janet

I would go see him definitely, you will always regret it if something happens and you weren't there. I assume he will be glad you came once he sees you. janet

I would go see him definitely, you will always regret it if something happens and you weren't there. I assume he will be glad you came once he sees you. janet

Oh Phyllis, I am sorry they are giving you a hard time. That stinks! You would think a request such as yours would be met with some compassion and understanding, but I guess not. Oh yea, I guess the govt. needs to finance that war were in right now... janet

pardon me for asking, but I am curious, does a metastatic brain tumor behave and grow like a primary brain tumor? I know that gliomas grow very quickly, and was wondering if when they met to the brain they are called glioma's? Anyone? janet

Oh great news Jane about the brain scan, I feel much better about it as I am sure you do. Continued good wishes for your brother, it really helps to have so many people praying for him. janet

I still think the brain scan should be done to RULE out mets. At least you will feel more comfortable knowing it isn't that. And if it is, it should be attended to immediately. The first sign we had of ANYTHING wrong was my Dad's confusion, and headaches, which he said weren't horrible. It was after they found the brain tumor that they went searching for the primary, which they found in the right lung. We were shocked to say the least to find out that he had lung cancer, had absolutely NO idea he could be so sick and still functioning very normally. Please for me, check it out. thanks, janet

Jane, Has he had a brain scan? maybe possible mets to brain? It could explain his confusion. I would insist on it asap, as it can be treated. take care, janet

whew.... glad to hear that you are having the surgery, I want that thing outta there! good luck!

Karen If it were me, I would get that sucker outta there pronto! I mean like yesterday! I am glad that they are offering you surgery to remove it, so many others have multiple tumors and it isn't an option. These brain mets seem to grow incredibly fast, so I would urge you to move on it quickly. Let us know your decision janet

Jamie, Your dad is so young, please tell him to reconsider his decision for the sake of you and the rest of his family. If not, you will always feel like "if only we had tried..." You all still need him and he has LOTS of living to do! Please, please, please my Dad never had a chance to get ANY treatment at all, and I regret that we had no idea he was sick with cancer, things might have turned out different had we known. take care, janet

Oh Kel honey, I am so sorry to hear this, it reminds me of myself. My father was everything to me, I lost him Jan. 30 only a week after his diagnosis. Friday is our mutual birthday, it is gonna be tough without him, we always celebrate it together.

I met with my fathers onc. last week (this was the one who saw him in the hospital, he never really had one since it moved so fast) and had a few questions regarding my Dad's case. He is the one who was dx on a Friday and was dead the next Friday from brain mets. Anyway, she was unable to tell me how long she thinks he might have had lung ca. I realize it is different with everyone, but there must be some idea of how long it generally take to mets to the brain? He had been treated for COPD, and had a clean chest film in Feb 2003. He was never on oxygen. She said she thought it was sclc since it was so aggresive, but he never had a chance for a biopsy. He had vision problems around New Years, and noone guessed it could be cancer. Just trying to make some kind of sense out of all this. It seems like such a bad dream. janet

Dean and Dan I love you guys, I wish I could have you both over for a barbeque... you both make me happy janet

Heya Dean, I know what you mean about the "blahs" the weather up in the Bay Area stinks too. How about renting some really stupid comedy and just forget about "real life" for a few hours? Maybe just getting out to Starbucks for a cuppa coffee might help. Sometimes a change of scenery is all it takes. One of my favorite things to do is go to a kids movie, just sitting there listening to the children giggle makes me happy. They are so pure and innocent, they really know how to enjoy the small things in life. As far as the pain meds go, I would try something a bit stronger to get some better relief, no body expects you to manage severe pain on your own, and you shouldn't have to. Check into it. Take care, janet

Bless you all for your kindness. I am just so sad. To see my dad's truck in front of my parents house and his coffee cup and baseball cap on his workbench in the garage is really hard. He had no idea what hit him and that he wasn't coming back home. We were extremely close, shared the same birthday which we always celebrated together, its gonna be really hard without him.

Oh Bud, I am so sorry to hear that you are ill. Since you said you had no symptoms, can I ask how generally you were feeling? I mean were you fatigued, depressed, etc, something to indicate something could possibly be wrong? I hope that they are going to begin treatment quickly, as I have learned from this board here that this disease moves swiftly and time is of the essence. I will keep you and your family in my prayers. Fathers are VERY important and we need them around as long as possible. janet

Let me begin by saying your interest in trying to comfort me overwhelms me. Thank you so much. You are all wonderful people, and I especially admire those here that are fighting this disease and willing to reach out to help others, it is amazing. I know I should be glad he didn't suffer longer, I guess I am feeling cheated out of time with him, does that make sense? I know that is where the guilt part comes in, and I will have to work through that. I don't know if we are ever ready to lose a parent, regardless of the circumstance, it is truly heartbreaking as many of you know. Please keep us in your prayers. Natalie, I am in the San Jose area

Thank you Dean, I appreciate you taking the time to reply. I am a mess right now, my heart is completely broken, I am having a really hard time imagining life without Dad. I guess I feel cheated in that he never had a chance, he never got a chance to fight it. He only had 1 good day after he entered the hospital, and he told me he was angry that he couldn't remember the names of things, he was very frustrated but wanted to get better. He had no idea what had hit him.

We just buried my 71 year old father last week. Apparently he had lung cancer which had spread to the brain. He noticed vision problems around the beginning of Jan. and had his eyes checked, nothing found so sent to Opthamologist for exam for cataracts, nothing found, sent to Neurologist who did M.R.I. who found brain tumor. He collapsed the following day and was hospitalized which is where they found primary tumor in right lung. No treatment offered. We have no idea WHEN this cancer started and the doctors seem unable to give us an idea. I am extremely frustrated that he was so sick and none of us knew. This is a guy who rode his bike 30 miles a week, and drove just one week prior to his hospitalization. Does cancer come on and advance so quickly? I am feeling extremely quilty that I didn't spend more time with him these last few months, but we had absolutely no clue. I am worried that he was in pain and didn't tell us about it. He was dead just 7 days after his diagnosis.