Don M

Eppie: I am not sure about pamidonate. I hope your dad gets great reults from his treatment. Don M

Keep your good attiude going Don M

I am sorry you are in such a tough situation. I agree with others that if your dad has the strength and desire, seek treatment elsewhere. Also, sometimes, people get their strength back and rebound while in hospice and then continue treatment. In any case you, your dad and the rest of your family have my prayers. Don M

Hi Holly: I know I was shocked at my diagnosis. I still have a hard time believing it, even though I have accepted it. I guess I had to take their word for it. Congratulations on your impending motherhood and tell your mom that she will make a wonderful grandma. I just became a grandpa myself 8 months ago. There are many treatment options for stage 4 lc. There is hope for years of survival. Don M

Pat/Brian: I am pleased to see things are going more smoothly for you now. I suspect that "having a look-see down there" may mean a bronchoscopy if you were talking to a pulmonologist. Don M

Hi again Kim: I bet you are taking steroids. And as Rich B says, they do weird things to people. For me, it gave me a lot of initial energy and made it hard to sleep. Things will get better when you are done with chemo and off the steroids. I am sorry your children are not more responsive to your telling them about chemo and how you feel. I did not talk much about chemo with my family, but I did not have a hard time with it either. Also, I guess I would not have much patience with people who are put off about my cancer. I don't know if your children have that attitude or not, but anyway, I figure, that if I have cancer I can say and act pretty much any d--n way I please. As another member put it, I can't remember exactly who, she said "don't mess with the cancer lady". I hope this chemo treatment knocks your cancer back to zero or way back at least. Don M

Fay: you have my prayers for the well being of your aunt and uncle. Most likely it is a communication issue. Don M

Sue: I am gald to see that Mike has a new plan. I have heard that avastin has produced a lot of good results for people. I hope Mike has found the right combo. Don m

Ralph:I hope the chemo goes well and you can soon jettison the oxygen tank. Don M

So Jim, Good Luck! Don M

I had 4 rounds of gemzar/carboplatin. I would have both drugs on a Tuesday, the following Tuesday just the gemzar, wait 2 weeks and start the cycle again. I used a mouthwash I got from my dentist to prevent gumsores. I never got any except for a short lived mild one at the end of the treatment. My hair thinned a bit, but not until 2 or 3 weeks after the treatment. Also, my hair turned rapidly grey within a 3 week period after treatment. I had a little bit of nausea, but not much. I had fatigue and slept a lot until a week or so after infusion. All in all, I tolerated it fairly well. I missed about 3-4 days of work in each cycle. I could have toughed it out and worked more, but chose not to. Don M

Darci: I hope things soon start going better for you FIL. it has only been 3 weeks since his surgey. I was still teetering around at 3 weeks after my surgery. It is good that he is starting to eat more. Try to get him to laugh. Maybe his 2 daughters are somewhat afraid to visit. You might consider telling your sister-in law that you are glad she visited her dad and encourage her to visit some more. I betcha they are just a little afraid and don't know how to be around their dad. Don M

Pat: I am glad to see things are a bit better for you all now and that Lori is able to help. I feel better after talking to the doc about my sputum. hopefully Brian will get some peace of mind too. you all have my continued prayers. Don M

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your mother. Don M

Kelly: It sounds like you did well in talking with your mom and your brother. I hope that whatever course your mom chooses, she can have peace of mind with it. It is good that you can be there to listen to her and support her. Don M

Cindi: this was a nice story about hope. I think it is especially nice that you took the warranty without a moment's thought about the implication. I hope the athsma stays away. I just got through stacking my winter's firewood and that gave me a sense of satisfaction. Of course, I took a lot of breaks while I was doing it.

Hi Vicky, welcome to this site. As the song says, the waiting is the hardest part. I have heard of some people going on high dose celebrex in combination with iressa as a maintenance therapy. You know, in terms of survival, there is no difference between stable disease and full remission, but I guess I would prefer full remission too. I guess what I would do to while away the wait is to research and ask questions. Going to Moffit to inquire seems like a good use of time. I would wait and see what the situation is after the 3 moths, but I would be exploring all possible avenues during the wait, at least for something to do. I see your recent scan shows good results and that is pretty cool. I hope you get some peace of mind . Enjoy your kids whie you wait. Everyone here likes little kids and babies. Maybe you have some nice stories about them. Don M

Venu has my prayers Joe, as well as you and your family. Don M

I went to see my pulmonologist today. I brought in the films from my last ct scan from a month ago and we went over them. The radiologist had pronounced them clean a month ago. The pulmonologist went over the films with me. I told him I was worried about the bronchial stump. He said that if there was anything wrong in terms of a malignancy at the bronchial stump, it would show up in the scan and also that it was still current enough. He is a very good pulmonogist and is good at interpreting the films. He concurred with the radiologist that the entire scan was clean. He also said that bloody spit is not uncommon, that many times we may swallow it without knowing that it had blood spots. He said that the blood could be from blood thinners. He said that if it continues for another 2 or 3 weeks to come back in and he would do a bronchoscopy to see if he could find anything. In the meantime, I will stay away from blood thinners for a while. I have not taken any since the day before yesterday, when I first saw the blood. I coughed up a very small spot today. It seems to be dissipating. I felt very relieved after talking to the doc and going over the films. I am not worried about it now, but will watch my spit with interest. I guess these little gobs of spit really threw me for a while. I am especially grateful to you all for your prayers and support. It really makes a difference. It made me feel good and comforted to read your responses. Thanks again. Don M

A few years ago (before lc) I would not have had any concern about blood spots showing up in my sputum. Now I do. I coughed up some blood-streaked sputum yesterday and today. I made an appointment with my pulmonologist tomorrow to look into it. I am hoping it is just some capillaries bursting open as a result of the blood thinners I have been taking. My fear is that there is something going on with my bronchial stump. I hope it is not a recurrence. I guess I will know more later. Yeah, a little bit of blood in my spit worries me now. I will be grateful for your prayers. Don M

I am glad you made it through ok. It was nightmarish watching the freeway jam on tv. Don M

I am adding my prayers so that your loved ones and the people of Houma and other small towns get the help they need. Don M

Hi Betty and welcome. I have had 2 surgeries and chemo too, and I had a clean ct scan the last time. Don M

Hi Joanie: Maryanne's question about writing evrything down is very important. You need to document everything in a who, what, where, when, why format. I think you may be able to document that you work in a hostile work environment. Consult a lawyer. I did a quick Google search and came up with an attorney whose office specializes in employment litigation. They have a toll free number and offer a free initial consultation. It would be a good starting point. http://www.jhllp.com/Custom4.php Don M

I guess I don't get scared at all, but I have a few tense minutes just before I go in to see the oncologist and view the radiologist report. I sit in the waiting room practicing deep (one lunged) breathing. Both of my cancers were early stage. I considered my self cured after the first cancer, and still consider myself cured after the second cancer. I think that due to my stubborn belief in a cure, and it is easy to believe because of early stage, I don't worry about it much. Also, having chemo after my second cancer, makes it easier not to worry about getting cancer again. Still, I am told I am at a high risk for cancer because I have had it twice blah blah blah.. Don M