stand4hope

Well, Tiny, I never had to change oncs, but our dentist retired last year and I was so upset I thought I would never go to the dentist again. Found out our new one isn't too bad, but I still liked the other one a lot better. Congratulations on three years. That is WONDERFUL! Love, Peggy

Wendy, Keep the good news coming. Breathing a big sigh of relief for you. Love, Peggy

Well, pooh! This must be so hard to take. Just try to keep thinking about the wonderful results that Bill's wife had with Tarceva, and several others are holding stable and getting some shrinkage with it, too. Keep us posted, Pat, and give that great guy of yours a hug from me. Love and prayers, Peggy

Dear TAnn, We've already talked, but I wanted to tell you again how sorry I am for this news and that I know it's hard to go back to chemo. Don's first infusion of Alimta was really easy. The only side effect he had was some fatigue and hiccups. The hiccups weren't constant and only lasted for about a day and a half. He could feel the increased fatigue 2 days after. I also got his blood work today and it looks pretty good, too. A little below normal on the blood counts, but nothing to worry about and his platelets were still well within the normal range. I was concerned about the blood counts, but so far, ok. He gets his 2nd infusion tomorrow, so I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Again, hang in there and keep fighting. Love and prayers, Peggy

And, Melanie, your sun shines on us. Your posts are always refreshment for my soul. God bless you! Peggy

Hi Kathy and WELCOME! I don't have a lot of time to reply because I'm at work. Just wanted to get my husband's profile up here for you to read. We're almost at the 2-year mark. As you can see from the diagnosis below, and the subsequent findings, this disease can be beaten back for a very, very long time. I suggest that you print the responses as you get them and let hubby see them so he will have more hope. Gotta run, now! God bless, Peggy

Rich, I've learned recently that it's best to let it all out once in a while. It's somehow cleansing to the soul. Glad you're feeling better. Love, Peggy

Cute! Cute! If Camelia would have just dropped her tail like Luna's, they would have looked like porcelain dolls sitting on the ledge instead of real kitties. Very pretty kitty!! Love, Peggy

No, Sandy, YOU'RE THE BEST. Your pretty smiling face always cheers me up. Congrats again on the great results. Take care of yourself, now, and heal well! Love, Peggy

Great news on the golfing accomplishment, Addie. Now, give the poor mistreated doctor his peanut brittle, for crying out loud. Love, Peggy

I don't know for sure, but I don't think it will be a setback. I know that many people here have had to postpone chemo because of low blood counts and for other reasons. As soon as they are strong enough, they are back at it again. I hope her blood counts recover soon. Let us know when she gets started back up again. Love, Peggy

CONGRATULATIONS, DON AND LUCY!!! What a wonderful thing the two of you have accomplished. Have a good time tonight! Love, Peggy

What upsetting news. Your fear comes through loud and clear in your post. I will definitely pray for better news in the next day or so. I'm not a doctor, but I'm a little confused how he could make that determination looking at a chest x-ray. I don't remember anyone on here saying that a fever was a symptom of lc or a growing tumor. Can anyone respond to that assumption? Anyway, that was just an afterthought. The primary concern is for you and Brian. You guys hang in there as best you can and try to wait for a more definite report from the CT scan. The next day or so will be tough, but hopefully, all of our prayers will provide you with the comfort and patience you need. Sending love, hugs and prayers! Peggy

Brandy, I responded to you on your other thread, but I also wanted you to understand that the number of "views" does not mean that many individual people have looked at your thread. Everytime you look at it counts as 1, and everytime everyone else looks at it, it counts as 1. So, if 5 people have responded to you, and I "view" it 5 times to see what they said, and each of them view it 5 times, that's 25 to 30 views, but only 6 people have really seen it. Does that make sense? Hope to hear more from you when you get some more information. Love, Peggy

Dear Brandy, First of all, I have also read your others posts. Our son was 26 when we learned of his dad's diagnosis. He, too, reacted in anger, fear, and also in a lot of other negative and destructive ways. Please read the following very carefully to the end: Initially, his dad (my husband) was diagnosed with 8 brain tumors that had spread from the lung cancer. These were all fairly small when compared to what I am about to explain that happened. My husband was in the hospital the next day after the tumors were discovered. The oncologist and another doctor were viewing the MRI films in the hospital room. They were not talking to us yet. They kept picking them up, looking, and picking them up again. Some of the films showed very, very large areas of "white". Our son was watching and we could see his face turning red and he was clenching his fists. Suddenly, he stomped out of the room and said "This is b*@LLH*^%! We were intent on waiting for what the doctors had to say and did not follow our son. The doctor explained that the "white" area was edema (fluid) and that steroids (Decadron) would take care of that and get rid of the headaches. Sure enough - less than 24 hours later, the headaches were gone. Here's my point. Our son ASSUMED that those large white areas were all cancer and that his dad's brain was FILLED with cancer. He literally fell apart and caused us and other people a lot of additional problems that we didn't need at the time. He literally disappeared for 2 days. If he would have just been patient and waited he would have known that ALL OF THAT was not cancer. Brandy, that was nearly TWO YEARS AGO, and his dad is still doing pretty good. Our son got counseling, is now 28 years old, and has learned to better cope with this disease - the good and the bad. Please, please, please learn all you can and try to stay calm and be helpful to your parents. At this point, you don't even know if it's cancer. If you are having such a hard time dealing with a potential cancer diagnosis and your parents know it, and they probably do, they may try to protect you by withholding further information. We did! Lots of prayers for patience coming your way. Love, Peggy

Dear Mare, You definitely have my prayers. I know how scary it is when these serious things happen to our kids. Our son has just recovered from a scary ride, too. Hang in there and let us know how she's doing. Love, Peggy

Hi Bill, I saw your other post about the CT scans coming soon, and I wish your wife nothing but good results. On the lab results, I know nothing. I did look at my husband's reports to try to compare. Last month, his albumin was 4.3. It shows the range for normal to be 3.2 to 5.2, so 3.1 (your wife's result) doesn't sound too bad. His lab results show a bunch of highs and lows, but none of them are very far high or low and I've been told repeatedly, both by the onc and by Dr. Cunningham that these slightly "out of range" numbers don't mean much. The only one my husband has had that gives me some concern are his lymphs, which have dropped the last two reports: 17 last month and 11 on 6/7; range is 20-50, so I think "11" sounds a little more than slightly out-of-range. He gets new blood work on Wed., so if this number drops further, I'll ask about it. His RBC and hemoglobin were both a little low and WBC a little high on 6/7, so I'm hoping the 6/9 Alimta he received doesn't cause those numbers to change much. RBC, hemoglobin, platelets and WBC are what they have to watch closely with Alimta, and they have to watch creatinine for the Zometa that he gets to strengthen his bones. May you should ask on Ask the Experts. Don't forget to let us know how the CT scan results go. Love, Peggy

Pat, I could see where this could be easily not known by the doctor. I would think it would be really hard to know all the drugs that could be harmful if taken together, however, if the Biaxin was a drug prescribed and picked up by the same pharmacy, the pharamacists should have picked up on it when he/she filled the prescription. If I were you, I would call the doctor tomorrow morning and just tell them that you see that there is a warning against taking those two drugs together and see what they say. Love, Peggy

Hi Elaine, I don't understand the up and down lymph nodes either, but I guess up and down is a lot better than up and up and up. I'm thrilled to hear this good news!! Prayers for you and your family - ALWAYS! Love, Peggy

Thanks for this info, Bill. How is your wife? I'm hoping you posting this article doesn't mean she's having more pain. Let us know how she's doing. We haven't had an update from you for a while. Thanks! Love, Peggy

Don't know if I'm just over-emotional lately or what, but this brought tears to my eyes!!! YAY SANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love, Peggy

Dear Las: First of all, I don't think that Becky's response was harsh in light of the words that she was responding to. I think she probably interpreted the post the way that many of us did, regardless of the intent. First of all, since you are new to the board, you wouldn't know that this isn't just "one" post. There have been many, many, many posts on this subject, many of which have sadly blown up into major conflicts between some of our members. Like Connie said, this is a lung cancer support group, and since many of the members here were smokers (including my husband) or are still smokers, sometimes posts like this sound like "lecturing" to us. I doubt that there is a single member of the 2,000+ members here that doesn't already know every single thing you posted about the dangers of cigarette smoking. There are other places where "teaching" about the dangers of smoking is appropriate, but not here. Smoking, or not smoking, is simply not an issue for us at this stage - treatment for a horrible disease and finding a cure IS the issue. To be reminded of the hazards of smoking perpetuates feelings of guilt, shame, and anger to many of our members. Honey, just like your mom, members of LCSC don't need that right now. People like Becky who never smoked a cigarette in their life and have lung cancer have to live with the "stigma" of lung cancer being a smoker's disease and the subsequent lack of funding. AIDS is certainly a preventable disease in most cases, but funding for AIDS abounds. We need funding and we need a cure. We so much want to give you support while your mother is struggling with disease, and that includes your frustration with her smoking. I think many of the posts here were wonderful in trying to help you accept and understand how difficult this is for your mom. That IS part of lung cancer support. It's unfortunate, however, that the thread took the turn that it did. Praying for a peaceful end to the discussion. Love, Peggy

Hi Maryanne, I will say a special prayer for your mom tonight. I know how scary it is when our parents go through things like this. My dad also had to be trached. He didn't have any problems with the trach tube and it helped him a lot. His breathing issues were really, really bad, though, so he had lots of tubes and was on a ventilator attached to the trach. It sounds like they are on the right track with your mom and she should be feeling better in a few days. Love, Peggy

Dear Artloft, God bless you for loving and caring for your friend, even though it has been so difficult for you. That being said, you can only take so much. I'm glad to hear that you are talking about getting some help. The nurses that will help take care of her will not be strangers after just a couple of days and will also become her friends. My dad's nurses fell in love with him in a short time, and he with them. If you continue to push they way you have been, then you will also become ill. God understands that this is too much for you alone. Please get some help as soon as possible. Hugs for you and your friend. Love, Peggy

BULLHEADED has worked for my husband - keep it up! I sure hope you get to feeling better soon. That carbo/taxol combo can be tough, but it's also a good combo for kicking cancer's butt. Hang in there, Sue. Better days are ahead. I promise. Love, Peggy