Don M

Eppie: please accept my condolences for the loss of your father. don M

When I had a bronchoscopy they gave me good drugs so that I would not gag when they were jamming the thingy down my throat. It did not bother me at the time, but I had a slight sore throat for a day or 2 afterwards. Don M

Pauly, I am sorry that it has come to this. As you say, nobody deserves this. You and your dad and the rest of your family have my prayers in this difficult time. You might consider that sometimes people rally during hospice and your dad may get enough strength back to resume chemo. It sounds like his first chemo treatment caused him big time problems. It is sometimes hard to find the right treatment for any one person. Anyway, I hope he gets his strength back and can resume treatment. Don M

Linda: I just returned from a consultation with Dr West. I was very impressed by him and the rest of the staff at Swedish. I am going to take their recommendations and apply it to Western Washington Oncology and continue my treatment in Olympia/Aberdeen. It would be much more feasible for you and your mom to go to Swedish on a regular basis than me. You might be able to talk your mom in to going there just to get a second opinion on the treatment plan. Maybe she would like it there and decide to switch. Fred Hutchinson has a national reputation, but I went to Swedish because they are the only facility in the region that has cyberknife. It is kind of expensive to park there. Don M

Beth: it seems like you allowed yourself to have some closure and had a nice trip too. I hope you find a comfortable rhythm to your life in the days ahead. don M

It sounds like your sister is responding well to treatment. I hope it continues to NED. It is always fun to astound the docs. Don M

Jessica: I guess I would be offended if a doctor told me how long I have to live and did so without my asking. If your mom is not going to a major cancer center for treatment, maybe she should at least get a second opinion just to make sure everything is on track. She could still start treatment. I wish the best for you and your mom. Don M

I am glad his liver is ok Sandra. I hope the eye infection clears up quickly. And may your move go smoothly. Don M

Teri: I hope the gemzar works well for you and that the lumps turn out to be nothing. Don M

I am very sorry you have to go through this again and that your mom has lung cancer now. I beleive that we each have the right to choose rather to treat or not. You may just have to accept your mom's decision and support her any way you can. However, it sounds like your mom's disease is not as far advanced as your dad's. If the cancer is just a few small tumors, they can treat it with targeted radiation such as Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) or cyberknife and then do chemo. Targeted radiation avoids collateral damage to healthy lung tissue. Some people have conventional radiation and chemo in a situation such as your mom's and have a very difficult time with radiation damage to healthy lung tissue and pneumonitis, while others sail right through it. If your mom had targeted treatment, the only difficulty she might have after that is dealing with the chemo. Most people get through chemo ok these days. I wish your mom well and you too in the days to come. Don M

Hi Annmarie. Blessings to you too. Don M

Welcome Diane: I am sure your mom will continue to improve and evetually shed the oxygen. I had to use it for a month after my last surgery and now I can walk a mile in 16 minutes without an oxygen tank. I blew into my spirometer and went for a lot of walks. At first I would cart the oxygen with me as I walked around the block. I am 61 years old. It is encouraging that your surgeon thinks your mom won't need chemo, but go see the oncologist and let him decide. If it were me, I would ask for chemo. Don M

Wow Lori, what a great response you got from people. If I ever have to write an appeal letter, I know where I am going for review. I can't think of anything to add. Don M

I hope your treatment goes well Mary. I have heard that brain mets can pop up for a while, and eventually not come back for a long time. Don M

Linda, you and Mike have my prayers. Don M

Sandra, I hope the liver tests go well. don M

Hi Linda; my experience so far with Western Washington Oncology has been mostly positive. I had Dr Grfiffth for a while and now have Dr. Sui. They were both willing to listen to my suggestions. I told Dr sui I wanted to get a second opionion and he was very supportive . They made copys of all my medical records for me to take to the second opinion consulation. I went to Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle this past week. I consulted with 3 docs in 2 days. One of them, a thoracic oncologist, said he was very impressed with the shop they keep at Western Wshington Onclology, which kind of surprised me. I was uncertain that Western Wa Onc had the expertise to handle complex cases. I am sure that both Drs. Griffith and Dr Sui would be very forthcoming with any medical info if my spouse were to attend a consultation and ask. I suspect that your mom has Dr. Lechner. I hope your mom does well with the chemo and radiation. I see that Saint Peter's has a small cancer center. Don M

You and your wife and the rest of your family have my prayers. Don M

Your dad has my prayers. Don M

I hope all goes well with the scan Kelly Don M

Hi Shanna. You have got some good advice here. I agree with Henesey that your mom should at least take palliative treatment that is designed to lessen the symptoms. Just try to spend as much time as you can with your mom. I bet she would like massages. You and your mom and the rest of your family have my prayers. Don M

That is just swell news Jodi. It sounds like your mom is on a good run. Don M

welcome to this site. It is encouraging that your mother in law responded so well to treatment. I have read that sclc responds well to chemo. Now all she has to do is treat the brain mets. She should go to a maor cancer center where they have some form of targeted beam raidiaton and see if she can treat the mets individually first. I think cyberknife is the most accurate. http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/forum/default.aspx?c=4 Don M

Lesley, please accept my condolences. Don M

As I said earlier Lisa, you have the right to be very angry. You should be proud of your daughter for speaking up. Go to the school board. Don M