Andrea

I personally would tell them b/c it would keep the open policy where they can't hide things from me. However most people wouldn't tell and it makes sense not to since they already have enough to worry about. Keep us posted. I hope it is nothing serious. Just FYI, my fertility dr. got diagnosed with thyroid cancer while I was being treated. She was out 3 days total for surgery and recovery and that was it. She needed no treatment and is/was fine. She is a neurotic person like me also actually I think that is why we get along so well

I like the travelling gypsy If they press, maybe you can say you need a change and even lie about the city Name the most expenisve place in the area and make them think you won lotto

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditio ... index.html -- Thousands more lung cancer patients each year could be offered surgery or other aggressive therapy under a new system that classifies many tumors as more treatable than in the past. It is the first big overhaul of a decades-old method used to predict survival and help determine whether a lung cancer patient will have surgery, chemotherapy or be treated at all. The new guidance is to be presented at a conference of lung cancer specialists in Seoul, South Korea, that starts Saturday. It is expected to be adopted by policy-making groups in the next year. Lung cancer is the world's top cancer killer, claiming 1.3 million lives each year. In the United States, 213,380 new cases and 160,390 deaths from the disease are expected this year. Nearly 60 percent of people die within one year of diagnosis, and nearly 75 percent die within two years, American Cancer Society statistics show. In treating it, doctors use a formula called tumor staging. It is based on a tumor's size, how far it has spread and other factors to predict a patient's survival odds and to guide treatment. The current system was developed from about 5,000 tumor samples from University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston decades ago -- before improved scanning technology was available to evaluate a cancer's spread. Fact Box Lung cancer is the leading cancer diagnosis and cause of cancer deaths around the world, claiming 1.3 million lives each year. In the United States, 213,380 new cases and 160,390 lung cancer deaths are expected this year. Nearly 60 percent of people die within one year of diagnosis. Nearly 75 percent die within two years. Only about 15 percent survive five years or more. Five-Year Survival Rate Stage 1 47 percent Stage 2 26 percent Stage 3 8 percent Stage 4 2 percent Source: Associated Press -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- American Cancer Society: Lung cancer stages explained The new plan is based on 100,000 tumor samples from around the world including Asia, where lung cancer rates are projected to climb because of trends in smoking, unhealthy lifestyles and aging populations. It keeps four broad groupings but sorts people more precisely based on refined understanding of tumor characteristics. The result: "There will clearly be shifting of patients from categories not operable to operable" -- as many as 10,000 a year in the United States, said Dr. David Johnson, a lung cancer specialist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He reviewed the plan, which was partly published in a medical journal recently. The stage of the tumor at diagnosis is the best predictor of survival. Only 20 percent of cases are diagnosed in Stages 1 or 2, when tumors are small and confined to a lung, Johnson said. About 30 percent to 40 percent are found in Stage 4, after they have widely spread. The rest are in the middle. Five-year survival rates are 47 percent for Stage 1 and 26 percent for Stage 2, but only 8 percent for Stage 3, and 2 percent for Stage 4, according to the American College of Surgeons. Most lung cancers are the type called "non-small cell," which is covered by the new staging system. The system was developed by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, a group of lung cancer specialists from around the world. Dr. Peter Goldstraw, a surgeon at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, England, led the project, and Canadian scientists independently validated the recommended changes by comparing survival across geographic regions. Among the changes: creating more sub-stages for tumor size, reassigning some large tumors to a more advanced stage, reclassifying tumors that have spread into the fluid surrounding the lung, and recognizing that spread to certain lymph nodes is more dangerous than its spread to others. "By changing some of these groupings, some patients will get moved to an earlier stage of disease for which we tend to be more aggressive" in treatment, said Dr. Joan Schiller, a lung cancer specialist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "Before, a patient may have only been offered chemotherapy. They may now be offered chemotherapy and radiation," or more intense radiation, she said. Conversely, some people thought to have earlier-stage tumors now will be grouped with those whose tumors have widely spread, and discouraged from undergoing therapies that have little chance of helping them. "In some cases, patients were getting inappropriately aggressive treatment," Schiller said. Some people with very small tumors may get away with less therapy -- taking out just a segment of lung instead of an entire lobe, said Dr. Stephen Swisher, a chest surgeon at M.D. Anderson. Your Health Tools MayoClinic.com: Lung cancer Healthology: Health Video Library National Cancer Institute: Lung cancer information The impact of the changes in Europe and Japan is unclear because doctors in those countries tend to remove whole lungs rather than lobes to treat lung cancer, Johnson noted. Doctors hope that ultimately survival will improve, but that won't happen "unless we get patients into the right hands" and they get correct treatment, Johnson said. Revising the staging system also will do little good if doctors don't do the right tests to properly stage a tumor, said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. Staging for lung and other types of cancer should become even more precise in the near future as biomarkers and gene tests are developed to better sort patients, he added

I am so sorry I was thinking about you recently. It is not fair.

Congrats on the engagement! I think it will be a beautiful touch to donate to Lungevity and it will be lovely to make up a little card for the tables for people to see what you did.

We miss you too!

We miss your mom and always think about you. Sending hugs.

You know I was thinking, if you enjoy the people, they don't need to know what you do or eat in your own home. You can still have the socialization and just keep your food intake to yourself. Sort of like a closet eater, something a lot of us chubby people know about

Heather I think of you all the time! I am glad to see you posted. I have no knowledge about the talc, sorry As for the diet, I have no expertise in that either. My two cents though is to do what is best for you and if the others in your group don't understand, WE DO! I do know that diet plays an important role. However I also do know a few people who always ate healthy, etc, and got cancer. My mom has not changed her diet one bit (she should and does need to lose weight). Her diet of bagels, muffins, cookies, fruit, cheerios, starbucks, ice cream, some meat at times, doesn't seem to have had any impact on her cancer. Do what is good for you and we miss you here.

I can't believe it has been that long. You are a strong inspirational woman. Thank you for sticking around with us!

For me I was completely insane in the beginning. I was balancing work and my mom's diagnosis and practically holding back tears during client meetings b/c all I could do is cry. It was soooooo hard to get back to the brink of sanity. I pumped gas, went in to get coffee, came out and drove away and pulled out the gas pump b/c I was such a wreck Then I went to work and had to act normal and play attorney. Slowly slowly as my mom got further out, I became a bit more "new normal" and was able to cope better. I am not sure how l ong it took, definately a few months. After the initial shock I sort of went well. When my dad's diagnosis came, I was too numb and just was sooo used to it all. One day you are just going to realize you are living life in the "new normal" with good and bad days. We are all here for you whether it is a good or bad day!

I am not sure how we stop going to that dark place. I feel like it was yest I made the calls about my mom. Everything in life is now BC or AC, before cancer or after cancer. I wish I could give you advice but all I can offer you is the knowledge that you are not alone Thanks so much for sharing yoru feelings so myself and others can know that we are not alone too.

Jen, Ican understasnd what you are feeling, you are not alone. It is HARD to be by yourself with the kids all the time and then the fear over our loved ones health can be overwhelming. I was a mess last week over scans. Our hubbies are great, but th ey just dont get it all the time.

I have very fond memories of him. He is missed by all. Here's to Dave and his wonderful family!

Congratulations. Your mom is smiling down

You are our hero and an inspiration!

Thinking of you Ann. Sending hugs.

We got talked to quickly after ours. I would think if he thought there was a problem he would have talked to you, hopefully And you probably can hear back sooner than 2 weeks. I know they say that, but we always heard about our colonoscopy biopsies in a few days. Even if they dont see stuff, they often biopsy parts of colon, not sure why. Keep us psoted!

Thank you for posting this Maryanne. Please come out everyone Posting and chatting with others will ease your journey a bit.

I have had a colonoscopy, it is not bad at all :) Glad you are going!

Here in Southern California, we just lost yesterday one of our favorite news anchor men to colon cancer which spread. A newscaster just commented that he was not sure what Hal was thinking not getting a screening as 90% of colon cancers can be treated if detected early. So this is just a general reminder for everyone to remember to go for doctor exams and screenings Tushys aren't connected to lungs, they need to be checeked too. When we are wrapped up in caring for our loved ones, it is so easy to forget about ourselves and neglect body parts. It is also easy for our loved one to just focus on the lung and forget the booby and tush. And if you made it this far, my mom was due for her mamogram the week she got diagnosed. She had it done and silly me thought it was GREAT her boobs were clear b/c the lung is close to the boob, so I naturally thought that is where it would go first Boy oh boy did the dr laugh at that one!

I am so sorry I u nderstand the shock and frustration you are feeling. It truly is unfair.

My parents both had Vats and they said it was truly not as bad as expected. My dad was up and about a few days after, acting like nothign happened. My mom took a bit longer, but did really well .

Katie said those who see me and my hubby are seeing an old cookie. You can go into you internet tools and delete their cookies you will see everything then

On my computer I see it as me and Elizabeth. Katie changed it for me. I will show her this post. I know Maryanne also could not see me.