Don M

You, your mom and your whole family have my prayers Jodi. Don M

I hope your chemo continues without problems Barbara. I have been told that I have a good attitude. Maybe I do, but if I am going to have to deal with this disease, it is better to be cheerful I spose. The last 2 times I had cancer I was convinced that I was cured. This time I am merely optimistic. Good luck with your treatment. Don M

Welcome Lori: my first tumor was found out by accident too. I had the exact same feelings as you. Hopefully, they will shoot for curative treatment and it will be gone. It is no fun, but the only thing that one can do is look to the next step and do it. You have my best wishes. Don M

Happy spring to you and all too Frank.. It is a sunny day here in Western Washington. It will get into the low 60s today. I have been staying with my son and his family while I take my treatments. It is almost like a vacation. I take my camera with me when I go to the cancer center and take pciturs of all the interesting sites in the big city. I will go for a walk today and take more pictures. Don M

Suzie, you and your mom have ny prayers. Don M

Hi Z. Here is the link to cyberknife: http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4 I guess that the team who recommends cisplatin/etoposide, or alimta thinks that your cancer is secondary. Carboplatin/taxol is first line treatment for a primary cancer. Alimta is for secondary cancer usually. If it is in you lymph nodes, I think it would be secondary mets. I would favor the alimta. I also have to deal with another cancer when I thought I was cured. This will be my third one in just over 2 years. I sought an opinion at a major cancer center. They are treating it as if it is a secondary cancer and so I will be taking second line treatment, probably alimta, after I am done with image guided radiation therapy (IGRT). The intent of the radiation is to kill the tumor only. The radiation oncologist thought that the risk of pneumonitis would be too great to do concurrent chemo. My chemo will be in the adjuvant setting anyway. I have only one lung now. I have just one small tumor in the one lung. I can't do cyberknife, because of the risk of pneumothorax. So, I am having the next best thing in terms of accuracy, IGRT. It might be that the cyberknife guys can kill any mets you have and then you could have adjuvant chemo. That is basically what I am doing. I think it is worth a visit to the cyberknife message board to ask the docs. They are top notch radiation oncologists who also can advise about IGRT or other forms of targeted radiation. I think they generally don’t do concurrent chemo with targeted radiation. That is only done with conventional radiation. Another benefit of targeted radiation is that you can repeat the treatment for multiple reoccurrences of cancer, as long as there are not too many mets. I think you may have a third option of cyberknife surgery only and then adjuvant chemo. Check it out. Good luck with you next treatment. Don M

So Lori..this is rather amazing. I am glad your mom's docs were smart enough to figure it out. I hope she gets the uti under control and can be her old self again. Don M

Thankyou Don for sharing your last moments with your brother. I know there is a lot of grief, but it was a beaautiful few moments, right? Don M

Tina, please accept my condolences. Don M

Linda, I am very sorry for your loss. Don M

I remember when I first got the news of my cancer, I was felt like my body had let me down. Up to that point I had had an unshakable confidence in my health. Getting cancer made be unsure. Maybe your dad is going through something like that. I took lexapro for a while and it helped me get back on track in spite of the fact that my body had "learned" how to make cancer. Hopefully your dad will pull out of it and get some confidence back. If your dad is doing chemo, a head cold is something to be concerned about. He should be sure to let his doctor know that he has a cold. Don M

With all the family history you have of cancer, I would think that your fear is rational. I think paranoia is an unreasonable fear. I, on the other hand, rarely worry about getting cancer. And, I have had it 3 times now. I did worry about my swollen knuckle for a while and I worried when I was coughing up blood for a while. But those events turned out to be nothing. Maybe I should start worrying. It would be more normal. Don M Don M

Godspeed be to you Larry. Get some rest and refresh your self. I understand how you feel. I might just go on a sabbatical myslef, but I suppose I will eventually come back. Don M

He said the words Linda..very cool.

Hi Tracy: I am sure everyone agrees that the waiting is the hardest part. I liked Stacy's suggestion for visualization. When I had my first radiation treatment yesterday, I visualized my tumor getting zapped. Also, what has helped me is to completely immerse myself in lc and the treatment options I might have. Now others might get depressed to think lc and treatment all the time while waiting but it helped me stay focused. I hope your get started real soon and good luck with your treatment Don M

Hi Penny: Welcome to the group. You will feel better about your situation when treatment starts probably. I just started treatment again. I feel better now about it because something is being done. I walked into the radiation room yesterday to get my first dose. I started singing a little ditty out loud that I made up in the spur of the moment on my way into the treatment room..."kill the tumor...kill the tumor" it kind of amused the radiation tech. It is still kind of hard for me to believe that I have cancer. I don't think anyone quite gets "used to it". But, I enjoy my life and am happy to be here on planet earth. Good luck with your treatment. Don M

I am a strong believer in adjuvant chemo. I am going to do adjuvant chemo again after my radiation treatment. My radiation is intended to kill the tumor. The chemo will be in the adjuvant setting to nab any loose cancer cells. This time I will do alitma or some other second line therapy. Doing adjuvant chemo won't guarantee you anything, but it definitely gives you a statistical edge. After my second cancer was removed, I asked for chemo, even though it was a little itty bitty tumor. I wanted to make sure I did everything possible to stop it coming back. It did come back, but at least I know I did everything I could to stop it. I suspect that a lot of the bad side effects down the road can be mitigated by drinking lots of water during treatment. I think the studies give you a 15% edge now if you do adjuvant chemo after resection of early stage nsclc. I will never know for sure, but if I had done adjuvant chemo after my first surgery, maybe I would not be looking at my third cancer. I never did like much going to the chemo shop though. I was glad when it was over. Don M

Hello, welcome to this board. Don M

Hi Tracy; welcome to this site. I am sorry you have to deal with the C and I hope things even out for you soon. Don M

Wow. that is rather amazing. enjoy your time together, Lori Don M

Hi Mike, welcome to this board. I am sorry your mother has to deal with lc and it has to be hard on you to as a caretaker. It is hard to know when to call in hospice. If she is not in pain and is receiving adequate home care, maybe hospice is not needed for her, but they can act as a resource for the family in dealing with stress and grief. Ask your mom's doc for a recommendation and see what they say. Don M

Hi Jamie: welcome to this board. I am sorry that your husband has this disease now. I hope that it is limitied and that he can beat it into submission. You and your husband have my prayers. Don m

Hi Michelle and welcome to this board. I am glad you have beaten the breast cancer and am sorry that your father in law had this major setback. Hopefully some of the promising chemos that have come along for late stage lc will help him. I would like to extend him my best wishes. I was raised in Everett and have family there. I am going to start image guided radiation therapy at Swedish Cancer Institute this Wednesday. I will be staying my son Joe and his family who love in Isaquah. I live in Hoquiam, a long ways from Seattle. Don M

Welcome Wendy: I am sorry your mom has to deal with lung cancer. It sounds like steps are being taken to deal with it. Just the act of doing something about it can help alleviate fears. If they find no cancer anywhere else your mom has a good shot at attaining no evidence of disease. I wish your moom the best. Don M

Great news. It is almost like a fantasy come true. Don M