Angie Daughter of Bill

Hi gang! (my second family ) Thank you so much for the kind words, thoughts and prayers. I am feeling much better about my daghter's appointment tomorrow as wel as my Dad starting chemo. I have been so worried about both of them. God has blessed me this week....our church is having revival this week. (My spirit was in desperate need of revival) Our whole church had special prayer for Caitlin and my Dad..........afterward, I had such peace about EVERYTHING. I feel so much stronger. Between my church family, my biological family and my lung cancer family........prayers have been heard and answered. (for strength and peace for my family) Late at night when the tears are ready to flow, I come here and read replies. It brings me lots of comfort. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!! Much love to all of you!!!!!!!!! Angie

Wishing you all the best. I hope your symptoms continue to decrease each day. Good luck with the radiation! God bless!

My last couple of weeks has been pretty crazy. My Dad has had several oncology appts. He was supposed to decide if he is going to do carbo/taxol chemo on a 21 day cycle. So now, he has finally decided that we start chemo onThursday morning. On top of all of this, I get a note from my daughters school nurse. The nurse stated that Caitlin need to have a vision screening. so..............I take Caitlin to get an eye exam.....her vision IS poor, but she is not getting glasses right now. The optometrist then tells me that my daughter needs to see someone who specializes in the retnea of the eye. At this point , I got a little nervous. She proceeded to tell me that Caitlin has ''significant swelling of her right optic nerve and slight swelling of the left optic nerve" "The inflammation could be caused by a virus, something pressing on the optic nerve????(TUMOR) optic nerve swelling is also one of the first symptoms noticed in multiple sclerosis"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, you see, getting prepared for Dad's chemo and Caitlin's appointment on Wednesday, I haven't been able to get here much, but I do think of you very much throughout the day. I thought that my Dad's lung cancer was the worst thing that can happen to me, but if my baby ,Caitlin, age seven, has to go through a lot of tests.... I just don't know how I will do it. If any of you have personal experience with optic nerve swelling, please send me a personal message. Just because I haven't been here, doesn't mean I'm not thinking of you all!!! Angie

Dean, your photo made my day!! So glad you got your scooter.......you deserve it. Look out behind you, Gay!!! Enjoy! Angie

I wish I had some kind of great advice for you...........I, too, need to go to med school to figure all of this out. It is so complicated and confusing. It is so hard to go through all of these tests and wait. This is the stage we are at with my Dad. I thought all of his tests were done............nope, still more. Three months sure seems like a long time to wait to me. Is there anyone else that your Mom could consult with. I am in Alabama and I know that Emory is a good hospital but................still three months seems like a long time. Sorry that I couldn't help, but I will be thinking of you and your Mom. Have a blessed day! Angie

There are no words that can make you feel better I know. Please know that I have been praying for you and will continue to do so. May God comfort you during this time. Hugs to you!

I took my Dad to his oncologist today for the results of a brain CT.....no mets found in brain!!! YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! My Dad will be getting an MRI on Sunday to be sure the hot spots that showed on the PET scan are truly cancer. (On his spine) Hoping......praying........maybe it is something else showing on his spine.????????? I was so happy about the CT results that I couldn't think of anything to ask the Dr. I wonder, IF the MRI shows that the hot spots are NOT cancer in his spine if Dad would then be a candidate for surgery??????? Oh what praises I would give to God if that turned out to be true!!!!!!! Not getting my hopes up, just trying to be positive! Right now, the suggested treatment is Carbo/Taxol and Zometa, then Iressa. Dad is thinking very hard about the chemo...........not sure if he wants to go that route. Dad will decide next week when he sees the Dr. Whatever he decides, I will be right there with him. I hope you all have a blessed day!!

Sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. I admire your strength and spirit. May God bless you and your family!

Thank you all so much! This is such a difficult time, but with all of you sweet, loving, caring people, it makes this journey a lot easier. I don't know what I would do without my 2nd family. May you all have a blessed day!

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Vrrrmmmmmmmmm..........I can see you scootin' all over town. Watch out Gay........you better stay BEHIND Dean!!

Wonderful!! Keep on truckin'!! Praying for you daily!

Norme Sending warm hugs and prayers your way. Praying for you daily!

Don Thank you for your kind words. You're right, the household things are only "mole hills", but they do seem bigger right now. Another thing that is bugging me........my husband and I had to tell our children last night about my Dad. The kids were asking "Why is Papa going to the Dr. so much?"........"Why are you not coming to school to eat lunch with us?" They knew that something was going on. We told them my Dad has lung cancer, but did not go into details. They know cancer all to well. (Lost two family members in the last 3 years to cancer) My girls are ages seven and eleven............please, everyone say a prayer for my girls, too. Don, thank you again.........I didn't mean to start in with all of this stuff.......but I guess I didn't get finished in the first post. Have a blessed day!

Hi gang...........I'm having a rough day. My Dad goes tomorrow for a brain CT to see if he has mets in his brain. We will follow-up with his oncologist on Thursday morning. I am trying so hard to be positive, but it seems every appointment has been another let down for us. What started out with what we thought was rheumatoid arthritis has snowballed into stage IV lung cancer with heavy lymph node involvement as well as spinal mets. My Dad started out saying that he would have NO treatments, not even surgery.(If surgery were possible) Then I talked with him.........I was being soooooooo positive and hopeful........he then decided that he would have one lung removed. (As we thought he could per his pulmonary Dr.) We met with the oncologist the next day only to find out that he is facing an inoperable situation. I feel like I gave my Dad some sort of false hope...........but without hope, what is there??? I know, DeanCarl has told me not to borrow trouble, that trouble always finds you, but I can't help being soooooo scared about his CT scan. Sorry for all the whining, but right now you guys are the only ones that I have to whine to. (Well, I have my hubby, who is wonderful, but he must work) On top of my Dad's illness, my dishwasher went "ka-put" yesterday and as I am typing my washer sounds like it is about to come through the wall! When it rains, it pours.............o.k. the pity party is over. Blessings to you all!!!

Dean Praying for your scooter..........Hey if you need me to get on the VA, let me know.........I seem to be good at asserting myself lately. Hope you get your scooter real soon.............hope you are feeling better, too! Have a blessed day!

Snowflake..........I couldn't have said it better! For two days I have been trying to respond to this post, but couldn't seem to find the words. I have seen both sides.........I had an uncle with a brain tumor. He tried EVERYTHING possible. He flew from Alabama to Duke University Hospital on a regular basis. He was involved in a clinical trial, etc. I know it took tremendous courage to do these things. On the other hand, my Dad is leaning more towards DeanCarl's view....my Dad wants to spend his time doing what HE wants to do........not going to some type Dr's appointment several days a week. This decision also takes tremendous courage!! Whatever a lung cancer patient decides, they need support. I offer that to any of you! (Truly I do) I am praying daily for everyone here, but if there is something more that I can do, please get in touch with me. Blessing to everyone!

TBone Glad to see you made it back home safely. I hope that MD Anderson comes up with a plan for you that kick some adeno-butt! Wishing you the best! God bless!

Shirley Swelling of the knees, ankles, and feet was the reason my Dad first went to the doctor. I posted about this and no one had experienced it. I suppose it doesn't happen often. My Dad's albumin is low, 3.1, normal range 3.4-5.0. (It's not that low) My Dad's family doctor told us that cancer cells give off toxins and gases and they build up in the lower extremities. My Dad could hardly walk. They put him on prednisone. He is now going off of the prednisone and going on Bextra. (Both anti-inflammatories) MUCH improved. Best wishes to you and your Dad.

I appreciate all of your support and advice. I will be talking to my Dad about getting a second opinion. I'm not sure why radiation is not an option..........I was just so crushed the day of his appointment that I couldn't think of anything. I am little clearer in the head, so there will definately be questions. My Dad will be getting a CT scan on Wednesday to check for brain mets. He will then see his oncologist on Thursday morning. We will see what he says on Thursday. Thanks again........you are all an inspiration!! God bless!

I appreciate all of your support and advice. I will be talking to my Dad about getting a second opinion. I'm not sure why radiation is not an option..........I was just so crushed the day of his appointment that I couldn't think of anything. I am little clearer in the head, so there will definately be questions. My Dad will be getting a CT scan on Wednesday to check for brain mets. He will then see his oncologist on Thursday morning. We will see what he says on Thursday. Thanks again........you are all an inspiration!! God bless!

Today was my Dad's first oncology appointment. The news was not good. He has stage IV squamous cell with mets to the spine. (two spots showed up on the PET scan) The dr. said we could do chemo(taxol/carbo) but it would be done to prolong life only. No radiation will be done. He is having a CT next week.(checking for brain mets) The dr. just didn't offer much hope. I am now back to crying and having terrible anxiety. This is the hardest thing that I have ever had to go through. I love my Dad with all my heart. My Dad is feeling fine now except for some swelling in his knees and a slight cough. How can they tell me that in 6-9 months he will be gone????? This is just almost more than I handle. Anytime I have a problem, I go to my Dad. He talks me through it, kisses my cheek and pats my back. Problem solved. I am not ready to give up my Dad. I want my Dad to be one of the "other statistics".......the ones who are outliving the statistics. Those of you that have done a lot of research, help me out. these are the suggestions of the dr. What to you think no radiation chemo carbo/taxol Zometa try to strengthen bone hopefully avoiding fractures

I will be praying for your family. Big hugs to you!!

I took my Dad for PET results this morning. The pulmonary Dr. said that there is definite hilar lymph node involvement. There are two "spots" on his spine that are "inconclusive", but suspicious. I got the impression that the pulmonary Dr. wanted to give us lung information only..........he's leaving the rest to the oncologist, who we will see tomorrow afternoon. I understand that the pulmonary Dr.'s main concern is my Dad's lungs and his breathing, but this waiting is KILLING ME!!!!!!! The pulmonary Dr. said he would know about the stage of the lung cancer after the PET.........today he said he wants to consult with the oncologist before deciding. He made us feel like that there is bad news.............he just doesn't want to be the one to give it to us. I hope that it is just my imagination running wild with me. Hoping, praying, trying to live through this battle one day at a time.............Prayers for all of you!!!

As I was waiting in the imaging center on Monday, I overheard two ladies talking. (They are cancer patients) They were talking about the weight that they had lost during treatment. They both needed some new clothes, but did not want to spend the money for smaller sizes because they are assuming that after chemo, they will gain some weight. They said they couldn't really afford it. One lady said she needed a size one. My daughter has lots of size ones that she can't wear...............well my wheels started turning.........does anyone know if there is a place that cancer patients can get clothing at no charge..........an outreach program of some kind??? Wouldn't it be wonderful if patients could go in and get the clothing that they need.............no charge for them. It would be a huge undertaking.....getting clothes donated, etc., but maybe that would be a good way to channel some of this anxiety that I have. If any of you know of an organization like this, please let me know. At the very least, I have clthing that can be donate. God bless!

I know about the anger. My Dad is the one with lung cancer, but I am angry, too. I am working through it, but it is hard. Like you, my Dad's first symptom(that we noticed) was pain and swelling in his knees. I thought I was taking him to the Dr. for arthritis.............things just snowballed from there. We are going for the final staging, etc. today. I'm sorry that you are having to go through this. May God give you strength and courage on your journey. Best wishes!