Don M

welcome home Cindi. Ihope you have a speedy recovery and you holes heal quickly. Don M

Don: I hope the new treatment works well for Lucy. You both have my prayers. Don M

Hi Jenny; welcome to this site. I think it is important for your mum to finish the protocol. I am sure it will further shrink the tumor and/or kill cells hiding out. I think it is not unusual for oncologists to halt treatment after a course of treatment is completed, if there has been progress. I would ask about taking a maintenance treatment though, such as irressa or tarceva, to assure that the cancer remains stable. Some take high dose celebrex in combination with irressa or tarceva and say that it has kept them stable for 2 years or more. Your mum should also be getting regular ct scans to make sure there is no progression. I hope your mum has many quality years to come and finds the an effective way to live with her cancer. It sounds like she is off to a good start. Don M

It is good news. The onc sounds like he is in for the long haul = a long time. It is encouraging that she may get some relief re diarrhea and still be albe to maitain her treatment. Don M

Maryanne and Joel: I am pleased to hear of your NED. May all of your scans in the years to come report the same NED. Don M

Hi and welcome. Get the ct scan. don M

Darlene: I am sorry your news was disappointing. But at least Ronnie has a plan. I hope the treatment knocks the cancer way back like it has done for others. Don M

I told everyone and anyone who was willing to listen about my diagnosis. I held off on telling my mom until I knew for sure. If it comes up in conversation, I talk freely about my history. Don M

You and your husband have my continued prayers. Don M

Thanks andrea; I just might go Don M

Glad to Cindi is ok and may she have a quick recovery Don M

Hi Ralph: I suppose looking at that ridiculous white blob could strike one's funny bone. I am glad you laughed at it. Northstar gave Kathleen a good site to go to to look up chmo drugs and what they do. I used it myself. http://www.chemocare.com/ You can navigate to the section on chemotherapy drugs and type in the drug name in the search box and click on search. It will take you right to the drug. It is too bad your surgery did not go more smoothly, but it sounds like you have a good plan now. Paclitaxel is another name for taxol. Taxol/carboplatin is a standard chemo cocktail. Most people loose some hair, get numbness at the extremities, and have fatigue. The nausea is managed pretty well with anti nausea meds. Check out the web page. I would say with the chemo/ radiation and then chemo follow up, the docs are being aggressive and that is good. Don M

Hi Kathleen: it sounds like your mom is off to a good start. I finished 4 rounds of adjuvant chemo last month. I would be sleepless and restless for the first 2 nights after chemo because of the dexamethasone steroid they gave me at infusion. It helps the antinausea medicine work better. I would get some over the counter benadryl and take it the first and second nights. It helped me get some sleep. My cocktail was gemzar/carboplatin. I had very little side effects other than feeling kind of poorly and fatigued from the 3rd day after infusion and the following 4 days or so. I slept a lot beginning the 3rd day after infusion. With taxotere, I think your mom can expect some numbness and hair loss. I lost no hair and had no numbness. Going to chemo got to be a social get together after a while. It looks a lot like a barbershop what with all the chairs lined up and all. I called it the chemo shop. The nurses were great and I met some nice people. I was glad to get started on chemo but was even more glad when it was over. I hope your mom tolerates the chemo well and gets great results. Don M

Trish and Jeffrey: that is great news and congratulations. Don M

Aha! off to have fun, eh? GOOD! have a good trip Amie. Don M

Welcome Diane: It is good to hear your husband is stable. I hope he gets more shrinkage.

Great news! Congratulations Gail. Don M

Oliver: peaceful coexistence, huh? congratulations on your stable condition. Don M

Yup.. great news. Rather astounding, really. Maybe your mom's mind/body mojo is working along with the chemo to bring such good results. I hope it continues. Don M

and another WWWWOOOOHHOOOOOOOOO! for you too Leslie. Don M

Hi Ray: congratulations on you NED state. Don M

YAY!

Welcome home Fay: now you can relax and recover in your own space. i hope your get your strength back quickly. Don M

I had my first ct scan since my pneumoectomy last Feb. I got the results today. "No evidence of recurrent or residual disease" is the last line of the report. I do have some structures in my liver that they call lesions, but they have remained unchanged for 2 years and did not light up on my previous PET scans in years past. They call those "stable". I am particularly pleased, because it is 6 months past my last surgery and no problems, while 6 months past my first surgery, a suspect area manifested itself which turned out to be my second cancer. No cancer this time! Don M

Hi Beth: just want to say welcome. don M