Don M

I am sure the scans include the shouder too Pam. It is probably roator cuff, like the doc said. I have the ame problem with both shoulders, especially th eleft shoulder. I took physical therapy for it 2 years ago, and it does not bother me much now. One indicatins of the condition, is that you have restricted range of motion. Don M

That is great news. I hppe we all can make such an anouncement some day. Don M

Hi and welcome. It is hard to say how anyone will react to chemo, since the reaction is so specific to any one person. Late stage cancer can usually be manged as a chronic disease for an extended period of time. The port-o-cath should help the chemo go more smoothly for her. One thng that can be said is that everyone has side effects from chemo to one degree or another. A common side effect is fatigue. The nausea can be managed with drugs. The most important thing you mother should do during chemo, is to drink a lot of water. The second most important thing is to eat. She may not feel like eating a lot. What eother caregivers have done is to make sure that there are readily availble snacks for her to graze upon. Some caregivers think it is better to have lots of small snacks, rather than trying to eat a large meal. I had chemo last year. I was tired a lot and slept a lot. I snacked rathr than eat large meals. I made a point of getting some exercise each day, then after that I would crash and sleep. They gave me dexadron to help manage the nausea. That stuff kept me awake for the first night followin treatment, but after that I could sleep. I made a practice of taking benadryl on my treatment days to help offset the wakefullnes from decadron. I hope your mother beats the cancer back. Don M

Pammie, I wish you well too. Don M

I am very sorry Missy. You and your mom have my prayers. Don M

welcome Anna Don M

Hey it's yer birthay! Happy birthday Eppie. Don M

I am glad you are ok Jaonie. I guess you were just having too much fun. Don M

I have been told that it can take a very long time for your stamina to come back after chemo. DonM

Lori: 10 days is probably not too long to wait, but if it were me, I would push for an earlier date too. The wait would bug me. You should look into cyberknife surgery as a way to control mets at some point along the way. If the tumor in your lung is not too big, cyberknife could get rid of it and the other mets too. It would not be a cure, but it could be an effective way to control the disease. check it out: http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4 Having a liver biopsy is a good idea. Then you would know for sure the extent of the metastasis. One thing I did to help me stay focused during my wait for various surgerys and treatments was to research and learn as much as I could about my disease and its treatment. As you can imagine, It was an intensely absorbing learning experience. Don M

Rock on! Don M

Hi Gloria: I am sorry your partner has to deal with the lc. If she has 50 to 60% reduction at this stage, I would say that is pretty good. I guess she has to go through May at least before she is done with chemo. The chemo she is on now is a good place to start. Maybe she will attain stability and be able to take a chemo break. I think some take tarceva after doing first line chemo for a while such as carboplatin/taxol. Some take it because the first line teatment did not do much and I think some take it to keep the cancer at bay after it has ben significantly reduced by first line therapy. Some may be able to have surgery after first line chemo and radiation. Other drugs that I read about in recent studys are alitma, avastin, gemzar. With the significant reduction in tumor size, perhaps your partner could be a candidate for targeted radiation therapys such as cyberknife surgery and image guided radiaton therapy to kill off the tumors. Here are some links: http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4 http://www.accuray.com/ http://www.elekta.com/healthcareinternational.nsf I would be suspicious of any oncologist who made such a pronouncement of a year to live. The smart ones know they don't really know and are reluctant to make such predictions. At any rate, the treatment your partner is having now is good and appears to be working. After she is done, she should consider going to a major cancer center where they have the technology discussed in the links for a review of her situation to see what the next step would be. You and your partner have my best wishes. Don M

Welcome Molly: I am glad you are happy. I hope you continue to hold an excellent prognosis for yourself. Don M

Ellen: so far so good then, eh? I hope it continues. Don M

Congratulations Trish: it looks like all you have to do is to watch the residual tumor and take the tarceva. It all sounds very low key and easy to do at this point. Don M

Sandy, I hope you all get a break soon. Don M

Tom: I am glad you are doing the chemo. I wish I had done it after my first surgery. I am on my third cancer now in a little over 2 years, and it is beginning to look like it is a recurrence of the original cancer. MAYBE if I had done it after my first surgery I would not be having my third cancer. I did carboplatin/gemzar afer my second cancer. Apparently it did not work, because my third cancer was forming as I was finishing up my chemo. I guess that it did not respond to the chemo because maybe I should have had taxol instead of gemzar, or maybe it was a secondary cancer that would not respond to a first line treatment. Who knows? I am glad I did the chemo anyway the second time, because at least I know I did every thing possible to keep it from coming back. I am taking image guided radiation to kill the third tumor. After that I will take adjuvant chemo again, but this time it will be alimta, a drug used for secondary cancer. Don M

Good, Good and more good. don m

I am glad your dad's disease is being held in check and he is back to being lucid. Maybe you will have to monitor his pill taking a bit. Cyberknife surgery is another option that you all can consider for managing mets and finishing off the brain tumor. It does not require rigid immobilization of the head. http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4 http://www.accuray.com/ Don M

Hi Jackie Don M

It sounds tough Don. I hope Lucy does not get so wiped out next time. And, of course, I hope she stops the cancer dead in its tracks. Don M

I am sorry your dad had the setback. Cyberknife treatment can be effective in killing mets if there are not a lot or are not real big. http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4 Don M

I am glad you are on a treatment track now Tracy. Whether you are in the control or the expirimental group makes not much difference teatment wise, because they are both promising treatments. I am not very good at visualization, so I just repeat to myself, "die tumor, die" a number of times as my radiation dose is being delivered. I hope you kill the cancer dead. Don M

Congratulations Mary: it is good to be alive Don M

I hope the scan is good news. Don M