Don M

Sheri, your dad has my prayers. Don M

I hope today is a better day for you Linda. I was taken by surprise when I went in for an appointment afte a routine scan when I found out I had my second cancer. Ever since then, I have gotten a copy of the report before my appointment and made a list of questions if needed. I hope your mom's mets can be managed easily. I think they do gamma knife surgery at that center for brain mets. Happy birthday to your mom. Don M

That is most awesome Trish; I am especially impressed with the rather exquisite timing and use of cyberknife. Jeffrey had the best combination of medical care available and it is working. From what I understand about cyberknife, it can be used more than once to chase down mets as they appear. I looked into using it for my current tumor, but since I have only one lung, they talked me out of it because of the risk of pneumothorax. I am having image guided radiation instead and my tumor should be dead when I am done with treatment. I hope his scans show continued NED now and in the future. Don M

Welcome Karen:I hope the chemo worked well for you mom and that she can have some good days now. I hope your dad has some good days too. I also was raised in a large family and all of us sibs took turns taking care of my brother when he had lc. Don M

Hi Tammy: congratulations on the impending new arrival on your family and I hope your dad's current scan shows no evidence of disease. Don M

Hi Ben: welcome to this group. I hope you seek a second opinion too. But if you still decide to not seek treatment, don't hesitate to post here for support. Don M

Carleen, congratulations to you and Keith. Keep on truckin' Don M

Such a beautiful picture. Congratulations. Don M

Becky, you your mom and the rest of your family have my prayers. Don M

Keith and you have my prayers carleen. Don M

Congratulations Rich..you definitley have bragging rights. Don M

Jim, I am glad you are feeling better. the tarceva must be woring! Don M

Welcome: I am sorry your mom has to deal with the cancer thing again. It is good your mom is going to MD Anderson. I hope they get the situation clearly figured out and get a treatment plan going. Your mom fought through breast cancer and she will make it through this one too. I think the people at MD Anderson will be much more forthcoming in communication and will prsent an array of options. Good luck to you and your mom. Don M

Tracey, I talk to my body too. Sometimes I kind of console it. I also talk to my tumor when I am having radiation. I say things like, "goodbye tumor", and "die tumor die". I don't think it is crazy to talk in such a way. I think it helps. I hope the tarceva oes the trick. Don M

welcome Megan: I hope your mom's treatment is successful. When my cancer came back, I saw a medical oncologist who specializes in lung cancer. Of course you have to respect your mom's wishes and she may be getting the best care possible now. But, I think seeing a lung cancer specialist can give one an edge in fighting the disease. Maybe you could talk her in to seeing one just to verify her treatment. That is basically what I did. I told my hometown onc that I wanted to get a second opinion at a major cancer center. He gave me the name of doc with a national rep as a lung cancer expert. The specialist agreed with my local onc as to treatment. Don M

Hi Lisa: welcome to this group. I think your dad has a pretty good chance at beating this disease from what I have seen in others who have had limited sclc. You say your dad is on medicaire for disability. Does he get an income from ssdi? That should help too. If he has both medicare and your mom's insurance, he should have double coverage. I think the rule would be that medicaire is his primary coverage and the private carrier is his secondary coverage. If your mom's insurance knew he was eligible for medicaire, I think they would insist that he go through medicaire first, and that once medicaire processes a claim, it can be sent to yur mom's insurance. Usually haiving double coverage does not help much until you start having a lot of medical expenses. Your dad might want to look in to using both coverages. I had double coverage last year. I think I paid about $500 total for very expensive surgery, chemo, doctor visits and numerous scans and xrays. I hope your mom has a good meeting with her pcp. It might help her to go on an antidepressant such as lexapro for a while. Taking antidepresants is a common acitivity at this board for survivors and caregivers both. Tell your dad that we are all rooting for him to stay focused, get through his treatment and to beat the cancer. Don M

If I were dying, it would not upset me if my loved ones were crying. If I could, I would try to comfort them. Don M

Teri: I am sorry that treatment is no longer working for you and am glad that you and your husband are at peace with going to hospice. They will manage the pain very well for you. I hope you have many nice, peaceful days to come. Don M

Pam: I would definitely get a second opinion. I think your current onc wants to treat the disease as a chronic condition and is holding off the big guns until progression rears its ugly head. I would be looking at targeted radiation therapy to kill off the remaining tumors. There would be no guarantee of a cure, but I would still like to get rid of the tumors. You might consider cyberknife treatment to kill off the tumors. If they are not too big, and not too many, it could be a good way to get rid of them altogether. There are 3 cyberknife centers in Florida. Here is a link that takes you to the manufacturer website that lists all the cyberknife centers in the US. This particular page show 3 centers in Florida. http://www.accuray.com/SiteLocations/index.aspx Here is another link that will take yo to a message board where you can ask radiation oncologists who practice cyberknife surgery if you would be a candidate. One of them practices in Miami. http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4 Congratulations on your shrinkage. Don M

So Joanie, you just did one step after the next, and before you knew it, you were cured. good. Don M

Hi Jodi: I guess all I can do is tell you what I believe. I believe that our love for our loved ones endures. It is what we are when everything else falls away. It is our connection to the divine. When you love your mom she takes that with her to a being that is love. We still have to deal with the grief here. Sometimes I wonder if grief is just love that is perceived differently here on earth. I guess I am just rambling. I hope that you find a comfortable place in life as you deal with the loss of your mom. Don M

Sounds like good news to me too. I hope the radiation finishes the cancer. Die, tumor die! DonM

Congratulations Alisa Don M

East Coast Ladi: you can't stop the sadness. It might even be unhealthy to try to stop it. Just let it wash over you and acknowledge it and wait for it to pass. I like the tips that the caregivers above gave for managing the sadness. It sounds like good advice to me. Don M

One possibility is for your dad to have targeted radiation for any bone mets that may be present. That should reieve the pain. Don M