Katy66

Judy, The zpac is an antibiotic. You are right the humidity is playing havoc with everyone and I think if you are already comprised it is much worse. We are normally in the 70s this time of year and yesterday we hit 93 with 98% humidity. No cool mountains right now A friend of mine's elderly mother with COPD is really struggling as well. Thoughts and prayers for all of you who are having more problems because of the weather.

Things aren't going great. Lots of coughing and fever. Seems like pneumonia (which he had several times when he was on chemo before and the humidity was high) but the xrays didn't show anything. He is on a zpac and seeing some relief. Hopefully improvement will continue.

Hot this afternoon in Western NC, 80 degrees and the thunder is rumbling outside now. Hubby is napping after chemo and a good lunch so I think I'll go out and watch the storm roll in before going to get our daughter. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Back from the ONC and chemo. As for the pain, they think it is the damaged nerves and have increased his Lyrica. Hope it works!

That is wonderful news!

Welcome but sorry you had to find the group. Glad to hear you are doing so well. You will find lots of information and support here.

Thanks Marci and Randy..now I have some things to talk to the onc about today I'll let you know what they say.

Hi all, hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend/week. We were very busy. My sister and brother (in law) were in and helped me with a bunch of yard work. That was always my hubby's domain and since he can't do so much of it now it is wondrful to have help. We have over an acre. Anyway, the reason for my post. Gene has been complaining of pain in is back / shoulder blade area (where he had radiation). He has always had some pain but he says it seems worse and that it feels like bees stinging him. I think it is probably common for areas that have been radiated but just wondering if any of you survivors can verify. Suggestions for coping would be great too:) He sees his onc tomorrow before starting round 3 of his chemo (Gemzar). His last scans of the lung, three weeks ago, show stabilization in the main tumor and reduction in size and number of the other spots. This was after one round of the chemo.

If I haven't learned anything else from this group of survivors (and I have) the most important is that the doctors and healthcare professionals can only give you statistics and we/you are human beings, not statistics. Good thoughts and prayers for the ALK study. I was just recently made aware of it and it sounds very promising and will hopefully be just the type of breakthrough we need.

Welcome, although I'm sorry you have to be here. This is a wonderful group. While I'm not a consistent or frequent poster I always seem to come back when I need some reassurance and just kind words

Thanks for the welcome back and other kind words. He is fairing much better in regards to side effects with this new drug. He is actually out and about today visiting his former coworkers for lunch. After a year of doing not much at all without me by his side that is exciting news!

Congrats on the graduation!

What a beautiful and comforting verse!

My husband complains of his skin hurting all the time, particularly in the area that was radiated. The onc has him on Lyrica right now and that seems to help. His must be nerve damage so I'm not sure if that would help your Mom or not. Sorry you all are going through this.

Hi all! It has been so long since I've posted not sure if you all will remember me. My husband has Stage IV NSC, diagnosed in March of '09. Finished radiation to lung and brain for mets and chemo in Sept and was stable on clinical trial for vaccine until last month. Scans showed slight growth in main tumor and "spots" in right lung. They started him on Gemzar in April and scan done after one round showed a decrease in size and number of new spots, no change in main tumor. April's MRI of the brain was clear. Dang what a rollercoaster we are always on! Hope to have time to catch up with the recent posts. Thinking of and praying for you all!

PS - We are leaning toward yes. It is local and what do we have to lose??? Of course we need more details.

Looking at the two I bet it is the Lucanix. Thanks for the info! I'll do some reading and keep you guys posted on what we decide.

Honestly I'm not sure yet. We are waiting on the call to go back in and meet with their Clinical Trial Specialist in the next few weeks. I'll look into this one in the meantime, THANKS!

Saw hubby's ONC yesterday and he is officially taking a much needed break from checmo. Scans were good, not a lot of change but stable. It had only been two weeks since last scan. I'm happy for the break and know he needs but there is a part of me that says "If he isn't doing chemo then what are we doing to fight this?" Gotta work past that! They talked to us about vaccine clinical trial. I read about it months ago but we weren't ready for it then so I've got to research more. Just wondering what you guys knew about it. This is apparently a fairly new phase of the study. He has to be a month out from his last chemo to start. Hubby is still having some coughing side effects from the radiation (due to swelling in the lung). They gave him an extended run of steroids and some antibiotics to be on the safe side. They also scheduled him an ENT appt to discuss having his vocal cord repaired. You can't imagine how nice it would be to hear his voice, unhoarse, again.

Hi Everyone! Just checking in to see how everyone is doing. I see some new faces, welcome even though I wish you didn't have to be here. My husband has two more rounds of chemo before they are going to give him a break. He has been SO SICK though I'm not sure he is going to be willing to go through the rest of the treatment. Had a CT last week and will get results when we see MD on Tuesday. He just continues to get weaker and weaker. Lots of issues with anemia and coughing. He has had two bouts of pneumonia and I'm not so sure that another isn't starting now. My dear daughter is hanging in there although she is having a few problems adjusting at school. hard to tell if it is her Dad or just 1st grade + her personality:) Her teacher and counselor are wonderful and we wil get through this. For me, I'm exhausted. My day starts at 5am and ends at 10pm. I'm still working full time and all the caregiving that goes with this diagnosis. Thankfully he can still stay by himself during the day...although I worry. He just moved to LTD so I've had the pleasure of completing the SSD application which is required by his LTD company. We will COBRA his insurance beginning next week. That SSD app is a joke. You tell them that you are going to an Oncologist and it asks what for, well what the heck do you think you are going there for an ingrown toenail? Sorry, I'm just finished it today and I'm over it! Hang in there everyone! Hugs and prayers to you all!

My husband had WBR and the majority of the side effects didn't hit until afterward. He had hearing loss prior but it was definately worse. His scalp peeled and so did the inside of his ears, no draining though. Didn't really experience fluid on the brain from it but was on steroids the majority of the time. Good Luck and hang in there... I really can't imagine how difficult it is for the patient. I admire the positive attitudes!

That is the thing. He sees the LTD as final...never working again. I understand that they won't hold his current job longer but it doesn't mean you won't ever go back to work there or somewhere else. He works with a great bunch of people and I know he likes his job but he could like another job just as well, maybe better. And if he isn't ever able to go back to work so what in my opinion...he can cook and clean for me to work He has more than taken care of me and Cassie. He has STD, LTD and life insurance policies out the ying yang. We have a home with a reasonably priced mortgage at his instance so "if one of us couldn't work the other could manage it". It is filled with loving memories and all the things we need and most of what we want. You know, I should be telling him this, not you guys

Any advice from the survivors on helping him through this? I keep telling him that it doesn't matter to me if he ever works again as long as he is here but I know that is probably not comforting. He has worked since he left home at 16years old. That is all he knows. I think men identify so much as the provider and through their work that not working is just something they never thought about. Financially we are fine. He has STD that will transition to LTD and will pay until 65. His insurance is great so we certainly aren't hurting there. I do believe that he feels he should be "taking care of us"....I just wish he knew that he has and does with his daily fight against cancer.

Hi everyone! It has been some time since I've posted. Things have just been so busy. Cassie and I took our beach trip. We had a good time but missed Gene VERY much. It was a good break for us all I think. He realized he could do a bit more for himself than he realized and I learned to let him:) He had chemo today, day two of round three. Got results of latest CT scan last week. No spreading, the remaining 2 involved lymph nodes have decreased in size and the lung "leision" had not shrunk but was cavernous. Apparently this tells the that some of the cells are apparently dead but still there. The ONC was pleased. Why would they call it a leision vs. a tumor this time? Just wondering. Gene is pretty down despite the good results. His STD is running out in Oct and he will transition to LTD...I guess that seems pretty final to him. I for one don't care if he ever works again, as long as he is around:) Gotta run and pick up my daughter, first day of school here. She started 1st grade.

Wow what a great boss....there are wonderful people in the world. I hope you enjoyed your weekend with Mom. I completely understand losing it and crying. My boss actually made a sign for me that said no nice words so people at work would stop being so nice about Gene's diagnosis and making me cry:)