Andrea

Today is my mom's 1 year anniversary. Just wanted to share the mass e-mail I sent out today in honor of it Dear Family and Friends, Time sure flies! Today marks the ONE YEAR anniversay from the date of my mom's diagnosis!!! I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your thoughts and prayers this past year!! It has meant so much to all of us, words just cannot describe it. I am truly blessed to have learned just how much we are cared about. The outpouring of love throughout the past year, oh my goodness. I get the chills when I think about it. I thank g-d, knock on wood, that 1 year later, my mother looks stunningly beautiful and stylish as usual and we spent the day today doing what we love the best--our usual normal 5 week routine--Jose Eber and Nordstroms (IMPORANT NOTE: HALF YEARLY NORDSTROMS SALE IN PROGRESS. HURRY!!! And for those of who you are in search of a comfortable brand of shoes that are also stylish, my mom and I highly recommend Munro shoes at Nordstroms. We also recommend the Nordstroms cafe for lunch. They have delicious food and if you want a treat, skip lunch for the BEST chocolate cake in the world). The memories of last year are haunting, I remember clearly the painful phone calls to NY, the phone calls to my mom's friends from her office here, and the inability to speak to anyone who called me for close to a month. I remember filling up my car with gas and driving away with the hose still attached (apparently it is very common, they make a safety shut off switch just for such stupid acts!). I also vidly remember taking my mom one last time for her hair before chemo started and how strange people thought it was that she needed a cut and color before chemo just ripped it out But, that is what we like to do I remember her holding my hand as we walked into the mall and crying that this is what she will miss the most. Sure there were some reminders today of the past year--the handicap parking tag; the walking slower; the lingering fatigue and inability to carry heavy shopping bags; less hair on her head, etc. But today there were no tears and she only held my hand b/c I am warmer than she is We now live a new normal where my mom needs to rest a lot and we visit the oncologist often, but I can call her and play with her whenever I want. We are by no means out of the woods. I could go on with the statistics of recurrance and share all of my fears and neurosis, but if I did share all of my inner secrets and thoughts with everyone, Brian and Dr. Bobby may start to feel replaced and I would hate to do that to them Plus, this is not like the good old days where comitting me to Bellvue would get you $50, so what is the point Heehee. I will be requesting a GUESS alert and prayers shortly that nothing lights up on her upocming scans (after all, Jews dont have Christmas lights) as I believe scans will be taking place again in December Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Cancer Cure Wishes, Buddy's sister Andrea (we love Buddy--my parents new rescue doggie)

Katie and Rick, Thank you! I can only imagine how many hours and hours and hours of work were put into the new design of the website before it was put up. I just want to say, your hard work and dedication to this website is incredible. People literally have full time occupations of just maintaining a website such as this one and get paid a lot of money; you both do this in addition to your regular life and job. Do what works best for you with the format of the website. Especially since this is not a pay website, it is a privilege to use it and have it as a resource regardless of format.

Cheryl and Jack, Good look with the attorney!!! I hope everything works out. You both only deserve the bbest.

I am so sorry for your loss She was very lucky to have both of you.

Mazel tov!!! (sorry, that was the first thing that came to mind, it means Congratulations!) I am soooo proud of you Heather!

Many prayers coming

Steph, If I can be of any help on the Southern California end, just hollar!!!

Beth--my mom, IIIA, gets scans now every 4 months

Hi everyone, So my intent for Halloween at the office today was to be "Lung Cancer awareness" in my blue LCSC t-shirt (on sale at the LCSC store) and my Relay for Life hat; my lung cancer bracelet (thank you Andrea and the Live Strong yellow band.......In reality I just felt like taking advantage of the opportunity to "dress up" in costume and come to work casual instead of a suit. Well I am fluffy (chubby) and have curly hair. I worked so many hours this week and got dressed this morning in a hurry and just shoved my hat on. Turns out everyone thougth I was Michael Moore with the t-shirt, jeans, and hat!!!!!! Anyway, taking a hall pass--leaving in the morning for San Francisco with Brian, returning late Wed night. I know I am not posting as much as I used to...sort of taking time to take care of myself and get past episodes such as asking my ob/gyn 3 times if he is sure it is not cancer when he did an ultrasound for infertility workup and said "oh, those back areas should not be there" and declared me to have polycystic ovaries Ok, fine, I may have asked 3 times one visit and 1 time teh next, but 4 was it And I swear, I only read the internet for a few hours on the topic OK, ok, it was a few hours b/c Brian made me stop and Karen C (thank you Karen) e-mailed me and explained to me how it looks different. Heehee. Anyway, enough of my neurosis. I am lurking and checking on the news of everyone and posting and PMing here and there. Just wanted to send my love, hugs, kisses, and cancer cure wishes to you all! And lastly, nothing new to update on my mom, she is status quo, scans in Dec. MMMMWWWWAAAAHHHH!

Ray, I did not catch the first post, but just FYI, my mom got called back ma ny times for a follow up mamogram and it was all just fine. She also has a nodule that they did not think was cancer and it has been stable for quite a few years, they are just watching it.

I would also like to make a donation. Can you PM me the address too? Heather--I showed my mom your article and she was amazed at your courage and strength and of course your beauty (inner and outer). Thank you so much for all you are doing!

Laura, I am sure you will get more responses later tonighta nd during teh week. Sundays can be slow. Just my two cents worth--don't panic. I bet your mom did get a mask of some sort for marking and you don't even realize it. Sort of like for radiation, my mom got "tatooed" as her marking.

Debi, It is something in the air I think--I have had a few crying hysterically breakdowns the past week. I too know how lucky I am to have my mom in remission. But the fear, the unknown, will it last, I am refusing to make holiday plans b/c scans are in Dec, etc, is eating at me. I got yelled at by the gynecologist this week b/c I am going in for fertility work up, got put on Clomid, had an ultrasound where he saw "black spots" and was told it was polycystic ovary and I asekd him 3 times on Monday and once on Wed when I was there how he was sure it was not cancer I hope your gobblins go away soon! Just wanted to let you know you are not alone

Heather just posted this in Activism under a thread about the NJ Lung Cancer Walk she is heading. However, I know that not many people read Activism and this link will get lost in the thread. So here it is. An article and a beautiful picture :) GO HEATHER GO! What a role model http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/l ... 01904a.htm

Heather you are beautiful! What a great article

Glad you are feeling better! I hope you have a great time camping!! Karen--today is Wed, you have the patience to wait until Fri to call? I am a stalker with zero patience, it is terrible. I still think an instant result law should be instituted Please tell us who is in the photo. I am wondering if Becky is in there Thanks!

GO YANKEES! They are getting slaughtered as Denise said, but I hope they come back. I personall HATE Boston for the simple fact that their fans were DISGUSTING, RUDE, and OBNOXIOUS at the Angels playoff game this year. Police were everywhere breaking up fights, it was insane. And the arrogance, ick. Now Brian (my husband) said Yankee fans are no better. But that is fine with me b/c I am a New Yorker, duh Well former NYer but same thing. Once a NYer, always a NYer

Make sure you check out TeeTaa's post about the Holiday Extravaganza if you want to participate! It is in the General Forum http://lchelp.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=11054 Thanks!

I want to give a HOORAY, WAY TO GO to a member on this board who I won't name in case she does not want to be named. I had no idea she was doing this, but I want to share what I got in the mail yesterday because it was beautiful. It was a beautiful elegant card with a picture of her mom on it, and inside, in gorgeous script type font was an explanation that she is doing her second 6 mile hike in the hills in honor of lung cancer for Alcase. She included an envelope if you want to make a donation and also a lung cancer awareness bracelet in a beautiful clear bag with a sticker on it explaining that she made the bracelet in honor of her mom. I was just so touched by the style, class and elegance I had to share. Way to go! And also way to go to everyone here b/c we are making a difference!

Heather, I am in awe of you!

I am so very sorry for your loss

Curtis, I can only imagine your pain. I don't knw what to say except that I know you will pull through. And the reason you will do so is Katie There are going to be lots of bumps, but hopefully in time they will smooth out. I am a big believer in anti-depressants when things get very bad, just throwing that out there in case you would consider it. When my mom was diagnosed, I could not cope with anything and the prozac took the edge off a bit. Thinking of you all the time and I only hope to hear good things about your fture.

Laurie, I hope she comes home very soon!!!! Please update us

Shellie, I bet the nurses are used to people breaking down. After all we do it b/c we hate seeing our loved ones in pain!! I hope that your sister has a speedy easy recovery and you can move on from all of this to something much happier.

Hi. I just want to remind everyone of the Search feature at the top of the page. It really is awesome if you want to look up something. For instance, I was nervous about my sed rate being slightly elevated, I did a search on "sed" and found a GREAT article posted by John which eased my mind (thanks John). Just a reminder if people want to search on Iressa or other chemos, it really is a neat feature Hugs and kisses, Andrea