Joppette

Eric, I am so very sorry. Sending you a hug and a kiss from this side of the pond. God bless you and your family as you deal with this horrible loss. HUGS. Judy

Hi Patricia, In 2007 my left upper lobe was removed and I had adjunct chemotherapy without radiation because there was no evidence that cancer was in the lymph nodes or elsewhere. In 2012 my right upper lobe was removed because they found a NEW cancer and I had adjunct chemotherapy again without radiation because there was no evidence that cancer was in the lymph nodes or elsewhere. Both were considered two separate cancers and both were staged at IIB. If the cancer in 2012 had been from the original one, it would have been Stage IV because it would have been a metastasis from the original tumor. I think that is what they are waiting for. If the cancer in the other side is a different cancer from the first side, it would not be considered a metastasis, and be staged at a lower stage. Whether it's a lobectomy or a resection, I think (just my opinion) the recuperation is about the same. Each of us is different, so it's hard to say if your recovery would be different, better or not! As for chemotherapy, I'm with Bruce! I'm glad I had it, though it was not pleasant. Knowing that they did all they could to erase the cancer was good for me. They will not do radiation unless they find evidence of cancer outside of the lobes, either in the lymph nodes or in another part of your body. As for pain? Again, everyone is different. I had my 2nd lobectomy in January of this year, and I am still taking morphine for it. I don't take a lot, and I'm not drugged or groggy, but the nerve damage from where and how they took the lobes out have caused me to need the pain medication. So that depends on how easily they can get at the lobe to remove it. Chemotherapy does cause pain for some people (me) so don't be discouraged if you continue on it. Your body will tell you when you don't need it (pain meds) anymore. I hope this helps! Judy in MI

Still here and I'm glad you are! Judy in MI

Hello Ronnie, Can it be possible that it's been two years? Time flies doesn't it. I'm so glad that you found this place and us. It's nice when you stop in to say HI again. Take care! Judy in MI

Hi Sue, This is a thoughtful and provoking string of posts. Thank you. I think you are right though, in that, whether you are stage IV lung cancer or not, we only have this day to live. If we really think on that we realize that in this day, today, whatever we do with it has little to do with anything other than what we decide to do with it today! LOL. Is that making sense? I too have morphine brain. I've been obsessing this week about how tired I am and how sad I am at how much life I am missing. Today I got up at 7:00AM after a good night's rest and by 9:00 was ready to go back to bed. I sat on the couch in tears, having a big old pity party, trying to decide whether to go back to bed or tough it out. I decided I didn't have to do either. I moved my computer to a place where I can stand to work on it so I am not so inclined to fall asleep, and I'm just going to make the most out of whatever it is that is in front of me. If it is sleep again, so be it. But I realize I am missing out on so much because I am so upset about missing out on it!!!! Does that make sense? Anyway, I love your writing, and it helps me a lot to read as you process your life situations. Thank you for that. You are a blessing to me. I think that any of us that live with cancer feel rushed at times to get as much done as we can to the point (at least for me) that the quality of what I'm getting done is just not there. That has made me slow down today and just appreciate the moments. (But the roller coaster does not stop running. In ten minutes these feelings may change, so I wrote them down here so I can go back and remember them.) Take care. Judy in MI

Well, my Labradoodle almost bit a child again. We were able to stop her, but this is the third time. We obviously didn't know this when we got her. She has been an awesome pet for two years. But now? I talked to my vet about therapy, and other options, but his experience tells him to tell us that we should put her down. He said we can try to find a home, but obviously we have to disclose the problem we have with her. The woman that grooms her has always said she'd take her in a heart beat. I have told her about the problem with the children, and she didn't seem to care. So I'll call her tomorrow. The Vet says that most dogs are not traumatized before doing this. Some are wired this way and some are not. She has always been really sensitive. I can't have a dog I can't trust. There is no way I can risk my 60 pound dog biting another child. Three chances is enough. I am heart broken. Devastated. WE'll see tomorrow. Maybe the groomer will still want her. THat is all I can hope for. Judy in MI

Thanks for the update Izzy. I don't know the answers either, but would suggest, as Randy did to take your questions to Cancer Grace. You can create an account there like you did here. In fact use the same "handle" you use here so us regulars there will recognize you! The site is very user friendly. Just post your questions, and ask for a Doctor's perspective and they will answer. It is http://www.cancergrace.org I think Randy put that in here earlier too. Wishing you the best. Do keep us updated at least so we can pray! Judy in MI

Hi Donna, That sounds like a good plan. You understand, as do we, that just having a plan eases that anxiety a bit. I'm praying they caught it early and that 'it' may not be IT! Judy in MI

Oh my goodness Dani, What a turn of events. Once you have dealt with the stroke and it's causes, please do insist on an Oncologist. Surgeons like to think they got it all. It's likely they did. But they are not cancer doctors. Unless you have complications from surgery, you don't need to go back to see him. Your Oncologist should take over your care. Same with your pain. I actually have a doctor that is assigned to me strictly to manage my pain. He is part of a palliative care doctor team but I am not terminally ill or dying which is what palliative suggests. But he said that he job is to make sure that I live with good quality and it has nothing to do with terminally ill or not. Pain control is the most important factor in my healing. My rib cage still feels like it was opened with a can opener. The cut nerves, the muscles, all of it is so intrusive to our bodies. Pain care can make an immense difference in how well we heal. Do not be afraid of taking narcotic pain medications. If you body is hurting, it needs it. When your body no longer needs it, it will become apparent to you and you'll be able to get off the meds. However, mypain situation is extreme. But my pain doc said that in order to heal I need to take these opiate meds. He said he doubted I'd become addicted, but that if I did, it would not be a serious addiction. He can tell by how many pills I am taking by how many refills I am asking for. But he is also an expert, so should I need to deal with that, they can help wean me off the so that it's not this horrible thing like what you see in the movies. I ampraying for you Dani. Judy in Michigan

Congrats Eric! You should be very proud! MI Judy

Mike, I don't know the answer about the CPAP and oxygen being the same thing. My husband wears the CPAP and he loves it because he sleeps so much better. But he was diagnosed with sleep apnea where he stopped breathing through the night, so much so that he'd wake up suddenly without even knowing it. So his sleep was constantly interrupted so he never got good rest. The CPAP helped him with that. The tests will help determine that for you. What you are saying about falling asleep like that and the confusion, yeah I had that too. I live in a little town too. I worried about what they would think too, but they have treated me so kindly that it just touches my heart. I have not felt 'judged' at all. I think it was my guilty conscience that was getting to me. Sometimes I have to fight the feeling that I deserved this because I once smoked. Like this site has taught me, no one deserves cancer. It has helped me understand that the "no one" includes me! I have to remember that not all smokers or ex-smokers get lung cancer. And a lot of people who never smoked get lung cancer. It does not discriminate. The important thing is that research is done to find a cure.

Hi Mike, I was not on O2 at all until the second dx. After they removed my rt. upper lobe, (with left being removed five years before) they said I only needed O2 during the day when I was active. I think I posted here about my thoughts on that. Being female, and vain (hate admitting that) I just did not want to do this. People told me that SOB would feel like breathing in through a straw. It kind of did. Not quite that bad for me, but I just was not getting air in like I used to. I noticed that I got tired much easier than I did before and the doc explained that my body was working harder to get the O2 to the organs which was making me more tired. I also noticed that when my air was low, my heart would kind of skip beats. My pulmonologist didn't know that I was only on Air during the day. He asked why I didn't wear it at night and I said "no one told me to." LOL. I do follow directions well. Logically I thought I would not need it at night because my body was at rest, and not needing as much. He explained that when we sleep our respiration and blood pressure go down as our bodies relax. He said that I actually needed the oxygen more when I slept than when I was awake because of this. So to make a long story longer (sorry), I did wear it at night and was surprised by how much better I felt when I woke up! I slept better, and woke up refreshed, I guess because my body was not laboring for the air that my organs needed. On the sinus issue? I have allegies and was surprised that the oxygen actually helped with that. On the idea of being hooked to a machine? I hated the idea Mike. But, like anything in life, I got used to it quickly! It surprised me. I can remember in the past that when I saw people in public on oxygen how bad I felt for them. I thought that must be the worst to have to carry an oxygen tank around with you. But there again, I was surprised by how quickly I got used to it. Now I forget I even have it on. It was a major hassle trying to get used to it, trying to plan my outings with oxygen tanks and how much to take, etc. But I figured it out with the help of my oxygen supplier. And now? It is okay. Oh...except for one thing. I love to shop for shoes, don't you? *wink* I do! It is a hassle with the oxygen tank bending down and putting shoes on and getting up and walking around, etc. You know.... Anyway, that is one thing that I do on-line now. I get them at home, and try them on and ship them back if they don't fit! I get my ladies shoe shopping fix, but without the hassle! Judy in MI

I can only say how I found this site and what it meant to me. I was a two year survivor, having surgery and chemo treatments. When I found this site I was so excited because I thought it was a lung cancer support community! The first forum I looked for was the one that was most active, which of course was the Daily Air. I didn't know the history of the Lungevity site, or of any of the different forums. I remember posting my first post in Introduce Yourself, and then made myself at home where everyone seemed to be hanging out - in the JFF Daily Air. I did figure out that you could post things like test results and the like in the other forums, but still a lot of people were using the Air as the 'how ya' doin' place to be, so that is where I stayed. I didn't even know what the Daily Air stood for. I just knew that a lot of people posted there and I wanted to get to know a lot of people. Which I did. Then when the site got quieter and quieter, I felt sad. Judy in KW was still posting on an almost daily basis, and she was writing about her cancer stuff, and there were days when we joked that we could use this place as our daily texts to each other because it had got so quiet. She did PM me and told me that sometimes it got really quiet, and other times not and to not get frustrated or sad when that happened, so I tried to just go with that. Like I said, I didn't know anything about this place other than that when I did a Google search for lung cancer support forums, this is the one that came up. Back then I couldn't wait to get to know the stories of the other folks both from a lung cancer perspective but also as a care giver since I was both. And I thought that this would be a place where I could 'give back' to the new ones that would come on feeling as alone and scared as I was and needing a friend. Then my cancer came back. The Daily Air had already changed and hardly anyone was posting in there anymore. I did still try to use this to get daily support as I went through my stuff, but a lot of the ones that used to be there weren't anymore. There were still some that came on and would encourage me, and I am so thankful for that. But it was not what I thought it was obviously. After reding what Katie has posted, I can see that I obviously didn't understand what this place was for. It actually embarrasses me now because I shared a lot here that I'm sure now in retrospect I would not have. It also embarrasses me that others that had been around here for years never took me aside and told me that I was way off in what I thought this place was. If someone had told me that I was intruding and trying to turn this into something it wasn't, trust me I would have tucked my tail and run. And so after Judy died, I tried to think of how we could get some spark back here. I thought if we did Daily fun stuff like theme days that I introduced last week that this would bring some fun back and get more activity. And then I thought I'd also have another daily post where people again could write about their journey as it is happening right now. Clearly I had no idea what I was doing. It's no wonder I wasn't hearing from the folks that I got to know in my first year or two here. I didn't understand and no one thought to help me understand. I do now. I won't bother anyone again with my cancer support stuff, or my daily stupid silly stuff. I see now how fun stuff should be handled. "Today we still have our Live Chat (randy, people still use it) and facebook and twitter for the "fun" connections...we also have the good old telephone." Or. "Obviously if people want just for fun postings and fun chats, please schedule regular chats again the chat room...everyone wanted chat but no one wanted to volunteer to host it and remind people about it, and it just became easier to use Facebook." Clearly I didn't understand. And being one of the newbies to the site, I didn't know people's real names to be able look them up on Facebook.

I posted here, but nevermind. I didn't understand.

Diane, I agree with you on two things at least. #1 - Red Robin fries are the best! LOL. The other is the point you made about this. "Some of my "closest friends" I didn't hear from until treatment was all over. I think partly because they know me, and partly because some people just don't know what to do or say. " I agree. The kindest and deepest care came from people that I would call very friendly acquaintances. It surprised me. They gave much more than even my family did in terms of kindness and care! In fact there are two women that I thought I was quite close to that have not called me in three months. I think they don't know what to say or do, but still it hurts. But I understand. It amazes me what this disease does to relationships. MI Judy

Good morning to anyone hanging out here today! It is a beautiful sunny day here in Michigan. It is quite cool but will get to 70. Nice. We do something at Gilda's Club sometimes just to get adults and children that come to the support group to think and share about their cancer and/or care giving experiences as it releates to this disease. Because children aren't apt to sit and have a discussion like this, we usually introduce a topic through a play game. Then, as they play it feels quite natural to talk about the topic at hand. One day I was helping with the children's grief support meeting and we had a game that the kids thought was huge fun. We had them lie down on great big white sheets of paper, and we traced their body shapes on the paper. They could sit up and help trace their legs, and then we would have them lay down and we would finish up with the torso, arms, and head. The game was for them to write their name on this little person outlined on the paper. Then we asked them to think about when they thought about the person who died. Then we invited them to draw on their 'body' where they felt it when they thought about this person. Remarkable sharing would happen. Some would draw a red heart, and then put an x inside of it. Others would draw butterflies in the tummy part. Others scribbled black lines in the head part signifying that their heads hurt. It was a wonderful exercise to get them to play out their grief. They looked at it as a fun game, and we knew that they were getting feelings out that they might not have ever done. We never did this with adults, because that would just seem silly. LOL. But in my group we get asked questions that evoke remarkable discussions. Last week it was to share ONE positive thing that they learned from their care giving or cancer experience. What a remarkable group of people we are! Those of us living with cancer, and those of us caring for us. Surprisingly a lot said they felt gratitude, in spite of the tough stuff that went with it. Another one was that they were surprised that when they allowed someone to care for them (bring a meal, give them a ride, mow their lawn are some examples) they realized that both parties got great benefit from this. The biggest one was the joy they felt in knowing that the caregiver felt joy in knowing they made their day a little easier. I remember one in particular that touched my heart and hers. She wanted to give me a pedicure. I felt strange about this and didn't want her to do it, but she insisted that she really wanted to do this for me. She soaked my feet, massaged my calves, feet and toes with oils, and when she was done, painted the toes with a pretty bright pink! It was wonderful. We talked and shared things that we probably never would have if that hadn't happened. And we were touched in ways that we will never forget. I am curious if there was something like that for you? Both as a survivor or as a caregiver? If so, I'd love to hear what it was! Judy in MI

Hi Ann! I always smile when I see you back here! I remember the jury duty like it was yesterday! If you do get selected, maybe it will be for this case that is so fascinating that you can hardly wait for it to start! (hope, hope, hope, hope). Janet, hope the concert is fun tonight! Thanks for remember to invite the newbies in here. For some reason they don't stop in, and I wish they would. I remember when I was new here, and I saw this daily post, and I wondered if I could just post there. I kind of thought it was like a club of sorts. But I'm like a bull in a china shop, so I just stopped in and began to make friends! I hope others know they can do that. In fact, I try to mention that to someone new when they first post. This forum is a nice way to get to know people, well.....that is more than two or three people post that is....... I'm going to continue to give my new ideas a chance to take hold here. If one day I finally am so discouraged that I decide to stop trying, I will be doing a final post just to let those that do care know why it's not happening anymore. Right now I feel like we just should because Judy would have wanted us to. I won't say anything more about it than that for now. Judy in MI

Well, as I said when I posed some new ideas for the daily posts in the Just For Fun forum, the days of the week can have fun topic focuses, such as Thankful Thursday. Wondering Wednesday. But that is not to say we don't still do the AIR. I consider this the daily AIR only with a little different twist on it. I hoped the new twist would get people posting again. I continue to hope that it will. But the weekends are three days off from the days with funny names LOL. So it's finally Friday for those of you out there working. Yeah for that huh? Hey! Wait! Did I just name it Finally Friday??? It's very cold and gloomy here today. That is okay with me. I enjoy sweatshirt days interspersed once in a while between the warm sunny days of summer. I like the variety! It is graduation time here, as it is everywhere. My cousins' party is tonight. Randy's business partner's son's is tomorrow night. Next weekend is our neighbor's boy's party, and a business associate's daughters' party. And we have one more the followng weekend that I can't even think of who it is. The good thing is these parties are really for the kids, so we get to pop in, drop off a card, say hi to the parents and the kid, grab a light plate of food, and get out of there! LOL. Next week I will see my Onc. again. We will start talking about the side effects that seem like they will continue even after the chemo is done. I know my hearing was damaged by the Cisplatin. The ears still ring LOUD. I'm sure he will wait before ordering the tests and deciding if the damage is temporary. There are some neuropathy issues that haven't gotten better too. There are a couple of other issues too, but we'll talk to him and deal with them one at a time as they need to be handled. In the mean time, IT IS JUNE 1!!!!! It is, for me, the start of a new month, but also the start of my new life post chemotherapy. Amen to that! Even if it hurts, today I start to put one foot in front of the other, one step at a time, moving towards the new me, whatever that looks like. I've been keeping a large spreadsheet of all of my medications where I could mark when I took them, and keep track of them all. At one point I think there were about 32 medications in all. As time has gone by, those meds have been removed, one at a time as well. There are still some to keep track of, but much less than before! So I did my last spread sheet yesterday! I have a cute little pink notebook that I will keep with me so I can note the things I am taking that I need to be careful with, like pain meds. Other than that, I am good to go! It's awesome. I am starting an exercise regime today too. It's not much, but it is a start. That is what we have to do right? I hope to begin pulmonary rehab soon, and that will kick start the serious exercise and hopefully getting me off of oxygen. But if I can't get off the oxygen, I am okay with it now. It no longer bothers me what people think when they see me. I don't care. I can still have a lot of fun and I don't even realize I have it on now! So, while I hope, I won't be crushed if I can't. No matter who the new me is, it's going to be wonderful. Life is wonderful. Change is just a part of it. Oh, and no raccoons last night! LOL. I locked the dogs inside, but I would have heard them going insane if the critter got on the deck and I didn't. So maybe we decimated that family? Who knows. Have a wonderful weekend my friends. Judy in MI (I'm thinking of Judy's family at her memorial today, but who of us isn't. Judy is up in heaven hoping we are celebrating the beautiful person and life that is now hers there. Amen to that. )

Last night we had an interesting night with raccoons! Since I couldn't sleep after the first encounter, I wrote a short story about it and sent it to my husband to make him laugh this morning. Here it is: The Raccoon on the Deck She crept to bed and plumped her pillows just right, making sure that she didn’t wake the sleeping man beside her. Within minutes she drifted off to sleep with Jay Leno playing quietly in the background. Her body hadn’t reached the deep cycle of sleep yet, when she heard it. Oh no! The weird bark that Gibson does when he has a wild animal cornered. Again. And the pretty little Labra doodle with her lacy yellow bows and delicately trimmed toes clawed manically at the post of the deck like she could rip them down all by herself. And on the deck above? The dreaded raccoon!!!! This time he was laying on the floor of the deck. Possibly he was too terrified to move? It was his third nocturnal visit in the past week! The last two times he was seen here, he was insolently chowing on the bird feed, with his back legs on the deck ledge and his front legs inside of the bird feeders. Even when they flipped on the incredibly bright security lights, he stood there having his way with the sun flower seeds. Perhaps this time he knew his fate was at hand? In nothing more than a T-shirt, jockey shorts and shoes, the man dashed down the stairs and into the lower garage. Dragging the two dogs into the garage he shouted his plan up to her. “The dogs are locked in the garage now! I want you to make a lot of noise and scare the animal off the deck so I can shoot him!” he yelled. Eyes wide with terror, she went to the windows and tried to scare him off with loud banging and shouts of “get out of here you raccoon you!” to which he didn’t respond. With legs trembling, she opened the glass door to the deck and closed it with loud slams over and over until the animal looked like he was going to jump! But he did not. As she kept up the commotion, he decided to weigh his options by looking over the deck, and that was his fatal mistake. The man took aim and shot him right between the eyes. One of the spindles of the deck also took a shot, but it had to be done in the moment of danger. The man came running upstairs with the gun, ready to finish him off if he needed to. He assured her that the creature was dead, but she was not convinced because he was taking big heaving breaths. The woman screamed that she couldn’t watch it die. Then she begged the man to get a shovel and pick him up with that and heave him over the deck rail. With shovel in hand, cautiously, he went out and poked at that thing, and feeling confident it died, jammed the shovel underneath him and catapulted him over the railing. It was over. He went to the yard and dragged the beast into the woods, and then let the dogs back in the house. He locked the dog door and said enough was enough for tonight and went back to bed and promptly fell immediately back to sleep. She stayed up shaking at the devastating death she witnessed. Her plans for getting up early the next morning were dashed as she realized that sleep would not come her way for a long time. ********************************************** This morning, another critter was there again. Seems we have been invaded. So the bird feeders are going to come down for a while which makes me sad. But we don't know what else to do other than have shooting matches each evening! So what am I thankful for????? A sense of humor. Where would we be in this life if we couldn't just laugh at situations like this???? LOL This is posted relatively late, but I hope maybe some others can find a moment to be thankful too! And I'm thankful to Sue for posting her post that is poignant and so real for so many of us. Judy in MI

I'll be back to read more later Sue! Janet, thank you for sharing here. I wish more people would do that.

Yes, start there! Please give us some details about you so we can help! MI Judy

Dear Sue, I was going to come in here and post a Thursday post because my time is limited, but I decided to instead write here. There will be other Thursdays and other days to post topics. I can relate though. As you know, my last chemo treatment was last Thursday. And already I am getting the questions that say well, now that it's over you must be feeling so much better! I know they don't know any better. I know they want me to feel better. But I don't and it won't happen for a while, and however I am after all of this is going to be a different person that the one I was before. I know that from my cancer five years ago. I feel like I just want to tell them that "yeah, I am much better". But then their expectations when we do things is that I am back to "normal" and I don't even know what that means! As you said, they see you with your hair, and you are driving and appear to be doing better. And in fact you are! But better is not the same as before. They will never understand that. The only people that can understand that are people that have walked in your shoes. That is why getting support on line at in person is so important. So I'll just say it again here, I hope other survivors jump in here and give you their advice. The other thing is that Gilda's Club in Grand Rapids might have an Allegan extension. I don't know what that means really. But if you'd call the Grand Rapids office and ask them, they could direct you to the right person to talk to. Their number is 616-453-8300. Gilda's Club is a free cancer support community! Check it out Sue. One line they are http://www.gildasclubgr.org. The other issue you bring up is much more difficult to deal with. My heart just wants to grab you and hug you because I understand. People don't want to think about dieing. Your or theirs. And they would do just about anything to avoid going there. You, on the other hand, feel that the topic is not out of bounds because of your diagnosis. And yet, you walk that tightrope line of when are you being fatalistic, versus optimistic, and ever versus realistic! In your situation, there are times when you are going to be of the three most of the time. And that is okay. The reason I am comfortable with this subject is because I've had to deal with it so many times in my life. My Mom and Dad and Sister all died from cancer, and facing end of life issues, palliative care issues, etc. were things we did together. I learned that it was not about me. I needed to just be present with them when they wanted to talk and be okay when they didn't want to talk. When my cancer came back the second time, they brought in a palliative care doctor for me to talk to and he takes care of me from a pain perspective. This cancer came back as one little tumor, which multiplied to three in a short amount of time. It didn't get staged beyond IIb because it didn't go outside of the lobe. At the same time, it did metastasize itself, and that it's likely this will continue to happen. If we took what they told us, I would be thinking of living in terms of five years. Like you, I was given an amount of time to expect to live. There are a couple of schools of thought I have on this. #1 - statistics are just that. Large numbers of people make up percentages and variables that they apply to the masses. Us included. But we are individuals. Our bodies are unique to us. We aren't statistics. So is it five years? Is it one? I have no idea. But all of us are born terminally ill. We are all going to die. None of us know when that is going to happen. I could live thinking about cramming all my life in now, or I could just live today and live today as fully as I can. It is my choice because they don't know and I don't know. Because you are living with cancer, you have been given an amount of time to expect to live but it is simply a wild a** guess. LOL. There are lots of folks here that were staged IV and have been around a long time. Hopefully they will come out and write to you! So let's forget all of that. You will probably die from cancer at some point in your life statistically, right? But every one is going to die from something too, right? So we can live in fear of that, or we can analyze how we feel about living right now. And analyze how we feel about dying. They both go hand in hand. I'm not going to preach 'religion' to you, but I am going to say that my faith tells me that being here is just a small part of my journey. I won't get into that much more than that here because this site isn't about that. But faith has sustained me through so much! Lastly, you said you don't want to miss out on what you do have. Then don't! I know that sounds simple. It isn't at times. But don't. I have to scold myself almost daily to keep it simple. My mind always wants to complicate things. When the truth all we have is today. This day. Let's celebrate it today, hour by hour, or even minute by minute. Worrying about tomorrow won't get us anywhere, because technically tomorrow never happens right? By the time we get there, it's today. And what happened yesterday does not matter either because once it's yesterday it's past, and it means it is done. Oh my gosh, I could go on and on about this. But mercifully I will end it now. LOL. I hope that maybe just a tiny bit of this message will help in some small way. Take care. Judy in MI

LOL Mike! It's bed time for me. Nighty night. MI Judy

Hi Susan, The last paragraph that you wrote that began with "I am wondering, and this may not be a "fun" question, but a more serious one, how do those of you who are lung cancer survivors keep your strong" contains some really good questions that need attention, not only for you, but also for others going through what you are going through! It is probably not going to be noticed in this Just For Fun Forum because it can blend into the other posts so easily. Would you copy and paste that into a new post? I would put it in the "Discussion Forums", and then the "General" tab so that it gets the attention it deserves. This will get more eyes on it and hopefully more people can respond to it. It touched many chords with me tonight as I read it. I'm not stage IV but we have a lot of the same feelings. I would like to respond in depth to this, but would rather do it in it's own forum! I'm so glad you wrote about it tonight. I got home from dinner tonight and felt a lot of things like you talked about. My friends think that now that chemo stopped on Thursday that I'm all better. Oh my goodness. Anyway, if you want to talk to me or call me, contact Katie and she can give you my telephone #. These questions are important. I'm so glad you brought them up. If you would like me to help you with this, please send me a private message. I just don't want to take the liberty of doing that for you.

LOL Randy! Now....can't you wonder about just one thing this Wednesday???? Please