eric byrne

Good Evening Everyone, Phew,Scotland continues with this wonderful spell of weather ,sunny blue skies in the 80's,that really hot for us Scots LOL. Doing a bit of house hunting this week,looking for a flat for Sally,quite a few specs to meet,to suit her needs,since she dos'nt drive and has restricted mobility,found one on Wednesday,my daughter,Chris her boyfriend went to view it,Sally was indisposed,despite the fact she was aware of the arrangement.The flat was ground flooor,several shops just yards away,bus stop and Drumgelloch Railway station,just a few minutes walk away,regular trains to all the local stations including to Edinburgh and Glasgow.The flat was just lovely,just ready to move in to fully fitted kitchen including all the white goods,two bedrooms,living room bathroom,priced at £65,000,early entry scheme?,gave you a £5000 discount,well I put in a offer the following morning,through my solicitor,and was told later in the day my offer was accepted.I just cannot figure out why this flat was being sold at this price?,my local knowledge of the housing market would have put this flat in the £90 - £100K region?. I am a bit jealous Sally is getting it,do'nt think I am going to find an equivalent.I might have a wee problem getting her into the flat,since she wants us to continue together on her terms,ie carry on drinking excessively,its just not on,I have put up with this since 1991.We applied on behalf of Sally for a disability allowance,well we were successful,she now has a good income to make it on her own,plus what the lawyers will ask me to contribute towards her living expenses.Entry date for the flat 14th Aug,cannot believe everything has gone so smoothly.Next priority,is to sell my home,then look for a flat,might stay in Airdrie,but being a Glaswegian,it does draw me a bit like a magnet,however,Glasgow can be pretty expensive,for home in the best areas,decisions,decisions.I feel like a teenager again setting out on a new adventure. Spent the day,pressure washing my drive and rear patio,what a difference,the yorkstone has come up a treat,have'nt seen it so clean since it was laid a few years ago,also washed all my external plastic,windows ,doors and roof linings, I will have this place sparking for selling day.Gosh I have been going on a bit,sorry if I been a bit more boring than usual folks,its just all whats on my mind currently.Hope you are all enjoying this wonderful summer weekend,bye for now.

Donna, I am so saddened to hear your news,this is so unfair, after all you both have been through and still going through.You are such a stalwart here over the years giving me and so many others such support and encouragement in our times of difficulty,just know that you and your family are in my prayers and thoughts throughout these coming days.God Bless.

Good Evening Everyone, Greetings from Bonnie Scotland we are at last enjoying the most fantastic weather,beautiful blue skies and temps high seventies,set to last for some days yet,I am becoming as brown as a berry.Wimbledon final on Sunday the weather was so good,I decided to record it and play it back in the evening,when the sun had gone down.I cut the lawn its looking so lush green just now,almost as good as a outdoor bowling green,thereafter read the London Sunday Times,do some su doki,then lie out in my lounger working on my sun tan. I kept the TV off all day to avoid any possibilty of accidently hearing the finals result,so about 7pm,successful in not hearing the score,I decided to check my facebook posts,my nephews birthday was last week so I had sent him birthday greetings,he responded to thank me,adding was'nt it great to see Andy winning Wimbeldon,Grrrr, oh the best laid schemes O' mice and men.I dont know if you knew that Andy in the nineties was at the school where a deranged gunman burst into the primary school in Dunblane and massacred many of the children and teachers,Andy survived by hiding under the headmasters desk.Today Andy has given his hometown something to cheer about.I thoroughly enjoyed watching Andy winning at last after a wait of 77 years to see a Briton win Wimbledon,all the more sweeter that he was a Scot,yeah. Dont know if I have shared this with you,but my daughter Jennifer has recently become officially Miss Byrne,she passed here post grad cert in teaching English in the secondary school sector,I think what Americans call High School?.She starts at Lochend Sec School in Glasgow.She has met with the school Head and Head of English,she is quite impressed and looking forward to starting in mid August,I think she will make a super teacher of English. Think I mentioned here that I was a steward for a Ladies lung cancer charity walk through Glasgow recently,I did on that occassion,buy some raffle tickets,well I just received the news that I have won one of the prizes,afternoon tea for two at Hotel Du Vin at one Devonshire Gardens,this place just happens to be one of the best restaurants in Scotland,its owned by one of the UKs celebrity chefs,Gordon Ramsey or Jamie Oliver or someone of the ilk,so will have to be best bib and tucker,who will I take with me?. My great nephew Max really enjoyed his week with me a my churches kids holiday club,Max celebrated his seventh birthday on Sunday the seventh,his little brother Kane celebrated his first birthday on the sixth,so my little sister arranged a party for them on Saturday,it was super fun,we had a marvellous barbie,the kids and I had a super fight with water guns,I did get a good soaking,but I quickly dried with the suns warmth. I would be just great if the LCSC buddies could arrange a visit to Scotland,I would love to show you around,August is the best month to visit,the Edinburgh Festival is in full swing,tickets for the Edinburgh Tattoo are a must,its a super spectacle. Janet I do appreciate the frustration of spending time composing a post here to press the submit button to have it vanish,should really type this out in a word document then copy and paste here,but I have forgotten again.Goodnight everyone,bye.

Good Morning Truke, Welcome to LCSC and greetings from Bonnie Scotland.Its just gone 6.20am here I just got up for a wee trip to the bathroom,coulnd'nt resist a wee check in here to see whats happening,before returning under the blankets. Congratulations in getting off to a early start for a look see for cancer cells,most people unfortunately are dxd beyond the curative stage.Stage 1A is certainly curative. Best wishes for your treatment plan after all the preliminary tests are completed,despite all my worries when I was at your stage on my cancer journey nearly five years ago,I sailed through my neo adjuvant chemo and surgery to remove the upper portion of my right lung,popularly known as a upper right lobectomy,yes you do become a kind of geek learning all the associated lung cancer medical terms,I wont bore you with any more at the moment. I do detect a wry sense of humour in your post and a positive and optomistic attitude to your journey into a new adventure with lung cancer,I think that is so important and one to maintain. I am off,back to bed,great to meet a new friend,the other buddies will be along shortly to welcome you,what a great bunch of friends they are too,bye for now.

Good Evening Everyone, I do enjoy summer weather,fortunately I think,we dont get temperatures of over 100 degrees,sixties/seventies are norm, if we hit the eighties in the UK,it makes the headlines.I did visit Malta and Crete,where the temps were over 100 daily,enjoyable for a fortnights holiday,but a relief going home,I dont know how anyone can work in these temps?. Nursing a real stinker of a cold,taking lemsips,not only that I have developed a eye infection,my upper eyelid is tender to touch,and my eye feels like I have a piece of grit in it,I got drops from the pharmacy,who advised me to visit my Doc,if the infection has'nt cleared up in a couple of days. I enjoyed my walk around Glasgow on Friday evening,I was a stewart on the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation Dreamwalk along with approx 300 women,which was a bit down on the 500 we had last year?,seems there are so many charity walks now,the novelty factor may be wearing thin?.I did take loads of pics and posted them into facebook. Front of house duty last night,another dance school,think thats the last one,dont think I will get much theatre work in July and August.I am on duty for the churches summer school for the kids each morning next week,I have so much fun playing games with the children,well I would,still being a big kid myself.I will pick up in great nephew Max,I brought him along last summer and he really enjoyed himself.Downside, I will miss my Gym buddies next week,particularly,going out for lunch with them to Wotherspoons on Thursday and Friday. Outdoor lawn bowling to-morrow night,hope the rain stays away.Wednesday afternoon pick up Sheila and off to the lung cancer support group meeting,we have moved our digs,from the boardroom in Stobhill Hospital to the Marie Curie Hospice,which is in the Stobhills grounds,so not far to travel.Its a newly built hospice,really beautiful,everyone of the staff treat us so well,laying on tea,coffee and biccies,or cookies as you would say. Well thats it,my week ahead,the order book fairly full,if the weather holds,I might grab some afternoon sitting out back,reading and doing my su doki.Gosh I love summer. Goodnight everyone,enjoy the rest of today,bye.

Good Morning Everyone, Well it is here in Bonnie Scotland,almost one am to be precise,I did think of adding to one of the two Tuesday strings,no, we will go along with BST (British Summer Time). I have been so busy recently,usual stuff mostly,not long home front my front of house duties,its dance season,all the local dance clubs have been showcasing their kids in stage performances,who would believe there are so many dance schools in my neck of the woods?,I was also covering these last Saturday and Sunday,boy there's only so much dancing I can bear,think Saturday next is my last dance show. Monday all day I attended the SIGN group meeting in Glasgow,we have produced a draft report on The Management of Patients with Lung Cancer,this report has been circulated for peer review,having been sent to many prominent consultants and other health professionals in the Lung Cancer field including some Multi-National Drug Companies.The meeting was to collate the peer review returns and discuss the validity of these comments in possibly reshaping our draft version,this process of course could'nt be completed in our alloted day,so this work will continue for some time yet,SIGN hope to have the project complete and published by October.I have been asked to work on the developement of a version of this report aimed at lung cancer patients,to help ensure the issues included are comprehensive,relevant and written in plain language that a layperson can understand,I do feel so privileged in being involved in such a worthwhile project. Coming up this week,well gymming,swimming and yoga-ing of course,I have a funeral on Thursday,my BIL's mother died last week,so its church service,off to the burial,then lunch in the Eagle Lodge in Bishopbriggs.Friday,its Eric and all the lovely ladies again,its the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation Dream Walk through Glasgow,hundreds of women will walk a circular course from the Winter Gardens at Glasgow Green along the south bank of the River Clyde,crossing over at the Squinty Bridge to the north bank and back to Glasgow Green.I along with some other male friends are acting as stewards,to ensure the ladies are not bothered with passing riff raff or drunks,we also have a good police escort,closing off the traffic to allow us to cross at road junctions safely,the walk raises thousands of pounds for lung cancer.I will of course be taking my camera to record the event,so stand by to be bored if I post these into the members photo album. Thank you all for your sympathetic and supporting comments regarding my domestic situation,at my sister Dots suggestion,I completed application forms for rented accommodation in her area in Glasgow,Dot just happens to be a long term member of the housing committee there,she did of course make my application known to the committee to ensure there would be no conflict of interests.My priority however is trying to get Sally's housing needs resolved,methinks this whole process is going to take some time,but I will get there one step at a time. Time for bed,goodnight everyone,bye.

Good Evening Everyone, Sorry to have been MIA of late,think Lillian said it well,about being too busy to post too tired to do so when time becomes available.I have been following the posts most days,so I am keeping up with you all. These last days,the weather in Scotland has been super,so if I am not gymming,swimming and yoga-ing,working at my front of house job,I have been relaxing in my back yard,reading or doing my su doku,which I have become a bit of a fanatic about,working my way up through the different levels of difficulty,now struggling with fiendish and super fiendish levels in the London Times.Sitting in my chair in the sun,with only my shorts on,has left my front beetroot red,whereas my back is still lily white,I do look a bit rediculous in my trunks at my clubs swimming pool,subject to funny comments from my friends,think I will now have to lie face down in the sun now to get an even balance of beetroot.Problem is, this is Scotland,the rain has returned for the next few days it seems. I did my charity walk around Millport a week last Saturday,with all those lovely girls,the sun shone at the outset,so I got lots of pics of everyone arriving and setting off in our coaches,however,by the the time we stated to walk around the Isle the clouds gathered and it got cold,then finally started to rain.Funny thing happened to me,two years ago,I was given some freebies from Dr Jack of cancergrace at the end of my walk around Lincoln Park in Seattle,one of the gifts was a wee plastic bag,which I considered contained a Plastic Mac,I kept this in my haversack with me ever since,so when the rain started,I opened my plastic bag,only to reveal,a plastic shopping bag,this brought howls of laughter from my friends.At the end of our 11 mile walk,the sun decided to re-show itself,I sometimes think God plays little tricks on me. Oh a wee bit of Peyton Place to share with you,some of you longer term readers of my previous posts will be aware of my wife's little problem with alcohol,well it has continued to the point I have decided to separate from her,after forty years of marriage the last twenty years coping with her alcoholism, all the support she has received from myself,family, friends employers,not forgetting councilling,rehab etc,etc,she has stubbornly refused to change her habits.So my life is in a bit of flux just now,I has'nt quite reached the lawyer stage yet,I am thinking about finding new separate homes for both of us,rent or buy ??,we have social housing in the UK,I am not sure if you have such a thing in the USA?,basically the Local Councils provide rented accommodation for families within their districts at an affordable rent,much below private rentals.My initial thoughts were to have Sally becoming a tenant in a sheltered home,that is,a type provided for people who have some difficulty looking after themselves,but not serious enough to merit placing in a care or nursing home.They have a communal emphasis,recreation rooms,where tenants came meet socially,play cards or board games and the like,watch TV.There are full time staff who are caretakers for the tenants,who can support them,with shopping,money,personal,or health problems etc.So I completed the application forms for Sally,with her full awareness and permission,she even signed the forms much to my relief.We did get some days afterwards,a health visitor to discuss Sally's application,downside was,despite her severe mobility problems and alcoholism,she did'nt have enough points to qualify for not just a sheltered house,but any council house.Big problem is we are owner occupiers and have savings.So back to the drawing board,private renting ,or buying?,my search continues.My daughter is giving us both great support to see us through these difficult times,I do believe my decision to separate is the correct one. Getting tired,so I bid you all goodnight,enjoy the rest of Tuesday everyone.

Hi Don, A warm welcome to LCSC,what kept you?glad to have you visit,hope you can stay around and share some banter.Now that your are here,why dont you check out (and contribute to) the Just For Fun forum,just folks sharing the time of day of whats going on in their backyard.Also check out the Members Photo Album,I have posted over a couple of years,some of my pics of Bonnie Scotland and my trips to the USA.Just gone 2.30am here in Airdrie,I best get some shut eye as I start work at 9.00am tomorrow in Motherwell Theatre.Bye for now.

Good Evening Everyone, Special thanks to Lillian for an excellent reflection on Just for Fun,it is rather sad that it is going through some lean times,it is difficult to maintain a desire to continue posting,when your posts remain without reply,posting is so much easier when you have a stimulus of responding to other postees,and yet someone has to make the initial effort.However looking on the bright side,I notice Just for Fun does have well over 400 loyal readers to every post,surely thats audience enough for any postee,so my reluctant friends who are not active in posting and are content to read the posts instead,why not join in?.Reasons/excuses? well I would,but I really dont have anything to share with you,my life is rather ordinary,nothing really exciting happening to me at the moment etc,nonsense,I live in Scotland,I enjoy so many aspects of Scottish life,I want to share them with you (see my pics in the members photo album) but I tell you what,I just love the pleasure in having a friend at the other side of the pond who can share with me their daily experiences,its so exotic (to me anyway),to read from someone living in some part of the USA, eg,Florida,Maryland,California,Utah,Virginia,Texas and New York,whats that you are saying?,I did'nt mention your particular neck of the wood?well apologies,so why dont you write in and tell me something about where you live,promise I will reply. Off my soapbox now,what have been getting up to?,oh its so boring,not interesting at all,but I have been continuing with my daily,gymming,swimming and yoga-ing,my diet is slowing taking effect,I have lost 14lbs over these last few weeks,I now tip the scales ( fully dressed) at 15 st,OK I know you dont do that in the USA, so 15 x 14 = 210lbs,all right stop laughing I am still working at it. I celebrated my 64th birthday last week,my daughter and her boyfriend gave me a lovely present,well it was the first present I have unwrapped and I still did'nt know what is was?,the box said mini-computer,I removed said prezzie from its box,the object was like a large USB,with a wire and plug attached,well Chris and Jennifer came to my house on Saturday to install it into my TV,its wonderful,its transformed my TV viewing no end,no more downloading American TV series,it got them all there,even right up to date ones,for Game of Thrones,Orphan Black,Da Vinci's Demons,Borgias and Downton Abbey oops that one of ours. Still doing my front of house,enjoying the shows,I have been invited to Anniesland College for lunch in the training restaurant on Thursday,all the usual suspects will be there,I love catching up in all the work gossip,the Scottish Government is reducing the number of FE colleges in Scotland by two thirds,by mergers,so Anniesland is merging Cardonald and my former college Langside,its not really about improving educational standards more about saving money,ie one principal instead of three etc all the way down the line,glad I am now retired,seems there will be several redundancies. Its almost time for my charity walk around Millport with the Noreen Davis Hikers and Bikers,its on Sat 1st June,Eric, virtually the lone male with 300+ lovely ladies,(have I died and gone to heaven?) I am the mascot and official photographer,its a great day out and raises around £30,000 ($45,000).My photographs are shown at the Cheque Presentation Gala Night in October,everyone is in fancy dress,each bus has a different theme,my bus, costumes to be in black and silver,including headwear?. Got to go,enjoy the rest of Monday everyone,bye.

Hey I have just noticed I have posted 1314 times,an auspicious date for Scots,it was in that year Sir Robert the Bruce beat the English in the Battle of Bannockburn,giving Scotland its Independance.Next year 2014,the 700th Anniversary,we Scots go to the Polls to vote in a Referendum to accept or not Scotland to become an Independent Nation again.

Hi Craig, Welcome to LCSC,its a pleasure to meet you,looking forward in getting to know you,I have'nt yet got round to reading your link,but I will.Sorry to hear of your dx,I too was dxd at age sixty with NSCLC,although I have to admit my cancer was probably brought on by my smoking small cigars for 30 plus years,I never really appreciated the risk I was taking,well it said on the packet ,mild cigars,I also read somewhere that cigar and pipe smokers had a low risk in getting lung cancer,yeah right.I always consider it such an injustice that non-smokers can be affected by lung cancer,although no one, smoker or not, deserves a lung cancer dx. I do hope you will hang around for a while,we have a Just for Fun forum where contributers can share the everyday goings on in their world,I just love reading the posts of other buddies here.I also contribute to posting photos into the Members Photo Album forum,I am a keen amateur photographer,and have sent in many blocks of my pics of the USA,and indeed of my beautiful home Bonnie Scotland,so bye for now,hope to hear from you again soon.

Hi Alyssa, Welcome to LCSC,I am really sorry to hear of your Mums situation,I arrived here some 4 years ago at a time when I was feeling so low following my NSCLC dx,the buddies here offered me such a lovely welcome and support ,it made such a positive impact on me on my road to recovery,that I promised to myself,I will repay their generosity,by making such a welcome to any subsequent "newbie" that posts in here.Sadly many of the welcoming friends who replied to my first post are no longer with us,this dreadful disease took them so prematurely from us,when we still so needed their presence here. Given what you had written, it would have been much easier for me to avoid replying,better to wait for some of the other buddies to reply first.However,I feel I should share with my thoughts on your post regardless,one of the first buddies to reply to my first post was my dear friend Ned,who lived in Hawaii,he said the one thing everyone needs here Eric is hope,please always remember that.I had a friend who against impossible odds, was given only two months to live following his dx of SCLC and later of NSCLC,he managed to survive for 20 years,his story is well documented here,he became the UKs longest survivor of a Duel LC diagnosis.In my own case,both my GP and lung nurse told me I had only 2 years to live maximum,well this October sees my 5th year of survivorship,I have since discovered so many other long term survivors that have bucked the expirey dater given to them by medical professionals. I am not a doctor and I am least qualified to comment on your Mothers prognosis,I would say however,please dont give up hope for her,take the time to enjoy her company today,let tomorrow take care of itself.A saying that helped me in my most difficult days was, "Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair,it gives you something to do,but dos'nt get you anywhere". Please pass on to your Mum my best wishes for a successful outcome on her current treatments,may they be successful in bringing to her a complete recovery to full health.

Hi everyone, Up to date photo's of Max and Mia, seemed like such a long time ago when she was the small baby in my arms (avatar) Link https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 7931bc8472

I found these photographs in facebook,thought you might enjoy seeing them. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

Hello,Hello,Anyone at Home? Good Evening Everyone, Blooming heck,a whole week passed and not a post here-is it me?.Well as I am here, might as well bring you up to date with the going ons this side of the pond.Busy week again,still working on my diet,had some problems sticking to it though,Saturday last out celebrating Jennifers birthday,lovely family night out,Guidies- best Italian this side of the Mississipi?,well Airdrie anyway.Thursday lunch with my gym buddies in Glasgow,in the evening I attended the Glasgow Community Award ceremony which is sponsored by the Evening Times,our Stobhill Lung Cancer Support Group was nominated in the category Health and Wellbeing,we were presented with a lovely framed certificate,the group was founded by my friend Robert Lowe as you may know had passed away recently after having survived SCLC and NSCLC for twenty years,I got interviewed by a reporter and my tribute to Robert was published in the Friday edition of that newspaper,along with a pic of our group members.There an excellent buffet provided,boy did I participate in helping them in scoffing it,only in the interest of saving food from being wasted you understand.Friday out for lunch with my yoga buddies,its a tough life I lead,I tell you. One of my gym buddies Carol,sings in the Cumbernauld Choir,and invited me along to sing on Friday afternoon to the Rannoch Lodge Nursing Home to the inmates?,first half we sang a load of the big musical show numbers,Oklahoma,Carousel,Sound of Music etc,second half, loads of popular Scottish songs,finishing of course with Scotland the Brave and Auld Lang Syne.Our audience,well the ones that did'nt sleep through our entire performance,were just brill,they joined in with all the chorous,es,think they really enjoyed themselves as much as I did,thinking about joining their choir properly now?. Still on music ,not long home from front my front of house job, performance tonight,it was a youth group called Shine,they were so good,they did songs from 10 musicals,one of them being Billy Elliot,this group wrote to the producers of the show in London to ask permission to stage some of their numbers,not only did they give them permission,but invited them down to London to their Theatre and watch them perform,they were so impressed that their own Billy Elliot asked the Shine Billy Elliot for his autograph.The other shows they covered I particularly liked their Jesus Christ Superstar and Les Miserables,what a great night,and I get paid to watch the performance,whos a lucky boy then?. I actually was going to title this post Saturdays Air,however since its now after midnight its now Sunday.ABC in the morning then off to visit my sister Dot in Glasgow,for fun and games with her grandkids Emma and Jack.Wishing you all a great weekend,bye for now.

Hi Trish, Welcome to LCSC,sorry to hear of your diagnosis,I have survived NSCLC for almost 5 years now,and doing really well,enjoying life to the fullest.I did have neo-adjuvant chemo followed by surgery,I went through the whole process with little discomfort,I did not have radiotherapy,so I have no experience to share with you,however I am sure other buddies here will be along shortly who can give you the benefits of their experiences. Its a pleasure to meet you,if you check out the "Just for Fun",you can chat with everyone there on the lighter side of life,looking forward in getting to know you.

Good Morning Everyone, Just passed midnight,so I thought I would open Saturdays Air.Hi Janet I had read and enjoyed hearing about your visit to Boston,particularly the bit about falling asleep in the hospitals rooftop healing garden in temps of over 70 degrees,it conjured up such pleasant images to me of summer,is'nt the USA so huge when you then mention today of being back home and now suffering temps in Connecticut in the 40s?.Still here with fingers crossed that you get a place on the clincal trials. I had a brilliant day with young Max at the Time Capsule,MacDonalds and then Wreck it Ralph at the Showcase Cinema Complex,though I did find the film a bit tedious and nodded off for a while,my wife came with us so Max was'nt quite left alone. Its my daughters birthday (12th) she was having a celebratory night out with her friends,she is 29,goodness me, where have the years gone? she and her boyfriend Chris are coming out today to Airdrie to visit me,I have booked a table at Airdries finest Italian Restaurant,Guidies in the evening,their food is delicious,bang goes my diet again,goodness knows how many calories I consumed in MacDonalds too?.Also, today its the offical opening of the outdoor lawn bowling season,I have recently been voted in as vice-president of the club,so I have to wear the offical uniform,bit like the green jacket stuff as with the US Masters,oh I get a medal to wear as well,who wants my autograph?,due to my prior arrangements with Jennifer I wont be staying for the evening meal and drinkies. I have just had an email from one of our Stobhill Hospital Lung Cancer Support Group members,Margaret,her position is Secretary,she tells me ,we as a group, have been nominated for the finals of the Glasgow Community awards sponsored by the Evening Times,which will be held this Thursday in Glasgow,its a great tribute to our founding member Robert Lowe who had survived SCLC and NSCLC for 20 years,Robert as you may be aware passed away recently following surgery to remove cancerous tumours from his stomach and throat,his operation was successful,he died cancer free,post surgery to took an infection that his weakened body could not cope with.Margaret has invited all the members to meet, at 3.00pm for a group photo session to be published in the Evening Times,but in her enthuesism in emailing me she has forgot to tell me what day?,bless her. Wishing you all a super weekend,bye for now.

Clare. I am so sorry to read of your Mothers passing,it was indeed a blessing she passed peacefully without any discomfort.Please accept my condolences for your loss.

Hi Erika, I am so sad to hear of your Dads passing,I was so hoping that he would have much more time.I was pleased to read he was still actively enjoying life right up to the end.He was blessed by having a loving caring family around him,please accept my sincere condolences.

Good Evening Everyone, Best wishes Janet for the clinical trial,I really do hope it all goes well for you. Still waiting here in Scotland for spring temps to arrive ,we are still well below the temp levels they should be at this time of the year,apparently its to do with the jet stream being several hundred miles south of the UK from its norm?,well at least our days are rain free. I attended my friend Robert Lowes commemoration service last week,it was not of a traditional Scottish type,church service,then on to the cemetary or cremation service,then on to a reception and meal at a local hostelry,this one was held in a rather posh social club,Roberts family had a private service the previous day,and his ashes were brought to the commemoration service and placed at the top table.A speaker then read out Roberts life story,illustrated by lots of photos on large screens,I had been asked to deliver a eulogy for Robert,so I was quite relieved she did'nt encroach on my speech.The speaker then invited the assembled audience to share any memory they had with Robert,the family then indicated to me give my address from the lecturn,it went down well,Robert's family were so pleased with my speech,saying Robert would have loved to have heard this,well maybe he was listening in from above?. I attended the Stobhill Hospital Lung Cancer Support Group meeting on Wednesday,Sarah,Roberts DIL,also attended ,she brought along with her monies of donations to our group raised at the commemoration service,plus some other funds we had raised bag packing at a large Asda supermarket,Sarah also asked me if I would takeover Roberts website for the group,as she wanted it to continue,its a big ask for me since Robert was so diligent in feeding it with all kinds of interesting material,think he must have been spending 30-40 hours/week on it?,I did say I would make some contribution to its maintenance. Following my recent check up and being weighed,I decided at 16st 2lbs,enough is enough(I used to be most of my life 13st until my dx),so its new eating habits,porridge each morning,non-fat yogurt and strawberries for lunch,evening meal,mainly of various chicken dishes and salmon, cauliflower and broccoli,no red meat,interlaced with oranges or bananas if I feel a wee bit peckish,well so far I have lost about 10lbs,I know this could be beaten if I also gave my friends Whyte and MacKay and Peroni the goodbye,but I am still working on that,I promise,LOL. Bye everyone,enjoy the rest of Thursday,just about to become Friday here.

Good Morning Everyone, Hi Michelle,still snow here in Scotland too,will you tell that groundhog creature of yours that I am unimpressed by his predictions,we change over to summer time here in the UK this weekend and where is spring?. Janet best wishes for your treatments in Boston,by co-incidence last night I plugged my hard drive, passport thingy, into my blueray DVD player to watch my photos of my USA trip 2 years ago,the section on Boston on my 46 inch Telly was just beautiful,my Hotel I think was called the Boston Park Plaza (the only one in Boston with an underground car park) next door was a lovely park where you could ride in a swan boat.I think Boston was my favourite city I visited in the USA,I must return some day. I was invited by Robert Lowes family to attend a "commemoration" for Robert,strangely it was to be held in a rather posh "Social Club",I discovered later,that Robert had a private ceremony on Monday and was cremated,his ashes were placed at the top table at the social club.In Scotland standard practice,is church service then onto the burial or to the crematorium followed by an invitation to the mourners for a meal in a selected hostelry?,seems this practice is quite common in the USA?,anyway the family asked me to present a eulogy for Robert,which was a pleasure and an honour for me to do.The "service" opened with a women speaking from a script describing Robert's life,fortunately for me she did'nt encroach on my prepared speech,then when she completed her speech,she invited the audience to share any memories they had,at that point I was directed by the family towards the lectern,I gave my prepared address which was warmly received by the assembly, I was particularly pleased with the kind response the family gave me afterwards.Robert was such a hero of mine,he came into my life,when I was feeling so down,having just been told by my GP I only had a couple of years left max.A man who worked tirelessly to encourage everyone survivors,families,carers and friends affected by lung cancer,he will be sadly missed. Have a great day everyone,we have my daughter and her boyfriend visiting this afternoon,she finishes Uni early today,she will stay for dinner,but I have my bowling tonight so I am having to dash out a bit early,well I am part of a four man team,cannot let the guys down,Jennifer would have to choose a Thursday to visit LOL. Bye.

Hi nomadawn, Welcome home,thank you for sharing your Mums progress,nothing like a good news story to give encouragement to everyone here. Best Wishes to your Mum and all your family,from a wee Jock, North of the Border.

Mary, Thank you so much for your kind words,they are much appreciated.I have been asked by Robert's family if I would speak at his funeral service,this I consider an honour and a priviledge,I recognise I will not only be speaking for myself,but on behalf of all Roberts friends throughout the UK, and the wider world lung cancer community.I will acknowledge the support that has been given to him by everyone here in LUNGevity.

Thanks Diane,for your kind thoughts,I am missing Robert already.

Robert Lowe,A very special Lung Cancer Survivor, I have just received a phone call from Robert's daughter-in-law,Sarah, who passed on to me news I really did'nt want to hear,my dear friend and inspiration, Robert passed away this morning just after 10am.Robert's recent surgery to remove cancerous tumours from his stomach and throat,was completely successful,he died cancer free,his passing was due entirely to an infection he picked up post surgery,with his weakened state, his body was unable to overcome this infection.Robert celebrated surviving both SCLC and NSCLC for twenty years,which represents such an inspiration to many thousands of Lung Cancer survivors not only here in the UK,but world wide.Robert dedicated his entire survivorship as a lung cancer advocate,he was tireless in giving encouragement and support to lung cancer survivors,he co-founded the Stobhill Lung Cancer Support Group,with a lung cancer nurse Penny Downer,which remains today a successful testimony of his advocacy for lung cancer causes.Robert also set up and maintained a vibrant Stobhill Lung Cancer Survivors website,he was proud to acknowledge the many thousands of "Hits" his site attracted.Robert was also a keen advocate for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation,whose aims matched Robert's in the raising of awareness of lung cancer issues.Robert recognised Lung Cancer being a Cinderella disease,despite it having a mortality rate greater than the combined total of deaths due to Breast,Prostate and Bowel Cancers,it receives only 4% of research funding and public donations.Robert also fought against the stigma that is attached to Lung Cancer by the general publics perception that lung cancer only effects long term smokers,as he would say,anyone with lungs can get lung cancer. Roberts work will continue to be an inspiration to many survivors,families,carers and friends,goodnight Robert,you did us all proud.