gerbil runner

Welcome, Sandy. Hope you find this site helpful and comfortable. And Ginny - you aren't the duchess - you're a Queen.

I'm also late, but glad to hear from you! Seems like there's so much "stuff" just waiting for an immune system not up to par. Hopefully your SOB problems will clear out and leave you to enjoy NED.

The early weeks/months are definitely tough. Chemo really takes a lot out of a person, and the drained feeling can be hard to tell from depression. My mom described being so tired that just lifting her head was a big effort. Between the tiredness, the disease, and the medications, depression seems to be a widepsread problem for cancer patients and their families. Don't hesitate to seek help for yourself if it doesn't improve, and try to get your mom to ask for help, too. Hang in there. SCLC can repsond well to chemo, even if the patient doesn't tolerate it well. My mom had to have a different chemo, also.

Hi, Cathy. Mom's not on any oxygen. In fact, she still manages the stairs to the bedroom, though it leaves her winded. I've also read that coming off steroids too soon or too fast can cause problems. Thanks for the reminder.

So sorry to read this. Please accept my condolences. Hope you will feel comfort soon.

I've been mostly lurking for the past couple of months, spending more time outside with my kids. But all the losses of the past couple of weeks - especially TBone and David A - remind me that life is too short to sit by. As for my mom, she's had more trouble being short of breath, and saw a pulmonolgist who did another round of testing and diagnosed radiation pnemonitis and possibly fibrosis. So now it's 40 mg of prednisone and hoping it clears up. So far, she's still sane , but we're all dreading the mood changes she seems prone to with steroids . But while surfing for info, I discovered that pentoxifylline and vitamin E are being studied and show some promise in treating fibrosis. This is important, because fibrosis is usually viewed as untreatable. Here are some links: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... s=15169810 http://bjr.birjournals.org/cgi/reprint/71/848/892.pdf http://professional.cancerconsultants.c ... x?id=30707 Mom is hoping to recover enough pulmonary function to undergo the stem-cell transplant. Other than that, she's doing well, still NED and doing some antiquing with my dad. Anyone suffering from shortness of breath after radiation needs to see a pulmonologist. Pneumonitis is easier to treat than fibrosis.

Cindy - how is Tom doing? You certainly have my prayers.

I was praying this was a cruel hoax when I logged on early this morning . It was too bad to be real! If only that were the case. His family certainly needs our prayers now. This is just horribly tragic.

I am in total disbelief. There aren't any words to make it easier for David's family, but I pray you will have peace, strength, and love in the difficult time ahead. I am so sorry - this is a true tragedy.

I haven't been around much lately, and was shocked to hear of T-bone's passing. Like others, I had hoped he'd be able to give us the pleasure of his company for much longer. My sincere sympathies to all the family.

Ginny, I'm so sorry the road has taken this turn. I hope you will have all the help you need, and the Duke will be comfortable and content.

"Sunshine" was, I think, used in a story about a young mother dying of bone cancer. Sappy, maybe, but good to hear. Edited to add: Barry Manilow = Barely Man Enough. BLECH! At least Denver didn't take himself too seriously.

If you have online banking and billpay, you can set up LCSC to get a donation every month. It's easy, automatic, and even if you only send $5 a month, it can make a big difference if more of us do it.

Anyone who pays their bills online can probably set up LCSC to get an automatic payment every month. Even if it's only $5 a month, which most of us wouldn't miss, it would make a big difference for this site. It only took an extra phone call to make it work with my bank's online service.

Terrifc news! Hope your mom sails through radiation, too.

Ginny, I'm so sorry Earl is not doing better. I'll keep both of you in my prayers.

Today is my mom's 60th birthday. Back in November, when the first thought of the oncologist was that she had Stage IV pancreatic cancer, we all thought she would never see her 60th birthday. But the good news was, she has lung cancer, the small-cell variety which can be treated! And after 7 months, she's in remission and ready to move on. We don't know if she'll ever qualify for stem cell treatment, because her pulmonary function is at 40% as of her last test. I think mom was disappointed to be put off the fast track for stem cell but...well, who knows what will happen next. She's been very very tired lately, and has had a nagging fever for part of this week. Her main onc. had wanted her to have another round of chemo this week, but her white count was too low. Today was the last day of school for my oldest son (12, finishing 8th grade), and I'd planned on taking all 3 boys down to celebrate (Mom and Dad live 30 miles away). But my husband Bob had not been feeling well and called my from the doctor's office with the shocking news that he was being sent by ambulance to the hospital!!!! Bob has GERD, and his colonoscopy had revealed mild diverticulosis (this was about 9 months ago), but he's developed an infection - diverticulitis. Get this - he calls me from the doctor's office to tell me the doctor is sending him to the hospital for a CT scan and that surgery is a possibility -but don't worry, stay home with the kids. Yeah, right!!! He was in tears when I showed up with a book and Sports Illustrated to keep him company. So here's a switch - my dad came to stay with my 3 boys so I could go to the hospital to be with Bob. Bob is deathly afraid of hospitals because of 2 traumatiic surgeries as a child, not to mention the death of his mother after an unsuccessful heart surgery - just couldn't leave him in the ER by himself. After the CT scan, the doctor says he needs to stay for antibiotics and to keep him from eating . Bob loves to eat, and eats anything he wants, regardless of what the doctors tell him he should do. Mom had to stay home - Dad just sold his car, and ran out the door to get here while Mom was half-awake, so Mom had no car to drive. So my mother, who celebrated her 60th birthday, celebrated mostly alone. I feel very guilty about this. Mom, on the other hand, is very glad that SHE is not the one in the hospital (especially since she was in the hospital for Thanksgiving and Christmas), and told me that she's ready to throw out the sadness over being "old", and is happy just to have more time. Fever is gone, and I think her energy is coming back. Bob is okay. He'll be home tomorrow or Saturday, and then I'll have to battle him about what he should or shouldn't eat. And I'll see Mom soon - by Sunday at the latest. And me? Just had a good, stiff drink and I'll head off to bed. I wanted to give my mom her present today. I want my husband home - and I know he'll hate being in the hospital even more. But Mom will get her gift, and get to kiss all 3 grandsons, and Bob will be home soon to be kissed and hugged by all. So I am content. I read more than post lately, because the weather is great and Danny and JJ love to play outside where the computer will not go. I have a shorter time to read and post. And one thing that Mo-Sugar taught me is that you have to get the most from every day, no matter what. So we play and love and worry and pray as best as we know how. Maybe the best idea I've heard since the LC journey started is, "Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful". Life had problems. But oh, how sweet life truly is.

Oh, Shelly, I can't believe it either. But remember Job? He suffered horribly because God bet the devil that Job would remain faithful. Job is a real tough read in the bible, but tells us a lot about what God might expect of us. I think of God and trials like this: God is like a father. And just like a parent brings a child to the doctor for vaccinations which cause pain, God does/allows things which cause us pain. And just like a child cannot understand why Mommy and Daddy allow the doctor to hurt, we cannot understand why God allows life to hurt. But I have faith that God has a plan, even though it's far beyond my comprehension. Go ahead and be angry at God for awhile - He's big enough to take it. And see a doctor about getting help in dealing with the mountain of trials. I pray your sister will be ok, and that you will find some relief from the trials you have faced.

Phyllis - I hope your oncs aren't really ready to give up. My mom is on hold for stem cell because of poor pulmonary function. She's going to see a pulmonologist. Stem cell only works when the cancer is very responsive to chemo. Stem cell rescue simply means you get poisoned within a half-inch of your life with chemo drugs (and up to 5% of patients do actually die) and then have your stem cells which were previously harvested pumped back in. My parents said they met a woman at the hospital who had stem cell about 6 months ago for an aggessive form of breast cancer. She came in with a cane, looking like death warmed over, and the office staff gushed about how terrific she looked . It's a very tough procedure, takes about a year to recover from. It's only feasible if the cancer can killed - not just controlled - by chemo. I wish it were an option for you, but it won't work for all kinds of cancer. The right chemo has to be found first. SCLC is not commonly treated with stem cell rescue - the only reason my mom's dr. brought it up was because she had an incredibly fast, complete remission, meaning her specific cancer is quite sensitive to chemo. Hope this makes things a bit more clear for you. And I'll keep you in my prayers - may your dr. find a truly effective treatment for you.

Prayers going out for you both. Hang in there.

Cheri, I'm so sorry. You and your family will be in my prayers.

Kelly, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Glad you're on the mend! Hopefully your "angry tummy" will get better soon.

It seems like a balancing act, getting the most out of life while doing everything possible to preserve it. I pray you will enjoy your summer in stability!

May only bruises be found.