Don M

Hi Jim: I am a late welcomer too. I think you should get a PET scan or a PET/CT scan to get better information on the masses seen in the ct scan. I would want better information on what is going on in my chest if I were you. I hope the chemo gives you significant reductions in your tumor(s) and that yu will be able to do surgery. don M

I will pray for you Barb. Don M

Teri, may you have many good days ahead. Don M

I am sorry for your loss. Don M

Lori: good job. I kind of think you moved a mountain. We shall see, eh? Don M

Tina: The tatoos are external landmarks to guide the radiation therapist in making the correct setup each time a dose is delivered. I have some on my chest. They can be used for both conventional radiation and targeted radiation where no internal markers are used. My radiation is a single tight beam being delivered to my tumor only. I am having image guided radiation therapy. Cyberknife does not use tatoos to aid in setup or tracking the tumor. They use little metal rods that are inserted surgically around the tumor. It is very minor surgery. Then, the robotics knows where the tumor is and zaps it. I did not do cyberknife because I have only one lung and the risk of pneumothorax was not worth the benefit of cyberknife. Image guided radiation therapy is nearly as accurate. I suspect your MIL had conventional radiation delivered to the general area of the esaphogus since it was concurrent with the chemo. I don't think targeted radiation and chemo are delivered concurrently. They did not want to give me chemo at the same time, probably because I am having a high dose and there is a greater risk of getting pneumonitis with concurrent chemo and targeted radiation than with conventional radiation. Also, the intent of the radiation is to kill the tumor, so having the chemo at the same time would be redundant. I will do chemo as a follow up to kill any rogue cells still in my body. I guess your MIL is part of the older group who don't question the doc. Sometimes, for some people, it is just easier for them to cope with having the disease by being that way. It may be that all you can do is mention other treatment options. I am a question asker. I cope by finding out all I can about my disease. If I had followed the advice of my local onc, I would have had conventional radiation concurrent with alimta. It was my idea to get targeted radiation to kill the tumor and spare my good lung tissue. My local onc supported my decision. I will go back to my local onc for my chemo when I am done with my radiation at a major cancer center. Maybe you could get her to seek a second opinion at a major cancer center, just to check in and make sure the current oncologist is on track. You might be able to go with her to one that has cyberknife equipment and ask about managing the mets with cyberknife. What I like about cyberknife is that you can do it multiple times to kill mets as they arise. And, as I understand it, there is no limitation on having cyberknife because of prior radiation. Also, please consider that the tarceva might be the simplest way for your MIL to get good results and to feel comfortable about her treatment. If she attains stable disease, that is just as good, in terms of survival, as having no evidence of disease. I think tarceva would be easier on her immune system than taxotere or some other second line chemo. Don M

Hi Tami: yah, see the doctor. I suspect that stress is a very large factor. I would get an mri too. I hope it can easily be reversed with lexapro or something like that. It definitely looks like it has proceded beyond the cute or funny stage. If it is ssoemthing related to alzheimers, i think there is medication now that greatly mutes the symptoms and slows the progression. Don M

cool

Hi Karin and welcome to this board. As soon as your dad gets a treatment plan going, things will even out a bit. Finding a brain anneurysm could be a plus I suppose. your dad can get it treated and be safe from a stroke. Don M

Welcome Tina: I have a single met in my remaining lung. My plan is to kill it with targeted radiation and then do a chemo followup with alimta, a second line chemo. If your mother in law's mets are not too many and not too big, she might look into doing targeted radiation to kill or greatly shrink the mets and then do chemo. Here is a link to a message board that deals with cyberknife, which is a form of targeted radiation. http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4 The tarceva may very well work well at the outset, giving your mom stable disease for years. This could be the way to go too. You and your mom have my prayers. Don M

Hi Stephanie and welcome to this board. You sure have a tough row to hoe. Just deal with supporting your mom for now. I assume your dad has a support system in place where he lives. As soon as she gets a treatment plan going, things will level off a bit. Apparently you have a good 10 years ahead of you before you yourself get cloberred with health problems. Hopefully, in 10 years time, there would be enough strides in medicine to help you. Stem cell research may be the key. In the meantime, be with and help your mom. You all have my prayers. Don M

sometimes they use the term restaging on a ct report for a routine scan just to justify to the insurance comapany the reason for the scan.

Good luck with the chemo Tom. I have heard that if you cut your hair, make sure you don't take a razor to it. A buzz cut should be ok. you want to avoid little infectons in your folicles. Don M

Hi Rich. I have been thinking about you. I am glad to hear from you again. Don M

I am glad to see that you mom is getting some rest. One stategy I would think would be to have at least enough radiation to get the brain mets under control. Perhaps your mom might have wbr at first. then, if there are not too many, or not too big, they could be zapped one by one with cyberknife. Go to this website and expain your mom's situation to the radiation oncs who post there. You may be able to get a cd copy of her MRI image and if so, you can post it to the message board and the radiation oncs can view it and give you specific advice to your mom's situation. I posted a copy of my ct scan there a while back. You can also get a copy of the mri report and post it there. You could ask the radiation dept. to send a copy of the report to you email so that it would be in a word format and then copy and paste it directly to the message board. These radiation oncs are among the best in the business and usually respond within 24 hours. http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4 You and your mom have my prayers. Don M

Thanks Mike; I will try it out when I start chemo again. Don M

This is a bit of a eye opener for me. Don M

I always assume that I am cured after each treatment until I am shown otherwise. It makes me feel better as I await scans and such. I hope your mom's wbr goes well. Don M

Yes Cindy...may we all find peace. The number one priority is making your dad comfortable now. You all have my prayers. Don M

I hope the reading helps you Lori. Don M

I am sorry. How devastating. Perhaps the brain mets can respond to radiation at least to the extent that she could be more like her old self. Don M

Hi Elise: your mom had a good heads up on the avastin. It can cause a tumor to bleed so stay away from it if brain mets are involved. It looks like you got a lot of good tips and reassurance about the neuropathy. Maybe your mom could switch to taxotere. Don M

welcome Deanne: I had 4 rounds of carboplatin/gemcitabine last year. I tolerated it rather easily, although I was glad when it was over. I had fatigue and a generally felt bad for the first 3 or 4 days after an infusion. I usually felt pretty good in the week just prior to my next infusion. I drank a lot of water. I missed work about 3 or 4 days in each infusion cycle. I could have toughed it out and gone if I really had to, but did not. Don M

Just let the words roll forth Lori.... maybe it might help to try to relate to the case objectively... like you were roll playing. That is what I do when I go in for consulations. I sort of objectify myself. I step away for the "me" and look at the situation as if I were part of the medical team. I hope it goes well for you. Don M

good luck today Lori Don M