Hi, my name is Gary, I recently joined LCSC, however I have been an avid reader for the past 9 months.
My wife Denise was diagnosed with NSCLC in March of 2008. Non smoker, in good health but had back pain in December of 2007. By the time Denise was diagnosed, the disease had spread to her Liver, Kidney, Lymph Gland in her chest, and multiple spots on her spine, ribs, and a spot on her skull.
6 months of chemo and radiation treatments and then they qualified Denise for a clinical trial of Tarceva.
The tumor in her Lung has shrunk from 5cm to 2.5cm. and the other organs are stable, however there has been a spread of the disease in her bones, femor, pelvic, hips and shoulder.
Tarceva so far has been great as the side effects are minimal and the diease has stabilized somewhat.
We have 3 boys aged 22, 19, and 17. It has been rough however Denise has been extremely positive. The boys and myself are the same, posiitve and our friends have been unbelieveable.
It is is hard to imagine where we would be without the support from our family and friends.
Thank you to all of you for sharing your experiences. We all know the impact of getting real information from the community. It is invaluable.