stand4hope

Hi, LiL Mo and Welcome. My husband received Taxotere, but he was one of the unfortunate and rare ones that had an allergic reaction on the third infusion. I ditto what Betty and Ry said about your schedule. You are a busy mom, but friends and family really do want to help when they can. Don't be afraid to delegate some duties if you start feeling fatigued from the chemo. Another thing is to just forget about everything that can wait. Dust in the corners will wait for you until you feel better. Everybody seems to have different reactions to different chemo, so you really won't know until you get it how it will affect you. They will give you decadron before the infusion, and it has the same affect on almost everybody - almost a guarantee of having trouble getting to sleep for a couple of nights afterward, frequent urination, and an increase in appetite. Best of luck to you - it will be fine, and you will do great. Keep us posted, and once again, WELCOME! God bless you, Peggy

Thanks, Katie. Does that mean we have to pray for his computer. Never done that before, but, hey, why not! Peggy

Don, You haven't posted since last Saturday. That's not like you. Come out of hiding and get your hiney back here! Peggy

That is great news, Amy!!!! Peggy

Paddy, What a thrill that must have been for your husband. I'm so glad he got the opportunity to do that. And . . . WHAT A GREAT PICTURE!!! Love, Peggy

Angie, I don't know how old your dad is, but most of us from about 50 and over were brought up that you just don't bother the doctors unless it's an emergency. I had, and still have, that problem with my dad (age 76). Last winter he was having signs of pneumonia and wouldn't call the doctor because he said "the doctor had more important things to worry about". He kept wanting to "wait until tomorrow" or "wait and see how the weekend goes". I finally just told him that he couldn't wait because he could have pneumonia and if he let it get too far out of hand, he would die. I just flat told him that. He said, ok, he would call the next day. He has severe COPD and his pulm doc didn't even make him come in. Gave him a steroid dose pack and anitibiotic over the phone. Every relationship is different, but if you're comfortable to do this with your dad, I would suggest that you just sternly tell him that he has a severe case of bronchitis and maybe even pneumonia and if he doesn't get attention now, he might not make it to Thursday. Sometimes you've just got to get tough and take over. I tried it with my mom, too, when she was living, but it wouldn't work with her. She would just get mad and say leave her alone and that she would call when she was d*** good and ready. They're all different, but hopefully you can push your dad. It sounds like you have a great relationship, so even if he gets mad, he won't stay that way. Love, Peggy P.S. Thanks for the prayers at your church - it means a lot to me!

Just wanted to let you all know that the radiation to my husband's shoulder is getting the job done and he now has very little pain in his shoulder. Iressa was started today. Things are looking and feeling a lot brighter around here. Have a great and wonderful weekend! Love to all, Peggy

Oh my - such wonderful good news. I remember your first post before all this started. What a happy, happy day! God bless you, Peggy

Mark, I was glued to the screen reading this very touching story. What a tribute to your wonderful mother that you and all your family went to such great lengths to grant her wish. Congratulations to you and your new bride, and may God bless you and your family with His comfort and peace during this time. God bless you, Peggy

P.S. If Mo's daughter is seeing this, I think we would all like to know if Mo is getting to have visits from her grandson. She wrote about her grandson constantly, and I think that would help her a lot if she still gets to see him.

Ry, Thank you so much for sending us this update. To Mo and her daughter: Like Angie and the rest, I WILL NOT give up on Mo. I'm devastated to hear that she isn't doing well, and can accept that, but there is always hope, and I am praying daily for our friend, Mo, to pull through this. Love, Peggy

Don, I'm glad you get into see the oncologist so fast. At least the waiting time is less than normal. I'll say a prayer for you and your mom tonight. God bless you, Peggy

Well, it's about time - HALLELUJAH! I don't have any advice about the upcoming surgery, but I know how hard the delays and waiting have been for you. FINALLY!!! Love, Peggy

Pier, I don't think I'm going to even try to answer this one, but I do think Fay and Ry's responses make a lot of sense. My family hasn't had to walk down that road, although we are approaching the time when some decisions need to be made about quality of life. It's tough. It's real tough. I'm sorry you find yourself having to even think about this type of decision. Just take it one day at a time, make the best decisions you can as they come up, and then trust that whatever decisions you make on a daily basis are the right ones. I have always believed that if I pray and ask God what I should do that He will make the decision I make the right one. I don't look for a bolt of lightning, a sign or a verse to tell me what to do. I just make a decision and thank God for helping me, and then trust Him for the results. The results don't always turn out to be the way I would like them to be, but I know that I turned it over to God and that eventually He will make it right because I trusted Him. Hope this helps. Love, Peggy

Kelly, Please accept my sincere sympathy. I am so sorry for your loss. God bless you, Peggy

David, I'll be praying for a clean bone scan. Peggy

What about a PET scan? If there is cancer in the bones, the area should light up. Some insurance companies don't like to pay for these without a good reason, but this sounds like a good reason to me. Best of luck! God bless you, Peggy

Peggy

Becky: I always say, "If it moves, I'll hug it!" Keep on hugging, sister - you are a good woman!!! Ry: Me, too. Those hugs are a flat guarantee to open the flood gates. Everyone at work knew my husband was getting follow-up scans last week. After the bad news, I just sent one big email to everyone at our law firm (small - only 30 people) and just told them I was going to get this over with all at once because I couldn't talk about it. Gave them a brief summary of the bad news, and at the end, I said: Emails only please - no hugs - I can't handle hugs right now. Good job, Becky. That woman will never, never forget your kindness. Love, Peggy

Hi Cheri, I am so very sorry about the loss of your brother. I bet you were just such a wonderful sister to him. I will definitely pray for you, his daughter and his dad and ask God to give you his comfort and peace. There's nothing better than His love. Love, Peggy

Doggone it, Mawka, you're just getting it right and left aren't you? I guess I can only guess at what might be going on, but I'm sure others will have some other insights. I doubt very much that it is bothering her that much since it has been 24 years since her husband's death, especially since she was so helpful in the beginning and brought you the herbs and things. My guess is that they have probably realized that you are in great need and going to need a lot of help, both physically and financially. This is a very sad thought, but my first gut feeling was that they don't really want to get involved. I know that probably hurts, but that's my first impression. When something like this strikes, you find out who your really good friends are. I know this would be a very hard thing to do, but I would just ask her. Just tell her that you have noticed she is brushing you off and just ask her if she's afraid of having to help take care of you. I don't know if she will be honest with you right up front, but if that is what it is, she will think about it and hopefully come around and be a good friend and be there for you if you need her. Maybe you could get some open and honest communication going. Good luck on this one, Mawka. I will say an extra prayer for you tonight. God bless you, Peggy P.S. Did you make anymore calls today? Are there any large Christian churches in your area? The larger churches usually have more resources and people available that are more than willing to help out.

Yeah. Where is that rascal? TBone - get your beeeeehind back here el pronto!! We miss you! Peggy

Hi David, Sometimes those so/so results are more troubling than the plain good news or plain bad news results. I hate the question marks of this disease. My husband feels just like you do about the chemo. I picked up his prescription for Iressa last night, but like you, he dreads starting it because he wanted to enjoy the summer. He's on vacation this week and already had to cancel his motorcycle trip because of the shoulder pain, so he at least wants to enjoy this week before having to worry about the big "D". Enjoy these beautiful days. God bless you, Peggy

Hi Terri, I've been following some of your links on RFA. It sounds really interesting but wasn't presented to us by any of our three oncologists. I don't need to follow the link you posted. We knew before my husband had the WBR that there might be short-term memory problems and long-term effects because our doctors told us, but without the radiation, there wouldn't have been any long term. Just my two cents. God bless you and thanks for the post, Peggy

Hi Amy and WELCOME! I can really identify with your words about finding hope here. My husband was diagnosed in early August 2003 and I didn't find this site until March 2004. That's 7 months of ripping apart the worldwide web looking for hope. I spent hours and hours and hours looking for something, ANYTHING, that gave me some hope. I even logged into some websites with a fake name and pretended to be a nurse just so I could get the REAL scoop. There's a lady named Christine that hosts a website especially for people who have lost a loved one to lung cancer because she lost her mother to lung cancer. From the links she has posted, I found HOPE and it's spelled LCSC!!! Once again, welcome, and please keep us posted about your mom and also how you are doing and coping. We'll listen to anything - well, almost anything. There are some things you might do or say and Ry will try to fine you 10 bucks, but just between you and me, she just pretends to be the boss of us! God bless you, Peggy