eric byrne

Prayer for the day, Oh Lord, may the American Public wake up one day soon to the adoption on the National Health Serice that I take for granted in the United Kingdom and in the whole of the European Economic Community also all the other developed world economies. Take away all those tiers of business practices that exist in making money out of peoples illnesses. Amen. My apologies to anyone who finds this even slightly political or irreligous.

Prayer for the day, Oh Lord,may the American Public one day soon, wake up and accept the adoption of a similar National Health Service that I take for granted not only in the United Kingdom,but throughout the whole of European Economic Community and in other developed world economies. Take away from the American public all those tiers of business practices that exist in making money out of peoples illnesses. Amen. My sincere apologies to any one who finds this even slightly political or irreligous.

Hi Alchemistria, Sorry I am a bit late in welcoming you here,typical of me I am afraid,recently retired,now finding I have less time to do things than when I was working,isnt that strange? Sorry to hear about your Dad,I do hope all his treatments are totally effective in his cancer.I just think you might like to read my reply in this forum to Thriving,it may bring you some cheer.Looking forward to getting to know you.Byee.

Hi Thriving, Sorry for the late reply,welcome to here,a place just bursting with lots of friendly caring sharing buddies,with lots of years clocked up surviving this disease in all its many forms and stages at dx. Like most people when they are at first dxd with lung cancer,the search for re-assurance begins,I did it, bought the tea-shirt.If I remember my local library stocked about a dozen books on cancers of all types,I read everyone of them.I then searched out a variety of sources to find these elusive long term survivors,newspapers,journals,information booklets from the many cancer organisations.Good news stories did exist,I would cut them out,and keep them to refer to if I got a bit down, which did happen from time to time. Actually,with the passage of time,my frayed nerves began to settle and I started to believe I may well be one of the lucky ones who can beat this,yes,I do have a future I told myself. Then one day something wonderful happened(this is not a fairy story by the way-although for me it really was)I bought the local evening paper,in it was a guy called Robert Lowe,he was trying to start up a lung cancer support group in a hospital in Glasgow,so far so good,but when it went on to describe Robert's history of lung cancer,I just could'nt believe it.Dxd with SCLC in 1993,given two months to live,hospitalised for his chemo,his family called out on three different occassions to his bedside,as his doctors did'nt think he would see the next day,Robert to his doctors astonishment goes on to make a full recovery.In 2007 Robert is now dxd with NSCLC,has chemo and a lobectomy,goes on to make a full recovery.Robert today is 72 years old,not just surviving but thriving,his energy and lust for life is just amazing,he is now the longest surviving duel lung cancer patients in the UK,and I am proud to have him as a friend,since I joined his lung cancer support group in Stobhill Hospital. And he still lives,happy ever after.

Good Afternoon Everyone, Thank you Judy for opening today,I dispaired a wee bit that nobody had the heart to pick up their writing quills and post in any more.This week has just been so sad,Annette leaving us so prematurely,the frustration,I feel anyway, of being unable to have intervened in some way to have prevented this,but what could anyone have done? .Stephanie too,disapointing feedback from her scans,I do hope the test for ALK is positive,that a new effective treatment regime can be used to treat this cancer. Would sharing some good news be inappropriate at this time?well I am going to share with you regardless.Every year the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.org holds a rememberance service in Glasgow and Liverpool,for all those persons who have been lost to lung cancer,people are asked to nominate a person they have lost to have their name on a star which will be hung on a hugh Christmas Tree,which will then be light up during the service.As usual,the service will be held in one of the most popular and prestigious buildings in Glasgow and in Scotland,the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Galleries.The service will be held on the 11th of December,they usually have some (minor) celeb to light up the tree,this year,they have decided to change this,I am so choked with pride just now,I have been asked if I would speak at this ceremony and then switch on the lights.I have a mixture of feelings at the moment-mainly shear panic-I have never spoke before at such a well attended and posh occassion.This lung cancer journey I have been on these last three years has just been one brilliant experience after another,thank you God,please may this continue for years to come,I am having so much fun. Judy, have a great time at the bird sanctuary,hope the hurricane passes you by and the dentist only needs to give your teeth a wee polish.

It was my priviledge and good fortune to have met Annette in person and keep her company for a few days during my visit to Richmond in July.She was so intelligent,witty and fun to be with,I have at least memories to last me all my lifetime of all the days I spent with her on that happy occassion,I also have many photographs as a record of the places we visited and of Annettes family,friends and neighbours that I can look back on. It was my wish to return to Richmond next year,I think its important we all have in our lives every single day,that for tomorrow there is something special to look forward to,that something for me is now lost,my special friend is gone.

Thanks for sharing the pics,Stephanie,the gardens look just beautiful,sorry I missed them when I was in Seattle.

Good Evening Everyone, Goodness me,7.30pm and no Sunday post to respond to?.Well Friday night at the Noreen Davis Hikers and Bikers was just brill,briefly,in the company of my sister Irene,to keep me in line,I enjoyed the food,music and dancing,I also won in the tombola, two ladies handbags would you believe,I also won a bottle of wine in the raffle,nothing in the bingo I am afraid.The handbags didnt match my eyes,so I passed them on to friends,my sister Irene claimed the wine.It was a real pleasure to be asked to accept a cheque to the value of over £7000,($10,500)on behalf of the category"Various Charities"the "boss" Claire also gave me a cheque for £250 to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.org as a token of recognition for the work I had done for her charity over the last two years.Work?,taking pics of so many lovely ladies,thats not work, thats my pleasure.Other cheques were given to CHAS,for terminally ill children suffering from cancer,Marie Curie,the hospice org in the UK,and last but not least Mary's Meals,for a primary School that we support in Malawi,that will feed every day for a year,more than 400 hundred children.Malawi has links with Scotland for over a century due to Dr David Livingstone.I also got my picture taken receiving the cheque by the local press,with all the other reciprocants,fame at last.I will share it with you when it is published. Saturday,back at Irenes home,to continue with her kitchen refurb,laid some stone tiles on her floor over the underfloor heating mat we laid,to complete next Saturday.Sunday,church,then relax with the Sunday Times and TV,total contentment,see you all tomorrow.Bye.

Hi Lovelife, Sorry for the delay in responding to your post on Friday.What stage was my cancer at dx?,well that was'nt mentioned by my onc,and to be honest I never give it much thought.It is perhaps a cultural thing?in the UK some of our practices and attitudes,differ from the USA,for example CT scans for a follow up after treatment,normal practice in the USA,every 3 months-I think,leading to at appointment time something known as "Scansiety"Our follow up consists of a 6 monthly check up and X-ray.I did last year, pay to have a CT done privately ,just for re-assurance,I took the report and a cd of the scan to my GP and onc,for interpretation,and was given quite a cold reaction from both.CT scans in their opinion was a money making racket that does more for the Docs pockets than patient care,and I should'nt have had this procedure done,it will make not the slightest difference to my survivor chances. Since the tumour removed from my upper right lung was just over a cubic centimetre in volume,and there was local spread to the nearest lymph node,my understanding of staging definitions,this would make me Stage 2A?.I think as JudyKW example shows,we should'nt really obsess over staging. Can I also mention, briefly, about my friend Robert Lowe,he was dxd with SCLC in 1993,given three months to live,hospitalised going through his chemo,family called out on three different occassions to his bedside,as his doctors did'nt think he would see the next day,well to his doctors astonishment,he made a full recovery,then on 2007,Robert was dxd with NSCLC,following a lobectomy and chemo,he made a full recovery,Robert is now 72 years old and is the UKs longest surviving duel LC patient,not just surviving but thriving,his attitude and energy for life is just amazing.You can read Roberts full story in the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.org website,mine is there too,but only fractionally as interesting as Roberts.

Hi Paulette, I am still here,just about to shower and get dressed for this evening out.Thanks for asking about Sally,not so good I am afraid,came home yesterday,she was lying out for the count on the carpet next to her chair in the living room,I just put a cover over her and left her.What follows-by tradition-is a search of all her little planks for money and alcohol, I did have some success,I found £95 in cash ($140)which I hope is the whole nest egg,unfortunately not so successful with the alcohol,she is still on planet Pluto today,she was for the first time going to accompany me at tonights dinner,well thats now out of the question. I did pm Annette recently,hope she dosnt mind me mentioning, she is putting on a brave face and getting on with life.Thank goodness she has a job the keeps her so engaged,I just wish she lived round the corner and we could share some time to-gether.I do hope it wont be long until she bounces back here and of course to her life generally.

H i Judy, I really admire your courage to maintain friendships on a face-to-face regular basis with people who are at such advanced stages of lung cancer.Its one thing to manage such relationships via social forums or by phone,quite another in your regard.I do hope that a little bit of selfishness towards yourself can be retained if you think its all getting on top of you,and at least take some time out. You dont have to have any answers for your friends,they know that, so stop feeling you are failing them in any way,just being there is enough.

Good Afternoon Everyone, Yes here I am again,brief lull in my busy schedule LOL.JudyMI,I am sorry there are so few people posting in daily,you are fighting with a couple of others to keep the flag flying,I so admire your and others efforts,it would be such a shame,if the stalwarts here stopped posting.Please for whatever reason if our usual friends are a bit tardy in posting,do not feel your posts are uninteresting,on the contrary,I so enjoy reading of your daily excapades,yesterdays post is a perfect example.I really must put in a bit more effort in posting,subject you to more frequent portions of my getting about life. Now where I am?Friday?,did I tell you about last Friday,at the bowling club dinner,one of my little problems with having one or two amber nectars,kinda makes me lose a wee bit of my inhibitions(no dont be silly nothing sexual)no I ended up on the stage singing.Anyway it seems I have volunteered Bill and I as the cabaret at their next "Do" which just happens to be in November sometime,Bill plays keyboard,blooming heck,I am getting the next plane to the USA and staying there for the next few weeks. Well I set off early yesterday to take the A9 up to Carrbridge,its a journey of approx 140 miles,I left Airdrie in bright sunshine and blue skies,bit of frost on my car-winters coming.By the time I arrived in Carrbridge,I had experienced every type of weather we get in Scotland including snow at the Drumochter Pass in the Cairngorms National Park.I wish you could have been in my passenger seat for this journey,how can I describe the scenery adequately to you?it was just magnificent,the colours of the autumn trees,snow capped mountains,every country I have visited I have been witness to spectacular scenery,each in their own special way,National Glacier Park for example,this Scottish scenery dos'nt have the scale of the peaks of Glacier Park,but the colours and the panorama throughout the entire journey from Airdrie was awsome,I am so priviledged to live here,although we do get more than our fair share of rain,I suppose thats one of the reasons Scotland looks so good. The hotel the quiz was held in was really old fashioned but really comfortable and homely,nice big log fire in the lounge,I could have sat there for days,the food was just brill,you wont believe the bill for the overnight stay -£30 ($45)the amazing thing was in the morning I ordered a huge breakfast of bacon,eggs sausage etc,when I asked for the bill,mein host replies-oh that was included in the cost of your room,can you believe it?,its cheaper to stay here than my home LOL.The quiz had the hotel packed out the door,the MC bagan the evening by saying-"We have Eric with us to-night-Eric will you come up and tell us all about being a Lung Cancer survivor and Advocate for Roy Castle".Blooming heck I was totally surprised,in fact they had to wrest the mic from my hands,as I do go on a bit when I get started,particularly when I had,had a couple of wee drinkies in me,think I did OK,everyone seemed to appreciate what I said,particularly about the stigma of smoking and lung cancer.No my team did'nt win the quiz but we did put up a good show,the team that won had a 3 times player on the TV quiz here called eggheads in it.I did win though 4 cans of Tennents Lager in the raffle. Better get moving -Hikers and Bikers Gala Dinner to-night,approx five hundred women in attendance and only a couple of guys,isnt life just wonderful?see you tomorrow,have a great weekend everyone,Bye.

Hi Lovelife, Welcome,Its a pleasure to meet you,I am really sorry for the reason you are here.A cancer dx does overwhelm everyone concerned,its takes time to adjust.It is possible that the brain tumour removed from your mother does link in with the tumour found in her lung.Lung cancer is measured by four different stages,with a sub-division in each of A and B.At this moment in time you do not have a clear picture,where your Mum is on staging.Communication with her Dr/Oncologist really is the first port of call,it is also advisable whenever your Mum has an appointment with her medical team,someone accompanies her,to assist in listening to whats being said,and perhaps responding to issues that are raised,for further clarification. Take one day at a time,lung cancer is not the death sentence it used to be,with regard to staging,there are many long term survivors here,regardless of the stage they were dxd with.I wish your Mum every success with her treatments as they progress,I had chemotherapy and surgery to remove the upper portion of my right lung,that was three years ago.Contrary to all my fears,I had no side effects to the chemo,the surgery though a bit uncomfortable,was not a painful ordeal, nor did it leave me a breathless invalid,I did return to work soon after and I have been living the normal happy life I enjoyed prior to my dx.

Hi Paulette, Congratulations,nothing like a good news story to cheer me up,keep 'em coming.

Good Afternoon Everyone, First-Welcome home JudyKW,you were so missed,I hope you can forgive me for having a wee smile to myself at your list of pills your are currently taking,just thinking of you rattling as you walk about.I know its not funny, the image of you palming pills in front of the nurse was just hilarious.Hope you chuck the lot out of your life soon. Well today is a very special day for me,no its not because its my favourite singers birthday the one and only Cliff Richard,no its three years to the very day I was dxd with lung cancer.I would like to give a great big raspberry to my lung nurse and my GP who told me I would only survive two years max,well in the words of Kasey-yeah right.I have an ambition to send a fifth year anniversary card to my GP in 2013,since he also told me at the time,"I once had a patient who survived five years with lung cancer-what a character-but you are not him". Well got beat at the bowling last night,but the good news it was only by one point.Tonight is the Bowling Club Presentation Dinner,its a super night,good food, live band and dancing,I will it seems have Sally with me for a change,well its 3.45pm just now,anything can still happen.Tomorrow night,I am going to meet the Lee Morgan Band for a recital night,bring your guitar they requested,well got to get the duster out,remove the cobwebs,I have'nt been playing it for ages. Gosh is my diary full these next weeks?,did I tell you I have been invited to talk to approx forty lung nurses at Victoria Hospital in Kircaldy on the 2nd of November?,I am meeting up with Allan at the Roy Castle office's in Glasgow on Tuesday to discuss what to cover in my talk.Next week,Monday,gyming and swimming,Tuesday,yoga,swimming and bowling,Wed Quiz night in Carrbridge in the Scottish Highlands-all proceeds to lung cancer,Thursday gyming and bowling,finally Friday Noreen Davis Hikers and Bikers Presentation Night,dinner dance and the presentation of cheques to various charities- total £30,000+.I am the offical photographer,last year I forgot to put a SD card in my camera,only discovered when I got there,luckily I was able to borrow one from one of the guests,best not do that again.So please forgive if I have a low profile next week,I will keep up with your posts though. Better go,think I have bored you all enough,have a great weekend everyone Bye.

Ooops Sorry, deceased not deseased,write out 100 times....

Good Afternoon Everyone, One lurker returns,sorry about my lack of posts,must do better,I am still a bit miffed at losing yesterdays post it was so full of interesting topics,wit,shear dead brilliant wordsmanship,oh no it was’nt,it was full of all my usual meanderings of absolutely little interest,you don’t believe me ? OK here is more,you deserve whats coming. First,where the heck has everyone gone?come on guys, expedite the writing digits.Gyming and swimming yesterday,yoga-ing (is that a word?)and swimming today,do you know,swimming lengths up until today I have managed tops, 11,consecutively,guess what? this morning I managed 34,six packs on the horizon methinks and 35Ilbs gone. We had invited Jennifer and Chris over for dinner yesterday,however she arrives alone,they had a falling out,and Chris has gone in the huff,glad I am an a adult now and don’t do such things,anyway we had a great time to-gether.Indoor bowling tonight,I played my best game yet Thursday last,but our team still were beaten,maybe,just maybe,to-night will be different. Was’nt it nice to see El Presidente appearing yesterday?,Hi KatieB,good to see you,still as busy as ever,I would really loved to join in with the Lifeline Partner Prog,but I suppose its much more difficult geographically me being at the other side of the pond?. Hi JudyMI,I can appreciate your problems running a large house.my last house was such a type,though I guess not as large as the one you describe,the heating and maintenance costs plus just keeping the garden tidy was exhausting,no I am much happier in my wee 3 bedroom semi with small front garden,and large patio at the rear,which requires little attention work wise,mind you I have still yet to plant out approx 30m of raised planters,leave that now to next year,I was in the USA this year at planting time,least thats my excuse. Hi Stephanie,I thought your funeral service was rather strange,its normal practice here,even if the deseased was unknown to the priest/minister,they would consult with the family and friends to build up enough infro to provide a decent reflection of the life.Seems to me,another lazy one who could do with a wake up call. Bye for now,I will drop by later after the bowling,particularly if my team manage to win.

Good Afternoon Everyone, A lurker returns,sorry about my lack of posting,I have been reading some days posts,I really must put in a bit more effort.I was at church this morning,I park my car in an adjacent supermarket's carpark,however when I returned to it,the council have started digging up the road outside on a roundabout,so the entire area has become a log jamb,nothing else for it,600 cars in the supermarket all in a queue to leave,where traffic lights are only allowing the passage of a few at a time,I have abonded my car and walked home,hopefully I can return later and pick it up when things are less busy.I am going out tonight to Drumchapel,a small group of us at church have been invited to a service there and then a evening meal in the Minister's home,I really could'nt get out of it,anyway I never fail to enjoy myself whereever I go. My wee sister Irene has some water damage to her kitchen recently she has settled with her insurance company and is now in the process of a major kitchen refit,so yesterday it was on with the working togs and tools to wotk with Pat her husband to relay the kitchen floor.Pat is also putting a system of underfloor heating on top of the timber floor deck and then laying stone floor tiles on top,seems my weekends are going to be busy for a while,I enjoy doing construction work so all is well. Still gyming,swimmin anf yoga-ing, is that a word?.I was at the Stobhill Lung Cancer support Group last Wed,I brought along my laptop to give a short presentation of my USA holiday(as requested by the group last month)however one member objected to Robert about non lung cancer talk within the group and people bringing in computers,which is not what he expects by his attendance,well I just shut the laptops lid,and thought,what a maroon,well I am not going to share with him,perhaps an other occassion may be more appropriate.I dont really see what he was complaining about we had two guest speakers,a nutritionist and a clinical trial nurse from the Beatson,both of whom were excellent. Oh lots of adventures this week,my two previous admin assistants,Liz and Rhoda,have booked a table for lunch on Thursday in the colleges training restaurant,always excellent food and service,dished up by the students,supervised by their lecturers.Friday night,Bowling Club dinner,Bill,his wife May,Sally and I along with other friends, should be a brill night out.Saturday,I have been invited out to meet up with the Morgan Lee Band,for a musical recital thingy,dont really know what its about,but they told me to bring my guitar.I will need to get some practice in its been a while since I have played it. Looking further forward,Lung Cancer Quiz night in the Highlands of Scotland (Carrbridge)19th Oct and then Friday 21st its Hikers and Bikers Presentation of Cheques Dinner,oh I cannot wait,being in the company of all these lovely women. Sorry got to go,I have done it again I have typed this directly rather than copy and paste from word-here goes.Bye

Hi Bud, Thanks for this post,I have just read his obit,in the London Times,he was born in Glasgow it describes, moved to Edinburgh and brought up in abject poverty his father left the family home and was never seen again.Remarkably, I have never heard of him until today?

Hi, Welcome from me too,I really am sorry to read about your friends circumstances,I do hope Friday's scan results bring some good news.Your friend is lucky in having you in their corner,it is a hard journey,lung cancer was never for wimps.I have a friend Robert Lowe who was dxd with small cell lung cancer in 1993,he was given by his oncologist just two months to live,following his treatment,he went on to make a full recovery,to the amazement of his medical team.In 2007 Robert was then dxd with non-small cell lung cancer,had some treatment and again has made a full recovery.Robert is 72 now,full of life and fun,in fact I will be meeting him to-morrow at the Stobhill Hospital Lung Cancer Support Group meeting.I have recently returned from the USA following a seven week trip,to-morrow I am going to (at the members request)bore the pants off everyone,by telling them all about my trip and show off the pics I have taken.Wonder if they will be able to sit still for approx 10 hours ?LOL. I do wish you and your friend all the very best on this journey,I do think keeping a positive attitude can make a difference,enjoy each day that you can share to-gether.

Good Evening Everyone, Well temps now back to normal,cloudy blustery Autumn day.I had a very enjoyable weekend,Saturday,met up with my young friend,wet miserable day we decided not to go for a trip in the countryside,settled instead for a lovely meal in my favourite Italian restaurant in Glasgow La Vita,enjoyed a pleasant afternoon in her company. Sunday,my younger brother Stewart invited Sally and I to dinner,another nice day,Stewart had been going through a difficult time recently,has was going through tests, suspected of having prostate cancer,but finally on Friday good news,he is clear,but still to have surgery to have a blockage in his waterworks cleared.His son also Stewart went to the doctors during the week,feeling unwell,just been dxd with type 1 diabetes,now getting used to the conscequences,injecting himself 4 times daily and watching his diet.Its just a shame he is only in his early twenties,no history of diabetes in either families. hi Judy KW,I have been following the Amanda Knox appeal,unfortunately I dont think I followed the original trial a few years ago,or I have just forgotten the details,I am totally confused regarding guilt or innocence,I just dont know.Seems there was some serious problems with her defence in that she changed her story so many times,well the judge will deliver a verdict tonight,Amanda's legal team are ready for a further appeal to a higher court if the verdict is unfavourable.otherwise she will be making her way home to America to-morrow. Must dash, Uni challenge has just started,see you later.Bye.

Hi Judy, I do love your insightfulness (is that a word?)its so disarming to have a friend who can see right through you,gosh I hope you are not sitting next to --- on judgement day.Actually chance would be a great thing,think as well as losing approx 35Ibs,think I would need to lose 20 years with surgery and perhaps a few gallons of botox.This young person is so nice,she should be keeping company with someone more appropriate with her age,but as long as she enjoys my company,well can you blame me wanting to share hers?.

Hi Bud, Good to see you,you sneaked one in under my nose did'nt you?Glad to hear of a generous employer for a change,enjoy the cheque,hope the taxman dos'nt gobble up too much of it.

Good Afternoon from Balmly UK, Enjoying the current heatwave,temps 10 degrees-15 degrees C,above the norm at this time of the year and its to continue into next week,its likely these days are going to be on record as the hottest days of summer this year,at the end of September?who said global warming isnt true? Yesterday was oustanding,yoga and swimming in the morning,cut the grass early pm and did the borders,gardens looking lovely,then to my favourite bit,lounger out the garage,laid out in the patio,book in one hand (Keith Richards autobiography)and a bottle of Peroni in the other,lay there until 6.20pm when the sun disapeared behind my neighbours roof,dinner,than Chelsea Vs Valencia in the European Cup,could anyone ask for more? Gyming and swimming this morning,online pm,evening its bowling night,think I will be able to squeese in a couple more hours on the patio also,add to my sun tan,oh isnt life hard.Oh whisper it, my little friend of the opposite persuasion,phoned me yesterday,wants to meet up with me on Saturday,we have been out to-gether a few times,drives in the countryside and a meal,its all very innocent-honest-(she is approx 20 years my junior)we just enjoy each others company,we never run out of things to say.Working at adding music to my iPod,for Saturdays day out.Thinking about Largs or Loch Lomond. Ginnie,congrats getting into the Flight C championship,I wish you every success,Michael Douglas was being interviewed on TV here last night,he is in Scotland playing in a pro-am tournment visiting three of the best golf courses here,he is thoroughly enjoying himself,boy has he picked the weather?.I do love art too,did you read in the news today about a portrait of a young woman thats being investigated,it was last sold for $22,000 and attributed to a German painter,seems its suspected now to have been painted by Leonardo Da Vinci and is likely to be worth $100,000,000. Hi Annette,good to see you,goodness you are a busy little bee,I think I counted 5 projects ongoing at work-busy is one thing,just dont be over doing things,what about passing some of your load onto others?.I do hope you are feeling better,please pm me anytime you feel like a bleather. Got to go,my lounger is calling me,hi Judies,Dianne,Randy and Lillian hope you are all having a great day.Bye.

Good Evening Everyone, Beautiful sunny blue skies today,apparently over the next couple of days the UK is going to be unseasonably warm due to winds coming up to us through France,so its sun tan lotion for me and shorts for a relax out back,that is after my yoga and swim tomorrow,mind you I cannot remember if they said it would remain dry and sunny to boot?. At Edinburgh today,the SIGN committee will comprise of approx 20 persons,though there were some absentees,with apologies some without?.Each member gave a short introduction,so I am in the company of oncologists,surgeons, a pharmicist and a psycologist plus a couple of others who are acting as reporters. I was a bit concerned about my role in supporting the committee as a laymen with regard to medical background,however in one of the mornings presentations about the lung cancer survivors input,has left me feeling more confident in having an active and worthwhile role to play. The committee are being asked to identify 15-30 questions relating to lung cancer,in the areas of diagnosis and types of treatments they wish researchers to explore for evidence of new research data that may impinge of their report.Everything the committee put into the report must be substantiated by solid data,no gut feelings allowed.Now where will I find a medical dictionary,I was so out of depth during this period,although most interesting to listen to,how about terms like Stereotatic,Radical and Intensively modulated radiotherapy?or prophylatic cranial irradiation,the list goes on,what fun,looking forward to the next meeting in early November.There will be opertunities for me to contribute in the future,although I was asked for my opinion what areas the report should include,so I replied,screening,targeted therapies,clinical trials,and training of health professionals in interpersonal skills(reference to my experience of receiving unsolicited remarks about my 2 years left lifespan). Hi JudyMI,re-birds flying into your windows,I had this problem as well with my porch ,that is until I bought some beautiful butterfly translucent plastic transfers I stuck onto the glass panels randomly (a challenge to your artistic abilities) and guess what, no more kamikase? birds. Bye all.