my cancer care from 2 places. I often go to a very good cancer center in Seattle, and I also see my local oncologist in a small town about 3 hours drive from Seattle. A lot of the follow up care I get in my small town. I also did my chemo in the small town clinic, but I verified my chemo with the Seattle group. I am soon going to start cyberknife treatment, and I have to go to Seattle for that. I think it is a good idea to verify everything with a big comprehensive cancer center and then get treated locally whenever possible. I really like staying home. There are no traffic jams here. I hope your husband responds well to treatment. Don M

I am glad to hear your plumbing is in good working order Don. Don M

I drank 5 to 7 cups of water a day. The chemo nurse told me that drinking a lot of water would eliminate the joint pain. I did have some joint pain and it went away when I drank more water. Don M

I hope your mom feels better Kelly. Don M

Sue you and your mom have my prayers. I had a wedge resection at my first surgery, but it kind of got lost in the imapact of my lobectomy which followed the wedge resection. Don M