Andrea

How long do most of you wait for your scan results? My mom had hers today and we should find out on Fri at oncologist appt I believe. Why do they make us wait? I don't get it, they can tell right away

Curtis, Did you surgery or not surgery?

Natalie, My advice is to be pushy. I know it is easier said than done and sooo awkward when you like a doctor, I had that problem once. But hey, you can always blame your actions on your mental state I say call the neurosurgeon office every couple of hourse and demand a response. Are there any other drs involved? Like my mom does not have a pulmo, but we have thoracic surgeons who also handle pulmo stuff. If there is a pulmo dr, call them and demand an immediate consultation and/or referral to another oncologist. If you don't get return calls from her dr, say something like "I am so sorry for sounding harsh and my constant calls, I just am so scared and I only have one mom. Can you please document in her chart that I called a few times on what I believe to be an emergency situation where every day counts and no one is returning my calls." Emphasis urgency. Also misrepresent yourself if need be. Seriously. I did this uninteionaly. I called the oncologist I wanted who has a two month wait list and said "Hi, I am calling from Cedars in LA, this patient underwent a mediastoncopy today and lives in Orange County, CA and Dr. ____ said she must be seen by Thurs." (I'll leave the name out) Next thing I know, I got an appt Thurs. What I really meant was that I personally was at Cedars, my momhad the test, and the dr said it was positive for cancer and Thurs would be a good day for her to see oncologist after recovery. Turns out, they thought the Cedars doctor personally demanded it, so i got it done. PUSHY PUSHY PUSHY is the way to be and we have a right, we are already mentally drained.

Does anyone else get cranky, irritable and feel ill when it is scan week for their loved one? Tomorrow will be the FIRST scan my mom has had since treatment started. The only quantative thing we know is CEA went down. I am jumping out of my skin. I am cranky. I even look depressed. I went for my wedding dress fitting today and my mom saw it on my face no matter how hard I tried. Of course it does not help when my bridal dress consultant told me how much she loves my mom and broke down crying to me, but did not want to do it to my mom We get the results on Friday at oncologist visit. TOo bad I cannot be right there in the tech booth when it is done! AAAHH!! Done whining. Thank you

Nat, I remember awhile back you said your mom's doctor was moving, but you could still be in touch with her. Is she gone yet and this is a new dr? If so, maybe call the old one to see what she says. Or possibly go somewhere for a second opinion? I know it is hard to get a second opinion when you are so comfortable with who is treating you. My thoughts are with you and your mom

Tracy, I am sorry you are here However,take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. I have met many wonderful people here. My mom is battling the deamons also. You will find that there are lots of people in your age range here fighting the same battle--I am 31. Feel free to write me anytime!

That is interesting you mentioned that, I thought I was the only one thinking it. My secretary has VERY strong political views and we disagree, so I prefer to just let her ramble and I keep my mouth shut. Well she was talking recently about not finding weapons of mass destruction, and all the lives lost and I blurted out "That's nice, but more people die of lung cancer, innocent victims and to me that is more tragic". She was furious with me and I really did NOT mean to undermine the work our soldiers do, I just get mad at this disease and believe it is just as serious. I don't think Osama and Sadam are the terrorists, I truly believe Mr. Lung Cancer is the root of all evil. Most people don't agree with me though

Joe, My mom went down to 1.8 and they said that was nothing, they have seen many many people near 0. Keep giving yourself those shots and be ready for the next round. Good luck! By the way, have you gotten a pneumonia shot? My mom got one right at diagnosis

I wanted to throw another idea out for the on line store, not sure if it would work or not. Pre-Cancer my mom and I spent days and hours searching for the perfect wedding shower favors and bridal shower favors. I was astonished, amazed, shocked, blown away, etc, by the amount of websites, the amount of favors for sale, and the creativity and cost of some of the products that are really home made. For example, there are beautiful sachets, flower pens, chocolates with personalized labels that can be done at home by someone with talent. If we could find someone with talent to donate their time in doing the crafts, maybe we could sell the products on line to raise money. I know I would have rather ordered the flower pens from an organization like this. I have NO artistic talent, I am not allowed at work near documents when they are to be put together b/c I am a klutz. But if there was any interest in this idea, I would be willing to help donate money for supplies. You see, it is klutzes like me who have to pay for people to make their crafts b/c we can't do it ourselves

Does anyone know where I can buy return address lables with a lung cancer logo or even better, from a place where the proceeds go to lung cancer? I need labels with my new last name for thank you notes and I know that in the past I had donated to lymphoma society and breast cancer from things that came in the mail, and every once in awhile I would randomly get return address labels. I did an internet search and came up empty handed, so figured I'd ask if anyone knew. Thanks!

I often need humor to cheer myself up. Kind of like try to laugh at myself or I would be crying all the time. Well today my mom finished her 3rd cycle and I was reflecting back to the beginning, a PC (pre cancer) time, when I took everything forgranted, back in Nov 2003. When my mom was diagnosed, I looked into the following and now I am actually laughing at myself. Keep in mind that the diagnosis was a surprise, she was not sick, and was mobile and working like a maniac. I immediately: 1. Called private ambulance companies to get prices and see if I could have them on call and how quick they could respond if my mom needed to go to the hospital during treatment b/c she is not being treated at her local hospital. 2. I priced hospital beds and mentally reconfigured the downstairs of her house, thinking she may not be able to climb stairs 3. I called people to price an elevator chair for the staircase 4. I bought tons of hats, like her hair was going to fall out that second and there would be a shortage of hats 5. I looked into wheelchairs at the mall in case she wanted to be wheeled around b/c she is a shopper and wanted to pick out wedding accessories. How insane is that?????? The ONLY logical thing I did was get her a handicap placard. Yes, I do realize, there is always a chance she might need all of that stuff, heck I could get hit by a car on the way home, but it is not as immediate as my mind was going. I look back now and kind of laugh at myself. Thanks for listening to me babble about my neurosis

Hi. I just wanted to throw this out there since there were some posts on wigs and we would all rather spend our money on other things. I know all insurance is different, but my mom's oncologist wrote out a prescription for a wig. It only covers cost of one, but at least it is something. Also, if you rinse with the saline sterile water solution thing (I forgot the exact term) to prevent mouth sores---my dad called the insurance company and after prodding and having them look into it, it is covered! Before it was $14 each bottle, now they get 20 bottles for $10. The oncologist office staff said my dad was the first they heard about checking to see if it was covered b/c it is over the counter----and when staff called it in the pharmacist was taken back, but checked again, and yup, it is covered. That is a huge saving of money! Speaking of savings, I was thinking--movies have senior citizen and student discounts. I think discounts should be given out to cancer warriors and their immediate family I know, wierd idea.

How old is your mom? What physical condition is she in? My mom is 58, a little chubby, but otherwise was in fine condition before diagnosis. My dad takes her to chemo each time b/c he is retired. However, I was noticing when I went one time that a lot of people are alone and my parents said that many seem to drive themselves to and from. My mom said that if it were closer (she travels about 30 minutes), she could even take herself most of the time. She is in the middle of her third cycle which is two weeks on, one off, and so far the effects of the chemo are not immediate in her case, it takes a day or so before she is tired/nauseous and nonfunctional. However, there are times midcycle where she is just soooo tired and has to go in for a hydration IV and physically would be too tired to drive. See how your mom does and how she feels. If the fatigue hits her, she won't have a choice but to let you drive her! One thing you might want to do foryour mom is apply for a handicap placard. I got my mom one and it comes in handy when the fatigue is major.

Dean you are so right. I think there is a gift cancer brings us---I think we all have a greater appreciation of life and living every moment; whereas in the past we might not have made as much time for our loved ones, etc. I hate to think that cancer can bring gifts because as far as I am concerned it is the root of all evil and more beastly than anything I can know, but you are right. Thank you for making me realize it.

How much do you buy into this? My boss was talking to me today and she is knowledgable about medical issues because she has defended tons of doctors and hospitals in med mal cases, and of course some cancer related. She commented to me that the low 5 year survival rate statistics for lung cancer are outdated because they are taken from a few years back, over a 5 year span when treatments were different and chemo was never considered before and after surgery; and in general chemo treatments were just much different that long ago. She said that it is impossible to get an accurate statistic for 2003/2004 for 5 year survival b/c so much has changed and therefore not enough time to do an accurate study. That kind of made sense to me. Or maybe I just wanted it to make sense so I let it.

That is great news! As for the headaches, what doesn't cause a headache! I suffer from migraines and tension headaches and have done a lot of research. There are soooo many headache sufferers that I think it is more normal to have headaches than not! One of the major causes of headaches are stress/tension. Hmmm, what could your mom be stressesd about? Actually brain tumors are one of the least common causes of headaches. That's why they have headache clinics all over and people like me love our vicadin when the severe pain hits Is she allowed to take excedrin or tylenol or alleve?

Cheryl, I will be sending you good vibes. I know it is easier said than done, but try not to jump the gun. As the doctor said, it could be nothing! I am rooting for you. Please post after your scan.

I was listening to the radio on the way to work this morning and it dawned on me that I should write to radio stations to see if they would get involved. Most people ask them for money, but we just want support! I am going to see if I can write to like KIIS FM, that is a popular radio station here with Rick Dees. Do you think that is a good idea?

Hey Laurie, I am glad I am not the only nut job who is afraid to say good stuff in fear of jinxing It is like her CEA went down a point, the dr says she is tolerating chemo well, but I cannot get excited or think of it as progress. G-d forbid I jinx I bet there are tons more of people out there like that!

I love the idea. Katie, instead of long signature lines, when we see someone post, could we click somewhere to read their biography? I personally have found it so helpful to read signature lines and contact those whose treatment seems similar to my mom. If there were more detailed information on each person, we could all learn so much about this beast and correspond to those who we feel could give support/input/advice etc. I never realized before the beast entered my life that there were so many different kinds of lung cancer and so many different combination of drugs to treat it. When my mom started chemo it was great to talk to others on her particular drug to realize that her side effects were normal. That is my two cents worth

I got one artist willing to donate. My cousin in Alabama has a few CDs out and is pouplar locally in Alabama, Georgia and that region. I am still waiting to hear back from Marla

I want to join I desperately need to lose weight. Had JUST started a diet upon my mom's diagnosis, and you know, I don't have to tell the story. My goal is 60-80 lbs overall. I need to depuff a bit quickly though for my wedding dress for Feb. It is funny how lung cancer can make you forget about something as silly as a long white dress!

I e-mailed Marla about songs and I will ask around for other artists too. Laurie, this is a great idea! You know I was thinking today I wanted to wear a sweatshirt and parade up and down "Lung Cancer, Not Only For Smokers". I was in a mood where I wanted to hit people who looked too happy My mom's scan is Jan 21. Her CEA went from 4.8 before treatment to 3.7, but who knows if that means anything. I will get back to you on artists as soon as I hear back!

Hi Laurie, Any chance the weekend before, April 17, works? Or is that Easter?? I don't even know I can always join up on Sunday the 25th. Or even later in the evening on the 24th. My mother in law is coming down from LA April 24, she bought tickets like a year ago for us all to go to the Champion on Ice thing at the Anaehim Arrowhead Pond at 3pm (right near Disney). I remember thinking it was crazy to buy a year in advance thinking who knows what could be going on Never thought lung cancer would be an issue I agree, we have so many resources in California, we have to figure out how to utilize them! Every time I hear someone cough, I wonder if they got a chest xray. Not a normal way to live life

I just told my mom that all of the lung cancer daugthers on the website, including me, are wishing everyone a Happy Freaking New Year instead of a Happy New Year because we love our moms. She cracked up laughing We can almost start a club! I can only imagine how many more of us there are out there. Denise--where in NY are you from? I am from NY, been in California since 1999. My parents moved out here in like 2001. I grew up in Long Island. My grandparents are/were in Queens.