Joppette

Good to have her home huh? My husband pampered me, and fed me small snacks as I didn't feel like eating much. I felt weak and slept a lot, but it all helped in the long run. Take care, Judy in MI

Thanks for the updates! Overall it sounds like, in spite of some minor set backs, she is overall doing much better! So nice to hear this. I had slight neuropathy with my chemo. Felt pins and needles in my feet and hands. I was blessed, that it was minor and went away on it's own. Wishing you both well. You sound like a wonderful husband, and she is blessed to have you. Judy in MI

Hello again! Once again, I can relate. My brothers did not want to discuss any of the situation. My step-dad didn't want to talk about anything other than my Mom. Both were difficult for me. My step-dad talked about her like she was still here. That was tough to handle. He could not grieve her, and tried to pull me into that. I had to resist, as it was imperative that I get on with the process and learn how to live without her. It just plain is so difficult. Glad you are here and writing. Somehow it is helping me. Judy in MI

Hi Missy, Well, I am currently a lung cancer survivor. However, I was a caregiver for my Mom, my Aunt, and my Mother In Law who all died of lung cancer. I feel your pain, and understand what you are talking about with your other relationships. Things changed dramatically for me when Mom died. My brothers treated me differently. My sister-in-laws felt they could now call the shots, as my Mom was the leader in the family, and when she died, they took over, and I was not considered important, or one that could make family decisions. My Father died years before, and my Step Dad passed a couple of years after Mom did. So, all family dynamics were turned upside down. I hated it to be quite honest. Your post makes me feel not "so alone" in the feelings I've had. It's been very difficult. My heart and hopes are that you find your new normal, and that it is a good one. Judy in MI

Good Evening my friends, Well Eric, we just got our second boat. LOL! We got a pontoon boat a couple of years ago, and so enjoy taking it to the hundreds of lakes around here, and boating, fishing, eating and sunning. Well, we decided to get a paddle boat for our little lake that we live on. We found one on E-Bay for 1/3 the cost of a new boat. It's beautiful. So we spent the last two nights sitting in the little boat, paddling around our lake, getting some nice exercise (foreign to me LOL), and looking at the fish and turtles in the lake. It's been nice. Today is a crappy day though. Cold, wet, and I've been struggling with terrible spasms through out my whole body. I will tell you that I am frustrated, and so praying for my next appointment, which is with a neurologist to find out what is causing these maddening spasms. Today, at work, I was trying to get this statistical report done, and my body was just attacking me. I finally got up and went to the rest room, and just cried. Cried hard. There is nothing that can relieve the pain. They gave me Xanax saying it will help, and all it does is make me sleepy and groggy. Urggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!! Anyway, I try to remain positive. Try. I really do. Being sad and frustrated will not make the situation better. I must remain positive that they will get to the bottom of this. Period. So hope you all have a good evening or morning, depending on what part of the world you are in. Judy in MI

Regarding the scans, if they did a PET and CT scan, and the results are as you posted, there is tons of hope here and lots of reasons to feel positive. They won't do a bone scan unless they believe the cancer has spread. The PET scan lights up if there is cancer anywhere in the brain, chest, and stomach. The CT scan is a very detailed X ray that looks for tumors as well. Clean scans is a reason to rejoice! I'm so happy for you and wish you and your family a happy and healthy future! Judy IN MI

Thanks for bringing us up to date on you! Sounds like you are doing well with this. I agree though that the effects can be cummulative, so just be aware of that. If you are tired, rest! If you are hungry, eat! But most of all LIVE!!!!! We are fighters and survivors! And that is a good thing. Judy in MI

Hi Judy, I've been away a few days. Lots going on in this household. Glad to see that you are willing to talk about it and get the fears out in the light of day. When they hide in the dark, they get quite large and scary. When you put them out in the light, I believe they lose their power and become less frightening. As a cancer survivor, we always have that tinge of fear lurking when we feel something new, something we didn't feel before. I have been there, and 9 times out of 10 it's turned out to be nothing like what I built it up to be in my head. I read this today: The bravest person is not always the one standing in silence. The bravest is the person who admits fear, after they have stepped. Another one I wanted to share with great care: "Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens. Circumstances and situations do color life, but you have been given the mind to choose what the color shall be." I'm praying that this is a nuisance that will be cleared up very soon. Judy in MI

Welcome here leslie, sounds like you have a great attitude. Keep up the good fight! Judy in MI

Like Katie, I assume he has had a CT scan and PET scan? If not, he should! Otherwise, it sounds like he's going to be great because they caught it in early stage. Judy in MI

Congrats all you active people! Biking, walking, fishing....all good stuff. I will get some laundry done today, but when you get muscle spasms with little movement, it's tough to get active. Hoping to get some answers soon! I remain positive. It's dark, and 68 here. Cold front coming in, and storms pushing it over the lake and on land. That is how it happens here. Hubs is up North golfing at Arcadia Bluffs, which is a fabulous course on the shore of Lake Michigan. He'll be home tonight. Hope the rain and storms hold off so he can get a couple of rounds in today. Nothing much to report today. Just going to do laundry, and maybe curl up with a good book. Have a good weekend! Judy in MI

Wishing the best for you. I had tingling in back/shoulder area, and it turns out that was the first physical sign of my lung cancer. It was so strange as I had that pain/tingle for a few years before I was diagnosed. It went away after they removed my lung. I didn't have radiation, so don't have any answers, just hope they solve the problem for him! Judy iin MI

What a beautiful letter to your Mom. I, too, think it is incredible how you are integrating her into your daughter's life. Grandma will be watching over her for the rest of her life. My Mom died of lung cancer and her birthday is July 31, so it is a bittersweet day of memories for me of her. She's been gone 14 years now. It seems like I just chatted with her yesterday. Thank you for sharing your memories, and your new daughter with us. This is sad, but good to read. ((HUG)) Judy in MI

Hello there! This is good news that it is a single tumor with no spreading. Lots and lots of room for hope here. It must be difficult to be so far from home. But stay positive for you have every reason to be. I was a caregiver for my Mom, and I am a lung cancer survivor too. My Mom's was stage IV and spread everywhere, so her case is very different from your Dads. She refused treatment due to the advanced stage of her disease, which for her, I believe, was a good choice. We're all different in how we respond. I think your Father will do quite well. Wishing you the best. Judy in MI

good morning all! Bud, how funny about the name Gremlin. I can tell you that when my German Short Hair Pointer, Gibson, was a puppy, he had a nick name too. He was a maniac, and lead with his teeth with everything. For a while his moniker was demon seed. Hubs would come home and ask how he did today, and he'd get that look, and off I'd go on demon seed did this and that and wrecked this and that. LOL! It's a good thing God made them cute so they survive puppyhood! KW Judy, glad you remembered the Ativan and slept well. I remember those days, and I was so manic from steroids that when I got home, Hubs was standing there with Ativan and glass of water at the wait. He learned it was best if I just took this before i started redecorating and repainting the entire house. LOL! Glad I can laugh about that now. Don't know if I mentioned that we saw our first hummingbird of the Spring this past week! They are back. We built our home on a private road, and named it blue hummingbird way. They are my favorite birds. We will see tons of them now. Well, today I finally am returning to Gilda's Club. Had to take some time off because i was so sick. Can't be going to a cancer support place when you are ill. As we all know, we are so vulnerable as we got through treatment. Will be so happy to see everyone again. Have a great day! Judy in MI

Hi Sue, Sounds like you are on top of the situation and handling it as well as you can. I like that they backed off on the frequency of the chemo, as that takes a terrible toll on the body. If hubby feels more comfortable with NHLymphoma, that is fine! When my Mom was diagnosed with primary lung cancer, she felt they were wrong, because the type of cancer was the same name they gave to her primary breast cancer two years before. I didn't press the issue with her. It just didn't matter, and if she felt better with thing the breast cancer metastasized, so be it. I just wanted her to be comfortable in her skin, and like you, I went to her appointments with her, and took good notes, and made sure what they did was in her best interests and comfort. Glad you found us, and it does help to write doesn't it? Keep up the good work. Judy in MI

Judy, hope you come through this chemo well. I can't blame you for feeling blue, but hope you can find it in you to not worry about the future. It's understandable, but it won't change the outcome! Well, I'm all messed up this week. I just wrote a lengthy update in Tuesdays Air for it sure feels like a Tuesday to me. So not much to write here as I wrote it all there! LOL! Hope you all have a great day. Judy in MI

Hello everyone! What a chatty group today. That is delightful! It is 70, and rainy, but not stormy anymore. Those blew through. I love rainy days. They help me hunker down and get some work done! Judy hope the chemo is nice to you. Bud, congrats on what sounds like a fabulous weekend. Eric, good news. Dec 7 is Pearl Harbor day and my brother's birthday. Used to tease him a lot about being such a trouble maker! Bruce, are you close to Alaska? Almost 24 hours of day light! We have a friend in Alaska, and it's fascinating to us the long days and then long nights. Well, we picked out a puppy this weekend. Our Springer Spaniel, Huey, died last summer, and I'm finally recovered enough to find another dog to be my other dog's play mate. She is six months old, neutered, and dog door trained, which will make it much easier for us to help her get used to the dog door at home. We'll keep her on leash for a couple of weeks, until she gets acclimated, and then hire professionals to come out and train her on the electric fence boundaries. I put a bunch of names out on Facebook, and got lots of great responses. The biggest favorites were Belle, Bella, Olive, and Zoey. I'm leaning on Bella in a big way. She is a labradoodle, and is so precious. Can't wait! Seem to have found a kind of happy medium on the muscle spasms. Still am going to go to a neurologist, because we need to find the cause for the problem. In the meantime, the rheumatoid doctor prescribed Xanax. He wanted me to take 1 mg 3 times a day. Well, that's not going to happen! 1 mg knocked me on my butt. So I take .25 or .5 depending on the level of spasms in the morning. If absolutely necessary, I will take .25 in the afternoon. Then at bed time I take .5 or .75 depending on how I feel. That seems to be helping. It's a strong drug, and can't imagine how I'd function if I took what he told me. Maybe I'll build a tolerance to it and that will allow me to take more. We'll see. Well I'm at volunteer work and will be here all day, so I'll sign off. Take care, Judy in MI

You look fantastic! Thanks for sharing the pictures! Enjoy the little vacation away. Judy in MI

Inspirational Dawn. Sad story to lose 10 immediate family members. It's a reality of life though. In my immediate family of 7, 3 died of cancer, and in my husband's immediate family of 6, 2 died of cancer. Tough stuff. Judy in MI

Morning all! Going to the rheumatologist today. Yet another doctor, trying to remain positive that they will figure out the mystery going on in my body. Yesterday I was out and about, sun shining, and all of a sudden the sky got black and this amazing violent thunderstorm erupted! We get these pop up storms when the humidity builds and the big lake Michigan sets up the conditions just right. Amazing. I called my husband, who was only 5 miles east of me, and he said the sun was shining, it was totally dry out. So I don't know if there are any American Idol fans here. The conclusion of the show was yesterday. Both finalists were fantastic. I really wanted Chrystal to win, but it really doesn't matter. Both of them have careers sealed now. Good stuff. K, going to grab some grub and head out. Take care, Judy in MI

Welcome here. Sorry for the reason you are here, but glad you found us. Sounds like a rough time for both of you. You will find amazing people and stories here, and there is lots of room for hope! I'm so glad to hear that the radiation got rid of the pain. That is so good. I hope and pray that she sails through the rest of her chemo, and that the pneumonia clears up. Post here, and put your thoughts out there for us. It will help you cope better if you can express what you are feeling. Take care, Judy in MI

Good morning! I give you both a lot of credit for working so hard for your fitness! It amazes me! I'm happy that I can get up a flight of stairs repeatedly.....and two years ago, that was not even possible. LOL! It's hot here. Just plain hot for Michigan. We've had more over 90 days here this year, than we had for the entire summer last year. Last year was unusually cold, only got the boat out 3 times, but still.....it's hot. I'm car shopping. Test drove an Infinity last night. Didn't like the sport feel to it. I don't want to feel the road beneath me, nor do I want to hear it. So that one is out. We will be checking out a few before making a decision. I'm in my car a lot, so I want to make a good decision. Life is short, and we need to enjoy what we can! Today is my "day off" so I slept until 9, and am just goofing off for a little bit then, I have a grueling day of a manicure, and pedicure. *sigh* LOL! Have a good one! Judy in MI

Hi. This must be so confusing for everyone, and frustrating. Chronic pain can wear anyone down, and cause depression too. I wouldn't handle that well either. I hope things improve. Don't really have any advice. Pain is there for a reason, and I guess I'd be hounding the doctors, or at least get her into a pain clinic for evaluation. I wouldn't know what else to do. I hope things improve for Mom. Judy in MI

Good morning all! Well, we broke a record yesterday. Has not ever hit 93 degrees in Michigan in May! Man it was hot. Hot and humid. My AC had trouble keeping the house to 75 it was working so hard. Then hubs decides to pick a big bunch of lilacs, thinking their pungent odor would be pleasing to me. I threw them out this morning, strong perfumy odors make me wheeze. LOL KW Judy glad you don't need the blood work! Nice, huh? Hope your man has a good day fishing. It's supposed to get to 85 today, which is crazy for us, but I'll take it. Last year we only had 3 days where it hit 90, and we're supposed to get to 90 3 days this week! This is crazy. Noticed this morning, the turtles have come out, a sure sign of summer. They sun themselves in the road, and we have to be vigilant about not hitting them. If it's not a snapper, I'll even stop and remove them from the road. I love those turtles. Feeling much better again today! Yeah. This is not going to be a long term cold/flu. Yeah!!!!! K, got to go! I'm at work and lots to get done today! Judy in MI