Andrea

Congratulations! And thank you! I can only imagine how much time this is taking out of your life and the work is much appreciated!!!!!!

My mom had a lobectomy via VATS and was home from the hospital in a few days and was pretty mobile. Sure she had some pain, but overall it was an easyish recovery. My dad had a wedge resection via VATS and was home from the hospital quickly and recovered like nothing happened. He was not supposed to lift anything, yet a 15lb bag of dog food made it into the house (he claims the poodle carried it in). He said it was not bad at all. I would try to see if VATS is an option b/c the recovery is so much easier.

I am queen of worry wartness and would have done what you did also!! I tortured my baby boy when he was 2 weeks, he had large bilateral swollen lymph nodes, but felt fine. The dr said we could wait or do a CBC. I of course said CBC. They could not get enough blood out of his heel, the poor baby got poked 4 times and was not happy. I constantly worry about cancer lurking and am never truly a happy person b/c of it.

My mom was on a thyroid medicine for awhile, b ut it was nothing serious, just a pill. It happpened after treatment. No symptoms, just blood work.

I am copying and pasting Katie's correspondences regarding our Connie (most recent first): Final update of the day: Surgery is over . Connie is off the bypass machine and is now on ventalator. It was a very difficult case with the scar tissue, getting into the chest and then doing the bypass (they used two veins from her legs, and then put iin a mechanical valve.They also discovered that a bone in her chest had never healed from the last surgery which might have contributed to some of her pain,They've closed her up and she is expected to Be on a ventilator and in coma for at least 48 hours,. it's watch and wait at this point but the procedures themselves were successful,They had her for 12 long hours today. Maurie and I will get to see her in about 30 minutes. The next 24 hours are critical but so far so good! Thank goodness. Katie 5:45pm update: Connies actual surgical procedures are over, she made It off the heat/lung bypass machine just now and is wonderfully breathing on her own, they are now starting to close her up. No complications to report at this time. I will post more when we know more. Katie 5:00 update: It took much longer than expected but the Operation itself is finished. They are waiting to get her off the heart/lung bypass machine. They say it can take another 1.5 - 2 hours , they said its been a struggle but so far she is hanging in there. We continue to wait. Will post more information as it becomes available. Katie 3:30 update: They have her on the heart/lung bypass machine and have completed two graphs. They are now beginning the Mitral Valve replacement. This os taking much longer than expected. No estimate on how much longer. Will update once more when we have more infomation. Katie 12:15 update: Surgery is proceeding along well. There is a tremendous amount of scar tissue which is what is taking so long. They are dealing with that before moving forward. Also, they had planned on using a vein on the underside of the chest wall for the bypass, buy that vein is unusable. They will use a vein in her leg.So far no problems. They will let us know when they put her on the heart/lung bypass machine and when they progress further.I will keep you posted when we have more news. Katie

I can't wait to hear only good news from Katie tomorrow!

I know with my dad the onc wants to wait to put him on Tarceva for when he really needs it. As for my mom, she started it but the onc felt side effects were too severe and she stopped. Like Suki, she was on it when NED to help keep her there. He nver mentioned how long she would have been kept on it. I do know he said there was not much data on whether it makes an impact on those NED. Hope the baby is well

As you may recall from a previous post, our Connie B will be having major heart surgery on December 19. She won't be home for the holidays, but as I told her, it will be a blessing for the hospital staff to be in her presence and see that beautiful smile light up the place. Please join me in wishing Connie an uneventul surgery and a speedy recovery. We love you Connie and will be counting the days until you come back to LCSC.

I too am an only child and close to my mom. Did they tell you if surgery could be an option in the future? I know a lot of people who are Stage III and had chemo before surgery. Are you comfortable with where your mom is being treated? My parents both are treated by oncologist Dr Neil Barth in Newport Beach and we would highly recommend him to people in the area. You are not that far in Pasadena. Keep us posted. You are not alone.

Lot of people had positive outcomes. My mom is IIIA and she is in remission 4 years now. They will probably do chemo if it reached the lymph nodes to kill any cells tht might be floating around They did that with my mom.

I would just do a little note wishing her a healthy new year and thankiing her for the card and i nforming her that your mom passed. Thinking of you

Awesome news!

You are welcome in Sunny California at any time!

Love you Val.

Everyone gave great advice. For yourself: Definately expect highs and lows. Enjoy the highs and remember you will get over the lows. Expect to learn more than you ever wanted to about cancer, but remember knowledge is power Expect your life priorities to change and expect to no longer sweat the small stuff. You may find yourself suddenly "annoyed" when your friends complain about things that aren't important. You may find yourself astonished that you don't get stressed over the "small stuff" that you used to get stressed about. Expect to forget what you ate for dinner the night before, but you will remember each act of kindness from people given to you and your family at diagnosis time. For your mom: Expect her to have good days and bad days My mom said that once she hit the real low of chemo and radiation, it was over. Side effects from chemo typically start out mild and get a bit worse over time, but then it is all over. My mom always says her biggest advice is to stay hydrated. She had to have IV drips for hydration.

I jsut read this now. I think of you all the time. I am so sorry that y ou are still in pain, you suffered such loss at too early an age. I do want to comment that you made my day by letting us know you accepted a date. You are so young and beautiful and your love for Keith is undeniable, it will never go away, and I don't even consider it "moving on", I consider it as a practicality and something you just need to do. He will never replace Keith, but Keith would want you to find some happiness. I hope that makes sense.

--Andrea --35 years old --I live in Anaheim Hills, California. --Married --Have month year old twins via surrogacy: biologically ours, just had to have someone else "babysit" them 9 months. --Both mom and dad have lung cancer. Mom is a 4 year survivor, stage IIIA, and dad is a 1 year BAC survivor. --Attorney who is now a domestic engineer (ie, stay at home mom) --Met tons and tons of great people here!

Hurry back superman!

My mom had carbo gemzar and did really well with it. She had some nausea but meds helped it. She only lost half her hair and did not need a wig. She said it was not as bad as she expected. She needed a few iv drips for hydration b/c seh got dehydrated. I hope it goes well for you!

Sending peaceful thoughts your way.

I have been thinking of you. Sending hugs your way.

I am in such shock that I can't come up with the appropriate words. I am sending you all my love and hugs during this incredibly difficult time.

Yay!!

Welcome and sorry you had to find us. We are neighbors, I am in Anaheim Hills.

They don't seem to know too much about it right now and unfortunately there is no genetic testing for it. I had genetic testing the other week for breast/ovarian cancer b/c of family history, but they said no current testing for lung.