Don M

Lori; Yes, I am glad also to hear your mom is doing well. I suppose if any of us were to stack up all the s--t we had to deal with in life... and if we knew what was coming, it would be very overwhelming. That is why the best thing to do is just to go through the steps one at a time. In a few days you will get your moxie back. I think it is ok and normal to feel overwhelmed especially when contemplating a possible dismal future. Don’t contemplate it just do what you have to do now. I hope the tests show no problem at this point of your sons’ life. Don M

Missy: I don't blame your mom for not wanting to go the hospital. I hope I never have to go back. I hope she sails right throug this one and can be home in a few days. Don M

Hi Frank: I have not posted in a week or so, and so I missed your good news. So, congratulations great grandpa. wow. Don M

Congratulations Terrie. Don M

Congratulations Connie. You are definitely a "cancer beater", which is a good thing. It is kind of like a survivor with attitude. Don M

Congratulations Rhonda. It looks like you are home free. Don M

Dee: Congrats on your 4 years. I like the last 3 words of your profile..."stable" "stable" "stable". Don M

Hi survivor, welcome. Don M

Hi Angela and welcome. It looks like your mom is making good progress. I have heard of some surgeons doing surgery on patients with your mom's circumstances, but I think most places would not do it. You could run it by a comprehensive cancer center to see what they say after your mom is through with the current treatment. It is probably best to see what benefit your mom can get from the radiation and chemo first. Another option may be to kill off what is left of the cancer after her current treatment is done using cyberknife. That would conserve her lung capacity, but it would not be a cure. Once the cancer has entered the lymph nodes, even though it has disappeared, it can pop up again a year or 2 later. The odds are much greater for a recurrence. The same chances of recurrence would apply to surgery too for any cancer that had made it to the lymph nodes. Still, I remember reading of several instances where people who have had cancer in the lymph nodes and later had surgery, are still NED after years. I remember some of the details for one woman, who while on the operating table, the pathologist found cancer in the lymph nodes. The lady said that the surgeon completed the surgery anyway (a pneumonectomy I think) and she is still cancer free after 5 years or so. It is outside the standard of practice of most places and surgeons to do this though Don M.

Hi Patches, welcome. I think most oncs would not recommend chemo for stage 1A. If your tumor was kind of big, I would consider doing it anayway. I think the cutoff point is 3 cm and bigger is stage 1b. If you had say, a 2cm tumor, you might want to do chemo anyway. Go to a comprehensive cancer center and see what they say. I see it has been somewhat over 2 months since your surgery. I hope you are mending well. If you get to much longer than 2 months past surgery, I don't think an oncologist would recommend chemo. You are probably ok anyway. Don M

Well cindi, I threw out the pasta-tumor thingy. I may ask him about it anyway. Don M

Hi Deb, welcome back. I am glad you area able to focus on your medical needs for now. The financial stuff will sort itself out. Randy gave you some good resources. I hope you qualify for medicaid. Good luck on your upcoming biopsy. Don M

Don M’s update I had my 2nd alimta infusion last Tuesday. I have not been hammered by it yet and expect it to hit tomorrow. That is the way it worked after my first infusion. I expect that beginning tomorrow; I will have about a week of slight nausea, increased fatigue and sob. Then for the rest of the treatment cycle it will linger on, but not be as bad. I think that the alimta is harder for me to do than the carboplatin/gemzar I did a year ago. I am having just 4 infusions, and my last one will be August 29th. I have not had any severe reactions or whatever. I did have one night in my second week after the first infusion, where I had chills and was shaking for about 4 hours at night, but it went away and that was the only episode. I have definitely been more sob all in all, and was concerned that my red blood cell count was not recovering fully, but when they read my numbers last Tuesday, they were seen as excellent. I did feel pretty good last Tuesday. I think it took most of the treatment cycle for my numbers to return to normal. I guess my body tolerates the chemo fairly well. Now if the stuff would just finish the cancer off for good, I will be in pretty good shape. Actually, as I write this, the chemo is starting to hit me…1619 hours, Thursday. I had been experiencing some unexplained rib pain on my right side for about a week. My remaining lung and tumor is on my right side. They are short brief little stabs of sharp pain. I read on line at one site that bone pain can start out as intermittent. Most of the time the incidents are associated with movement of some kind, but last Sunday night I was lying in bed, one came on all by itself. I told the chemo nurse about it Tuesday. I may be paranoid about such unexplained pain, but I think I should be. At first I got depressed about contemplating the possibility of having the cancer spread to my ribs, but as I was walking back slowly Monday afternoon from checking the mail, I had a feeling of at easement come over me. I don’t feel depressed or worried about it any more. I will just get it checked out and see. I got a bone scan scheduled for July 27. It is probably just muscle sprain, but I am going to rule out mets just to make sure. I have not felt the pain since Monday afternoon. I have a routine where I get up at 5 or 6; I have a cup of coffee, and spend some time on the pc. Then I go for a mile walk by 0800 or so. I walk at a moderate to fast clip. The other day, I pushed my self as fast as I could go. I walked it in somewhat less than 17 minutes. I used to be able to do it in 15 minutes when I had just one lung, a year ago. I may have lost some pulmonary capacity to the last tumor and the subsequent radiation and I am in the midst of chemo treatment, which probably accounts for my slowdown. After my walk, I go back in the house and sit at the pc some more, drinking water. I have breakfast by 10 or so. I take a midday nap for 2 hours. I get up from my nap have a cup of coffee, go on the pc a bit, and then spend a few hours in the garden. If it is too hot outside, I do housework. I go to bed by 10. I drink 4-6 cups of water during the day and have 2 cups of coffee. For the first 2 days after chemo and on chemo day, I drink 8 cups of water. My appetite is good. During and after my fast mile walk the other day, I had to cough and clear my throat a lot. I came in the house afterwards, and was coughing and aheming a lot. I coughed up some white gunk. I got a magnifying glass and examined it closely. It was a 3 lobed structure with a hole in the middle. It was actually off white in color. There was no pinkish substance or blood, so I decided it was not part of my lung. I think it must have been some pasta that I aspirated while eating at my wife’s house the previous week. I liked that explanation best anyway. I put the chunk in a vial and poured some 90% rubbing alcohol over it. I was going to take it to show and tell on my chemo day. I did take it with me, but never showed it to them. I am sure it must have been pasta. I am going to have a PET/CT scan in early September to see just how dead my tumor is. I hope it is very, very dead. Don M

Well Darrel, I would just naturally go along with the second opinion guy. I hope the follow-up confirms NED. One month isn't too long to wait. Don M

Joanie, I have heard that oncologists will sometimes put people back on an earlier regime if they had not had it for a year or longer. Typical second line chemos are: 1.alimta 2.taxotere 3.tarceva 4.gemzar 5.tarceva in combination with any of the others 6. avastin in combination with the above

I am sorry to hear that your father in law is having such a hard time. I hope you are able to get a second opinion at a comprehensive cancer center. Don M

Welcome Karen: I am sorry you have to watch your dad suffer so. It can probably be eased for him and you if your dad allows hospice to help. Don M

Debi: you don't need it. don M

Darrel: I am sorry about your setback. I hope you are having a good camping trip. I am not sure if sclc mets can be effectively controled with cyberknife, but here is a link to the ask the doctors website. They will answer within 24 hours. If they say yes, cyberknife is the way to go. You can have the met killed in just 3 treatments. Prior radiation is not an obstacle. http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4 There must be another chemo regime that you can do. I think the Chicago guys will come up with something. It may be that the cyberknife people would recommend chemo as a first choice because it is sclc. I doubt they would do chemo and cyberknife at the same time. Don M

Your mom has my prayers Lori. Don M

I am sorry Melinda. I hope it goes away again. Don M

Barbara has my prayers. Don M

Good luck. Don M

Hi Jay; I am sorry your mom got lc. The below hospital had a good cancer treatment center. They have the latest equipment in the radiation oncology dept. St. Anthony Hospital Oklahoma City, OK, 73101, USA Don M

Frannie: things will go much faster for your mom if she goes to a comprehensive cancer center such as at the University of North Carolina. http://cancer.med.unc.edu/patient/progr ... racic.asp# They have a multidisciplinary approach there. You can see all the appropriate specialists within a day or 2 and don't have to wait weeks for an appointment. Your mom can take the data she already has and give it to UNC. Another benefit, is that centers like these are state of the art treatment centers. I am certain your mom won't have to wait a month or 2 for treatment to finally begin. It took 2 months for my treatment to finally begin for me after my first cancer. I did not go to a comprehensive cancer center, but instead saw a succession of independent specialists and so had to wait for appointments to roll around. Don M