kelli521
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Posts posted by kelli521
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Dad came home after surgery on Saturday. He has no complaints from the brain surgery which is great. I returned to NC today. Dad had a port placed this morning and then met with his chemo Dr this afternoon. He will start Alimta on Friday. They will not give him cisplatin with it because of his MS. After his head completely heals from surgery he will have gamma knife radation to that area.
Still praying...it's hard being so far away.
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Dad's surgery went well on Tuesday. The doctors are confident they got all of the tumor. He has barely complained of pain from the surgery and as far as that goes is recovering well.
We finally met with the chemo dr yesterday evening. I'm not sure what we expected to hear, but I think we were all a little disappointed. He has poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma which according to his Dr is a more aggressive form. Probably the most disappointing news was that his MS may prohibit their most aggressive treatment options. They are debating whether to use the platinum drugs because of the toxicities, especially neuropathy since he already has neuropathy from the MS. They have also decided not to do chemo and radiation of the chest together for the same reason. He can't have radiation to his whole brain because they are worried about worsening his MS so he will have Gamma Knife to the surgical area. Knowing that chemo is designed to target rapidly dividing cells and this an agressive form gives me a little more hope that treatment will be successful.
We though he would be leaving the hospital today, but will probably be here until atleast tomorrow. The chemo Dr wants him to get his port put in before he leaves to save another trip for an outpatient surgical procedure. He is also have problem with his existing chronic rib pain problem (from arthritis) and complicating that is that he has not had a bowel movement. So he's here until he gets the port and has a bowel movement.
I'm getting more and more worried about leaving him and my mom on Monday. I have spent most of my time sitting with mom and am sad to leave her alone. My brother and sister have children and demanding jobs so aren't as available. I'm sure they will step up more once I leave as well as mom's super supportive friends. I am thankful for that.
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My Dad had surgery today to remove the small metastese in his brain. Surgery was successful and the doctor is confident they got all the tissue. Dad will spend tonight in the ICU for closer observation then transfer to regular room tomorrow. They expect he will be in the hospital 3-4 days. He is alert and only complains of a slight headache. I am so thankful I was able to sit at the hospital with my mom all day today. I will return to NC on Monday. Hopefully by then my sister will be better and able to be with mom. She and my nephew have H1N1 so are staying far away for now.
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Dad will have surgery on Tuesday to remove the brain tumor. They expect he will be in the hospital about 4 days. Then he will start chem and radiation after he recovers (probably a couple weeks). I will be going back to NC Sept 21st so am relieved that I'll be able to be with him and mom through surgery.
Tuesday works out perfectly. Tomorrow is my niece's 6th birthday so my sister will have a family cookout and Dad will get to go to one last soccer game of my nephew's before surgery, too. Long before the cancer diagnosis, my siblings and I had planned a big surprise anniversary party for our parents this Sunday. It's no long a surprise, but it will be great to get together will all of our family and friends on Sunday afternoon...what a great support we have. The Monday night we'll have another family dinner for my other nephew who turns 2. So it will be a fun, busy weekend which will help Tuesday come a little easier and a little faster.
Thank you all for your support! I am so glad I found this site.
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Great news! Will keep praying for happy final results!
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So we finally received an actualy diagnosis. Dad had a bronchoscopy and endobrachial ultrasound on Tuesday. The biopsy of his lung mass (lower left lobe) and lymph node confirmed non-small cell lung cancer. He also has the lesion in his brain. The pulmonologist will contact the chemo dr and neurosurgeon to decide what comes first - chemo or brain surgery....most likely will be brain surgery.
I feel like we waited and waited for these biopsy results for some answers, but don't really feel like we have anymore answers than yesterday...this is what we expected. For Dad, I think it just set in...the diagnosis, the treatment, the long road ahead. Maybe when they call back this afternoon with more of a plan, I'll feel like there are more answers. Until then.....more waiting......
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thanks for the laugh!
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very clever...thanks!
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My name is Kelli, and my dad has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer. I moved to Fayetteville, NC about a year ago but am currently staying with my family in Omaha, NE while waiting for more answers on Dad and until his treatment gets going.
My dad was diagnosed with MS a little over 3 years ago. He is also a disabled vietnam veteran. He and my mom just celebrated their bitter sweet 35th wedding anniversary on Labor Day. I also have an older sister and older brother. My parents have 3 grandchildren and one on the way as well.
In May, Dad suffered what he thought was a relapse of his MS so he had an MRI the beginning of August. His private neurologist (he also goes to the VA, but they are slow) called and said there was a spot on his brain that was not a primary lesion so he needed to have CT scan on his chest to find the cause. Mom & Dad let us kids know on Wed, Aug 26th that Dad most likely had lung cancer with a metastese to the brain. Dad had a needle biopsy done on Fri, Aug 27th to determine type, but the results only showed atypical cells. I flew out to be with my family Mon, Aug 31. On Fri, Sept 4th, Dad's arm was numb when woke up and didn't get better throughout the day so he had another brain MRI that showed slight swelling of his brain lesion. He had a bronchoscopy and endobrachial ultrasound done on Tue, Sept 8th and we are awaiting the results. His doctors believe it is NSCLC due to the location. He also has an enlarged lymph node on the left side of his chest as well (same side as lung lesion). We should hopefully get the results from the latest biopsy today or tomorrow. Most likely he will have surgery to remove the small brain lesion follow by radiation. Then he will have chemo and radiation on the chest to treat the lung/lymph nodes.
His team of doctors is excellent and we all feel very confident in them and have much hope. We realize he has a long road ahead, but are praying and hoping for the best.[/img]
MS and NSCLC
in INTRODUCE YOURSELF!
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My husband, age 62 and a former smoker, was recently diagnosed with non-small cell adenocarcinoma of the lung. He has MS and a small metastic lesion was found on a routine MRI for MS. Because of neuropathy issues, he is starting on Alimta only without the "platinum" drugs. Not sure yet what they'll do about radiation, although he cannot have whole brain radiation because of MS. He had the brain tumor removed - they think they got all of it and can do radiation on just that spot. Does anyone have input on Alimta alone and lung cancer with MS? We're pretty scared right now but are trying to take it one day at a time. (I'm Kelli's mom.)