ts

marina, This is a lung cancer site, but you should be relieved that your Mom's breast cancer was detected early, if that is what it is. It isn't cancer until the biopsy results say so. Statistically, she has very good odds of surviving it. In 2006, the overall survival rate for breast cancer in the United States, 5 years from detection, was over 90%. While every patient is an individual, with good care and a little luck, you should have her around for a long time. Give her good support and take care of yourself too.

Nah, I think the mannequins just might come to life at night. Except it seems like most are headless these days, so not so much.

Read Blackboard Jungle and probably saw it on TV sometime. I do remember the Twilight Zone episode, not sure if it was first run. I always do a double take in department stores.

Survived lung cancer in 2007 only to die from complications from pancreatic cancer. That's rough. RIP http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110103/ap_ ... it_francis

Last night, a friend invited us over and we feasted on shaved brussels sprout salad (really good and refreshing!), fig and prosciutto pizza, and molten lava cake. She is amazing - they had been gone since early in the day and made all of these from scratch! (Okay, she did prep the pizza dough and the fig jam the day before.) This morning, M and I went out for dim sum. The only caucasians in the place until we were about to leave. I love all those little plates of food - but could only eat a few pieces. Came home and napped. Got up and baked a loaf of braided challah and a pan of bittersweet chocolate and candied ginger rolls (same dough.) New Year's resolutions? Bake more. Maintain weight (never thought I'd see the day where losing weigh was an issue!) Stay open to possibilities.

Yikes! Did not mean to deflate the new year for anyone. Happy New Year to all. We saw True Grit last night - a little slow, beautifully photographed, good soundtrack, well acted. Yesterday and today - very cold, frost on the ground, but blue sky and Mt. Rainier, the Cascades, and the Olympics glorious in their fresh coats of snow. Was just about in bed last night when I heard the local fire crackers going. So a quick happy new year and then to sleep. Snuggled under the covers this morning with the little cat and a book. Finally got up to make a coffee, gussied up with some of the mexican chocolate. Keeping life sweet.

Wow. That's a nice way to start the new year.

Annette, You are cracking me up. If you think that exercise video was the culprit, what would you think of finding lc a week into a new job?! Unfortunately, if I had waited another month to discover it, my private disability insurance would have kicked in. Let's see, I've actually done pretty well with vehicles - 3 accidents in a short time - none my fault - two just people driving into the back of my stopped car (can we say, don't talk and drive?) and one when someone turned left from the other direction, in front of me on a wet street. I braked, but drove right into the side of their car. Their fault, my car was totaled. Other than that, the funny one was when I spent a day in the community garden - full day of being a human rototiller (ah, those were the days) and on the way home, stopped for my once a year slurpie. Backed out of the parking spot and bam, hit the plum tree in the parking strip. Got out and looked at the poor tree - I was not the first one to perform that maneuver. Car was fine. Tree is still there, years later, poor thing. There was a crooked tree... All this exercise talk, maybe I'll go swimming. PS - it is clear and cold today. Frost of the rooftops, blue sky.

Oh, mystery solved! We can blame the kitchen staff - but they didn't take the pan of turkey. They did manage to put the back seats of the car down, from inside the trunk. The back seats are pretty deep, so the seat laid flat over the pan and we never suspected there was anything wedged there until unloading and restoring the car to normal conditions. Oops. The meat wasn't missed - way too much food. Went to brunch yesterday - and again, too much food. Came home and napped and read for hours, then watched an odd film on demand. Today? Another gathering with more food!

Ronnie, Very nice. We had a very quiet Christmas as well, but I had you and my many friends throughout this world on my mind. Sending out all best thoughts and compassion. We will be scattering ashes into the water at M's Mom's favorite beach next month. She lived to old age, but always loved her beach and water. She hadn't been able to go there is a couple of years, but her kids promised her a final return and we will make it happen. May there be plenty of comfort in your new year.

For Dottie - all good wishes for a little nothing. Friday party food was so abundant that we won't be cooking for awhile. Just too bad we don't have a bigger freezer 'cause we might have been able to freeze some of the great potato casserole and the cheesy broccoli casserole. Turkey's in fridge and freezer. Salads - well, we could only keep enough that we might eat in a day or two - I think we will have more to dispose of. That's a generous caterer/restaurant. We could have done just fine with half as much. We need to return their platters and stuff - so we are meeting family for brunch there this afternoon! Like we need more food? Socked in sky, not currently raining. Cool breeze blowing. Low 40's out there.

I posted on your other thread - so forgive my ignorance of the details posted here. I did not have significant problems from 30 sessions of radiation - but mine was quite different than your Mom's. I know it is a holiday weekend, but I see no reason to wait till Monday to talk with her doctor if the pain continues. Even if her doc is not on call, someone should be. Okay, maybe it works differently in Canada, but I have to believe there is someone available to assist. You've got me all riled up and we've just met you. Please let us know how things go.

Sorry to see your need for this site, but welcome. As one of many similar apparently healthy never smoked women around here, believe me, we understand. I would never sugar coat the devastation this disease has caused, but I want you to take a breath and step back. Your Mom is having a recurrence? Very sorry to hear that - a surgical cure is always the best outcome, but not always possible. I had my first recurrence in September 2009 (and another right now, but I have no symptoms) and went on targeted therapy, Tarceva (especially effective in younger, non-smoking females (Asian helps, but not required) with a particular gene mutation - EGFR. Has your Mom been tested for this mutation? With a pneumonectomy, there should be plenty of banked material for testing. Has she even been offered (and accepted) any form of systemic chemotherapy? Beyond all the interventions, there is almost no reason for her to be in pain. She needs to let her doctors know; they have plenty of options for pain relief. I am assuming the radiation was for pain relief - and to relieve the vocal chord issue? What is the plan after this? I have to believe her oncologist is recommending either a series of chemotherapy cycles or Tarceva, a once daily pill. If not, she needs to know why not, and get a second opinion. If her functional status is really poor, there are still things that can be done to help her quality of life with or without further treatment. You've hit a couple of hot buttons - if you read enough stories here, you'll find people with many years of good life who were in worse shape than you describe your Mom. Can't promise you where this may take her, but try to not get too discouraged just yet. Do let us know what the plan is - and never hesitate to let the docs know if she needs assistance for side effects or symptom relief. There is absolutely no reason for her to be suffering greatly. Be kind and gentle with yourselves, as well as your Mom.

Here's an interesting Christmas Eve story. M cooked two whole turkeys for a party tonight. He also arranged to pick up vegetables, salads, cheese and fruit plates from a great restaurant downtown. We took two cars to pick up the food, needed as the lovely platters couldn't be stacked. M had a big round chaffing dish with the carved turkey - two full pans - already in his car - one in the chaffer, one on the side. The kitchen staff helped load the cars - at no time were the cars unlocked and left alone. We got to the party and unloaded (a quiet street on a dead end.) Unloaded the food (I now have a beet stain and a pomegranate stain in the back of my car - good luck getting those out, but not so bad.) The extra pan of turkey has disappeared! Luckily, there was easily twice as much as needed (at least by the time I left.) But where did it go? I came home before the party and double checked everywhere - nope. (I was afraid I was going to find the cat got into it and turkey all over the house.) The restaurant checked their loading dock - nope. I am hoping that some hungry souls found it at the loading dock and are sharing a very merry christmas eve dinner (just wish we could the chaffing dish insert back!) Or laughingly suggested that the restaurant staff's 'family dinner' just might be turkey tonight? Don't you just love a good mystery? Turning out the lights (save the one for Santa.)

M's cooked two turkeys - for someone else's party! Luckily, I am invited as a guest. The rest will be picked up from a restaurant, so food will be plenty. Too many guests for my taste - up to 75 or 100? Open house, but not so big a house. Quiet weekend ahead, smaller family (his) gathering on Monday night. We'll bring a roast. Maybe cook a lamb roast over the weekend - that's a lot of meat roasting! Eric! I kept waiting for the punch line for that story. I am so sorry that there isn't one. I'm glad that you are in it with your eyes open and have found a way to have plenty of good times with friends and family, in spite of adverse home conditions. It's a tough call. I'm sure I will find some oven free time to bake something in the next few days - at least a loaf of bread. The last one, a large molasses oat bread appears to be disappearing faster than usual. Peace to all.

It's great to see your photo and hear from you. One of the best gifts to us here. Hugs from me too.

I think they are just testing for the EGFR mutation to determine if Tarceva would be a good first line therapy. Over on Cancergrace, the doctors just wrote up an answer to this question. Look at responses 9 and 10 from the doctors. Very helpful. http://cancergrace.org/forums/index.php ... 4#msg54494 How is her current health status? Waiting two weeks if she has serious symptoms and is getting worse may not be advisable. If she has no symptoms and is feeling well, it might be worth waiting rather than get into the chemo cycle. Few go through it without some serious side effects. Best to you and your Mom. I hope whatever treatment does the trick.

Yes, but isn't Friday a day off for most of you working folks? Half way! (Dad asked how it was I visited yesterday? What about work? Uh, Dad, I stopped working last February. Oh, he didn't remember that...)

Were we the only ones looking at the eclipse last night? It was cold so I only checked a couple of times (and I needed to go to sleep.) Despite the overcast, it was easy to see. I wish I had looked once more a bit later - I guess it looked red at some point. It was fun to talk to our neighbor in the middle of the night. Tomorrow's the doc appointment - hope they have results in hand. Seems stupid to call today to find out and not ask WHAT? Will be more stupid to get there and not have a report. M is coordinating catering for a party Xmas Eve - 75-100 people? The host isn't sure how many people she invited. Her house ain't exactly big. He'll do some cooking, pick up a bunch of stuff, and has a server to assist. Me? I'll hide in a corner somewhere. Boxing Day at his daughter's house - should be reasonable as far as company and effort. Lily - if you haven't been to Italy, start planning a visit as soon as possible. It's a long plane ride, but worth it. Judy - your last line - I thought you said you were picking up the sleigh!

Happy for shrinkage. And hair. Best wishes for continued success.

Such a great way to celebrate. Happiest of New Years! (Will you make the mileage goal for 2010?)

I never managed to learn music. But M is singing in a community chorus and dusting off his ukulele, so I am hearing my share of live music! I found my old recorder - never got past 5 notes - and suggested a duet of Cowboy Bob or Greensleeves. Not sure those two instruments are compatible! String art - yeah, that blew through the US as well. I'll pass on that. Eric - with all the new found stardom and volunteer work - a buyout sounds quite timely. Best wishes for an early retirement. And the bank? Seriously? That's quite a jump! I'd be screaming. But if you were only paying 72 Pounds a month for years, it's hard to be too compassionate! Okay, I better go get a swim, and visit my Pa. He claims to be in need of handkerchiefs. He goes through them by the dozen. So I have to brave going to a store. Also wants to give me some keepsakes (I think my Mom's old jewelry box, empty.) Hard to explain to him that I don't really need to accumulate stuff. I've been trying to get rid of stuff this past year. Waiting to tell him the latest until we know what the pathology is...

Judy in KW, I have 7 books on papier mache out from the library. The old collage therapy work in 3-D? Was playing with some ideas, something to do with my hands and keep me off the computer for a bit. I think I will continue trying some things and see if I get into it at all. I tried doing card making (why, no one sends them anymore) and bead and silk cord jewelry - uh, I don't wear what I already own and I did not find those inspiring. Doesn't every coffee shop offer eggnog this season? I just dumped my espresso shot into half nog/half milk at home. I need to plan some fun stuff for the next two weeks...not sure what exactly.

Up early, 39 degrees. Bundled up and went for a massage. Stopped on the way home for a pastry, then home for eggnog latte. We are off to dim sum in a bit. I'll get my calories today! Incoming cards displayed on mantle. One string on green mini lights strung on the front window. Presents? Cards? Nope.

Ben, Congrats on being proactive. I hope it is something else. I'm guessing three years ago, they suggested Costochondritis? As you will see if you read here a while, very few lung cancer diagnoses occur with symptoms such as you are experiencing. But I would want to know what is causing the discomfort. Mine was found in the ER, by chest x-ray and then CTScan - when I was experiencing sharp chest pain (that was probably a muscle spasm.) Depending on your insurance, that might be a way to get a work-up - my copay was $100 or so - maybe less than if I had to pay lab fees like I do now! But if ER visits aren't covered, steer clear! As you describe yourself as "a lad" - would you by chance be in England or Scotland? Or am I so unhip that I don't know that lad has become common in today's slang? Your health plan would be much different. Do you still smoke? Get exercise and rest? Tried a heating pad and anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen.) I'm no doctor, but those things can provide some relief. Please let us know how it goes.