laberl

Thanks for all of the replies! It was a rough weekend. They're having trouble getting on top of the pain. Sounds like she finally got some sleep last night but is still pretty uncomfortable. The chest tube is still putting a lot out, apparently they need to wait until it's less than 200cc's a day before they can do the talc procedure. She also has an air leak in her lung which needs to heal. Dad is meeting with her oncologist today -- hope to get some answers on the why, what does this mean, what if's. Thanks again for all of the prayers and input-I really appreciate it.

Shellie, My dad did mention something about the talc...something about then the lung can adhere to the cavity or SOMETHING, I don't know!! Sometimes getting information from the doctor through my dad is like a game of "telephone.." the info always seems to be a bit altered by the time it gets to me!! Thanks, I'll do some investigating tonight and see if that has been or will be done.

Oh I hope your mom starts feeling better very soon. I am about 8 hours away from my folks too-I hate when the phone rings at work and it's my dad, it's never good news when he calls me here. And then I spend the whole day wishing I was there! It's a tough thing. Anyway, I am praying for you, your mom, and your family. take care Ris

Hello everyone, It's starting to seem like this is a neverending battle. We've had another set back. Last week my mom had to have two thoracenteses and removed 1600cc's from around her lung. Well last night she was up all night throwing up and having a lot of pain, so dad took her in. They admitted her and took her to surgery for a chest tube, which immediately returned 1600cc's. She'll be in the hospital for several days. Does anyone have experience with this whole fluid thing? As of a few months ago, the cancer in her lungs was gone-so I'm having a hard time understanding, medically, why does this happen? I know that there is always a chance that the cancer is back again....but I'm praying it's not so if it isn't, I just don't understand why fluid would collect there so fast if at all. AAH! What does this mean!?!?! I guess I'm just getting really scared because the fluid was actually how we found out she had sclc back in February. FEBRUARY. I can't believe we've been doing this for 8 months already. Anyway.... I guess I'm just feeling so frustrated because we're dealing with the brain and spine mets and now treatment is on hold because of this madness. It just sucks. That's all. Any of your thoughts would be greatly appreciated-will be interested to hear what oncodoc thinks.... Take care! Ris

Welcome Patrice! This is a wonderful place to be...(although I'm sorry you had to find us!) Glad to hear treatment is going "smoothly." Hope that continues for you, and keep us posted on your progress!

Hi there, After spending the weekend with my mom we noticed that she was getting increasingly short of breath with exertion...My dad finally called the onc today and he had her come right in. She's getting a thorocentisis right now (draining the fluid). I don't understand why this keeps happening (she's had a few) because there isn't cancer in her lungs right now. Her onc said something about her lungs being so compromised from the chemo and the cancer that it's hard to get the fluid off? (This all coming from my dad, it's a like a game of "telephone.") I, along with the others, suggest you give your doc a call. Being short of breath is a scary, exhausting feeling and you don't need to feel that way! Hope you feel better soon!

So sorry to hear this news. My mom started WBR about two weeks ago for brain mets. So far she said the only side effect has been extreme fatigue (she naps a lot during the day). The actual WBR itself only takes about 5 minutes so she is in and out of the clinic and back to her reclinder! Her onc plans on doing 25-30 treatments. I'll be thinking about you!

I was literally holding my breath when I read your post, and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that wonderful word. Congratulations!!!

Congrats on the one year anniversary! I find myself always checking to see if you have posted, so thanks for letting us all know how you are doing. You are truly an inspiration Dean!

Charlotte, I am so very sorry. I am thinking of you.

So sorry you have to be here, but this is a good place to be-everyone here is wonderful. I know the first days/weeks/months after diagnosis can be overwhelming, and there are a lot of great people here who can help you through all of the emotions. Hang in there.

Your mom sounds like an incredibly strong woman! The unknown is always so scary to think about-one of the hardest parts about this disease is the whole, "what will happen next?" I'm glad you were able to spend time with her and she felt so well for your visit.

I am SO SO sorry for the loss of your mother. God bless you and your family.

Looks like the other posts covered a lot of your questions but I just wanted to add my 2 cents about one thing: When my mom was first diagnosed I think the questions that I struggled with-and I mean STRUGGLED with-were 1. Why her? 2. Why me? 3. Why God, WHY? As I was going through the information-hungry stage, I found myself at Borders looking for anything to help me get through this. I found the book "when bad things happen to good people." Prior to reading this book I had thought that God DOES things to people and GIVES things to people. This book taught me to look at it from a different perspective....God isn't in control of everything. And I know that somewhere, wherever He is, he is standing there with his head in his hands asking the same question, "Why is this happening to her?" All I can do is draw strength from that and from Him. Otherwise what kind of a God is He? It turns into the good person/bad person, deserve/not deserve argument. I choose to believe He is a loving God and would never GIVE this to anyone, faithful or not. Take Care-I wish you the best.

I'm sorry you not feeling well. My mom is on the same (both) chemo and has completed 5 rounds. She's feeling the same way, and they told her it is just the cumulative effects of the chemo. I'll be thinking about you-hope you will feel better soon!

Ginny, I am so, so sorry to find this post. My deepest, deepest sympathies to you and yours. God Bless.

I'm a few days late on this but mom had a doctor's appt today to discuss PCI. Her Onc wants to do one more round of chemo (for good measure I suppose), let her rest for a month, and then do PCI--that is of course if NED has stopped by for a while. So thank you all for posting your thoughts. I know it's always a tough subject. At this point she plans on doing it-but am not really sure she knows of all of the risks/side effects.

Oh I love this post! Mine is a bit boring too. Last name, first initial. I am still a newlywed so am still getting used to my "new" last name, Laber. My husband still calls me by my maiden name-but only when he's mad at me In fact he rarely calls me by my first name (Larissa)--he and all of my friends call me Ris. The only people who call me by Larissa are my parents and people I work with!

Hi Ben, Welcome-wish you didn't have to find us but glad that you did. My mom was diagnosed in February at age 55. She's had a rough time of it-Chemo and radiation were pretty hard on her. She has been off work since 2 weeks prior to diagnosis and they don't expect her to be strong enough to go back until January (treatments hopefully will be done with end of September). She goes through phases of real weepiness- there was a good month there where she would burst in to tears a lot--because she was so overwhelmed by all of the people that cared about her --because she felt she was disrupting OUR lives --because it is just (bleeping) unfair. When the pain from her liver mets got bad, they gave her a morphine pump for home and that was a Godsend. She's thankfully off of that and doing fine, but her #1 complaint is the fatigue. Several days after her chemo she is unable to get up and make herself toast or get a glass of water, etc. She has lost a lot of weight --probably 30 pounds in the last three months. She's getting better about eating a lot of little meals a day and telling us when something sounds good -- at this point we'll feed her whatever she wants! Doubt that helps at all-so far that has been our experience. Please feel free to PM me anytime. Take Care-

Shellie, Searching for the words but everyone has pretty much covered it. All I can add is this: Cancer sucks. Take care of yourself hon.

Beth, I'm so very sorry. Praying for you and your family.

((((((cmeandk)))))))

Congratulations!! I LOVE the posts that offer HOPE!!! Thank you so much for sharing!

I posted a few times in February when my mom was just diagnosed, but have been laying low since then....I have learned so much from this board and look forward to hearing how everyone is doing each day. For some reason it's been hard for me to post. We kept getting bad news...it's in the lymph nodes....she's in ICU again...it's spread to the liver despite everything she's been going through....And I just didn't have the heart to share that with people. I don't know why. MO's death really shook me up, and I didn't even know her. But I felt like I did, and all I could think about was how unfair this (bleeping) disease is. Finally, after about 5 months of dealing with this, we finally got good news. AND I WANT TO SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS! We had scans last week and her lungs and lymph nodes are clear and the liver mets are "barely visible." From here we continue her current chemo and then start talking about PCI. After the doctor's appt my mom said if he told her it hadn't done that much good, she was going to stop treatment because she didn't think her body could physically or emotionally take it--I just keep thinking how different my life could be at this very moment had he given us different news. Thank you, GOD. Anyway, just wanted to share...and you all probably didn't even know it, but there's been someone in Wisconsin praying for you every day....Thank you all for being my hope.

Thank you, thank you all so much. Although I am having ups and downs (trying to keep it together at work but of course falling apart when I get home) I just want you all to know that you have all already lifted a weight off of me. Knowing that there is HOPE is something I need to keep reminding myself. I am so thankful I have this as on outlet and thank you for all of your support and kind words. I'll keep you posted as to how she's doing. She has officially finished her first week of chemo and feels awful, but she's glad we have one week over with. Thanks again and take care.