Andrea

Experiences on food. I like food, that is why I am overweight. heehee, off topic, just kidding Bagels, donuts, muffins, pastries---call local bagel stores, donuts shops and bakeries and ask if they would be willing to donate. Most routinely donate their "day olds", so off the bat I stsarted asking for day olds and at the Relay for Life we had more bagels than you could imagine!!! I got day old bagels from a few places. As for donuts, many places were willing to do 2 dozen here or there, so I just got from a few places. Also some bakeries donated their day old pastries Many supermarkets if you ask them will give you a gift certificate to spend there for items for your event which helps a lot. Or you can use the gift certificates as raffle prizes Did Jamba Juice make it to the east coast? They came to our event and gave out free smoothies. I would say just take a phone book or yahoo yellow pages, break it down by category of food and call call call. Starbucks may be willing to donate coffee. Or any local coffee shop, they come and bring their own cups and set it up. It is really neat. Good luck and let me kjnow if you n eed to boucne ideas around!

He will know. I am positive of it!

I am so sorry

Hi Heather, I am so proud of you for doing this! I am taking smaller steps before I branch out on my own like you. So you will be my role model. It seemed to be so easy to get raffles for Relay for Life! Some places wnat a tax ID number, so make sure you have it handy from Lungevity (I think that is the charity you are doing it for if I remember correctly ) Just call around any local business and say "Hi, my name is Heather, I am calling on behalf of Lungevity which a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting lung cancer. I am a lung cancer survivor and I am hosting the _____ walk on _____. I was wondering if you would be willing to donate a gift certificate (or whatever) for our event." I literally just called businesses and it was not hard to get Yeses. Some of course were nos It takes time in compiling the phone numbers and calling, almost like a telemarketing job, but the response can be amazing! Call your local Blockbuster and they will tell you possibly to contact regional and give you the phone number. Some places might want you to fax them or send in a letter, so you can create a general simple letter where all you have to change is the "Dear Whomever part". No more than 1 page so they will read it. And make sure you have the tax ID # on it. My suggestion would be to call lots of restaurants, they have been very willing to give gift certificates. Entertainent places like Dave N Busters. Blockbusters, etc. Call salons---hair, nail, massage. Movie theatres. Some stores might be willing to give prizes too. Also some hotels are willing to give overnight get aways. I was pretty surprised at how "easy" it was to get prizes. Do you need food for the event? I can post my experience with that too. Let me know if I can answer anything mroe clearly. I am rambling

That is pretty. I am going to order some right now too for me and my mom!

Thanks everyone! Her husband knows me very well, we were close frirends long before he started dating his new wife. He knows exactly what I mean and why I want it checked. I talk about lung cancer all the time and this website. And also Snowflake--they know about you. I had told t hem the story of how young you are and how there are so many young people on this website. So they had the full picture in their head. I will check to see how she is feeling in a bit. There is just a fine line I have to be careful with crossing with certain people. There are so many facets to this disease . Bahumbug

Margaret, I ditto exactly what you said!

Cheryl, No answers, but just wanted to say how special you are to all of us!

Hi. I can;t answer your questions b/c I have not dealt with it with my mom yet, but as to your last question "how bad is it"---it does not have to be bad at all and actually can be caused by non-cancer reasons. There are two types of edemas, one that just happens without cancer and then as a side effect to cancer. Brian's 11 year old cousin was just diagnosed with lymphedema. Her leg is very swollen and she has to get the massages, wear a boot thing, etc. It is hard on her b/c kids can be very mean, but it is not "serious" in the sense of serious serious as we know the term serious now

Welcome! We have heard so much about you and we are praying for you!

I hope she can get it!!!!! Would you ever have thought that you'd be so excited to possibly hear that your mom can have a porition of a lung removed? :)

Angie you know that I will always take the pity pot when you are done. I seem to always need it There is always a new issue I am freaking out about. Regarding your dad's headache, in reality if before cancer he had a headache you would never think about it. Not sure if this will help, but I have a similar story. When was it, it was maybe 3 or 4 weeks after surgery, my mom woke up VERY DIZZY and she was dizzy and headachy for a few days. Well, we all know what that means, right? Wasn't it obvious? She called the onc and was seen. I said it is a brain mets, he said it is not a brain mets and literally laughed at me. I saw nothing funny, it was so obvious. Turns out that it wasn't brain mets, it was something with her blood counts being off, she got a shot and it immediately went away. Hang in there! Maybe we need to start a husband's club so Brian, your husband, Jamie's husband, Nat's husband, Andrea B's husband, Shellie's husband, etc, can all complain about how nuts we are.

Good luck on the surgery! It seems to me like you are makign the right decision, and you have doctors behind you. Think of it this way---even though the neurosurgeon you are comfortalbe with is away, the covering neurosurgeon has to be good just because of the specialty. Sure there can be quacks for internists, gynecologists, etc, but for a brain surgeon--hard to be a quack or they wouldn't be able to operate Not sure if that made sense. But i strongly believe that certain specialites, like thoracic surgery, brain surgery, heart surgery doctors have to be good just b/c of the nature of the work. Keep us posted and i hope you sleep!

Oh Carleen I hope the endoscopy is clean. Keep us posted. Iam so sorry

ADORABLE!

Thanks. I suggested that she get a chest xray b/c it could be walking pnemonia. I don't feel it is my place to push. I do push some people, but that is a select group. I try not to be too annoying I think that everything just changes when we have all of this knowledge

I am numb and speechless. So ma ny prayers coming your way.

I know nothing about the second surgery, but that is awesome about the NED!!!! My mom's tumor was still active when removed

Funny you just posted that. 2 seconds ago I h ung up with my mom who told me that she feels like a pregnant woman, my dad got fried chicken and she had to go upstairs b/c the smell made her sick. And Snowflake---remember you said explosive tummy? She called it a sprinter's tummy today. She scared my dad, she said "uh oh" and took off running for the bathroom today

Sometimes it is hard to know so much. I have a friend who is 32 who has been coughing for ovre a month and keeps getting meds for her cough. I asked her husband if the dr did a chest xray to rule out pnemonia. He said "i don't think so" and they are so nonchalant about it. My little inner head is like "hmm, she could have lung cancer". Yet i cannot really express that to her or her husband b/c they would think I was nuts and probably get mad at me. So I keep my thoughts to myself. I got her to go to the dr, but after that, not much I can do. I am sure it is just allergies or whatever, but these days you never know. It is really frustrating and almost a hard line to draw when to decide who to "nag" and "push" to go to the dr and who not to.

Since we are family, I figured it would be ok to post a recreational question Has anyone ever gone on a seadoo/waverunner? I am going tomorrow, riding by myself, and I am sooo afraid. Brian says it is easy and not scary and I won't fall off, but I wonder. It will be the 3 seater one which is supposedly more stable. Anyone who is a klutz ever go on?

Oh Joni, my heart breaks for you. I think you are behaving perfectly n ormal. You know what has to be done, and you are doing it. You know you have to make the arrangements asnd take care of business for your son. You are one strong lady !! I don;t know what else to say. I just am heart broken for you

When I was 13, I had my Bat Mitzvah. Madonna was very popular back then. I could not comprehend why my parents refused to allow the song "Like A Virgin" played at the celebration. It was the top song at the time

Shelly I hope to hear good news!!! ANd SHirley B, when are you going or did you yet? Please let us know!

How awful I am so sorry