stand4hope

Jana and Karen, I have lots of prayers and positive energy for your Mum. I hope all is well. Also, we all vote for ONLY GOOD NEWS on here from now on. Wish that was the way it could be, huh? I know how scared you are. Like I said somewhere else, not knowing is worse than knowing, so I pray the next several days will fly by and you will have some answers very soon. Love, Peggy

Welcome back, Angie. I've really missed your posts. I know the past couple of weeks have really been tough, but I'm so glad to hear that you got busy right away and fixed up the room for your sweet daughters. That was good therapy for all of you. You will miss him, as I miss my dad, but I do get a lot of comfort knowing that he really is in a better place and that he is no longer suffering. I hope your dad and my dad meet in Heaven. I think they would really like each other a lot. God bless you, Peggy

Dave and Karen, I am so sorry to hear that you now have even more to deal with. You've had a tough time, and you are both in my prayers. May God bless you both. Love, Peggy

Today, I am thankful: 1. That Becky's scans were clean. 2. That Cindi can breathe better. 3. That my husband has had lots of good days, and very few bad ones. 4. That we are both feeling better, and locked arm-in-arm to keep fighting. 5. For several beautiful days in Indiana. Love to all, Peggy

Thank you everyone so much. You are just the best. Nobody in the world could ask for better friendships than those on this website. We did get the PET report, and unfortunately, it was much worse than we even thought. I won't even count the number of times the word increase or new were used. We talked to the doctor again, and are still going to try Tarceva for a while, even though he said Alimta is a bigger gun. He also said there is nothing life-threatening now, hubby is doing well, and he was supportive of the decision to try Tarceva for a while. John also posted to me on Ask the Experts that there is a good chance that Tarceva crosses the blood brain barrier, too, so hopefully this stuff will knock back the brain tumors as well. I have had almost no sleep for two nights in a row and am emotionally exhausted, so I came home from work, took two Tylenol PMs and am now going to try to get some sleep. Hubby asked me to not cave in on him because he isn't going to cave in. He's being the strong one right now. It seems that throughout our marriage when one of us was weak, the other was strong, and that seems to be the case right now. He's the one pumping me up. Can you believe that? He is such a good man. Thank you for your prayers. God is everything. Love to all, Peggy

Karen, Uptake is expressed in SUVs (I forget what that stands for) on PET scans. Anything over 2.5 is usually considered malignant, however, there can be false positives in PET scans, particularly with internal organs that maybe have infection or other problems (scar tissue, etc.) The bone mets are pretty easy to spot. I know the technicians see them in 3-D color. It's like spinning your body around in a circle and they can see right though it, and mostly all that shows up are these hot spots. The heart, kidneys and bladder always look hot even in normal scans. The bone mets, on our CD, which is in black and white, look like big black dots on the bones - pretty much like a bone scan. The only thing different that we see is we can't see the colors. Uptake will also show up if cancer is any organs, including the lungs, adrenal glands, etc. There have been several on here that have also had the severe side effects to the 150 mg. Tarceva. Justakid comes to mind, and I think Fay A. has some pretty potent side effects, too. We're aware of that, but since he's been on Iressa, which is very similar, and he has tolerated it well, we're hoping that 150 mg. Tarceva side effects will be tolerable. Ry's husband (Mr. Ry) switched and had more profound side effects after switching, but the last I heard, I think they have calmed down. There have also been some great reports about positive effects (Bill's wife and Fay A.), so we decided to go this route, for a while, to see how he does. It's stronger than what he's taking now, so we're hoping it will kick the cancer back some. We know the Alimta would probably put an immediate halt to him riding his bike, even if he didn't have any side effect except fatigue, so we just decided to do it this way for now. I think the onc will probably re-scan in 60 days or less to see if it's working. If not, we will do Alimta then. Thanks for bringing up those two points. They were good ones, and I appreciate it. Love, Peggy

Unfortunately, hubby has progression, especially to the bones. I haven't seen the written report yet, and if we get it tomorrow, I will add to this thread with more info. We saw the CD before he got the call tonight, and we both knew it was coming. It seems to really want to attack the pelvic bones for some reason where there are several new lesions. He has two other new ones which were circled and measured. One looks like it's in the trachea, which according to the measurements on the cd is about 2 cm, but has a low uptake. The other new one (other than the pelvic area where there are quite a few) looks like it might be in an adrenal gland, but, of course, I can't be sure because the film doesn't define the location, just the size and uptake. One of the new ones in the pelvic area, which wasn't there at all in September, was circled and measured: 60 mm long and about 25 mm thick. I'm not good with the metric system, but I think that is about 2 1/2" by 1". The uptake on that one was 5.13. The onc said he called the cardiologist about the echo doppler for the pericardial effusion and his recommendation was to hold off with treatment for now. I'm sorry I haven't been posting, but I am pretty self-absorbed right now with all this, and also some issues with our son. I'm not a happy camper, and just not a very good encourager at the present time. If you have my phone number, as sweetly as I know how, I ask you not to call. I just can't talk about this. Please don't think I'm flat-on-my-back depressed, because I'm not. I just want to deny that any of this is happening and don't want to talk about it. Is that fair? The onc suggested Alimta, however, he was supportive of Tarceva, too, if we want to try it. We are going to call tomorrow and go for the Tarceva. Like I've said in the past, the most important thing to him is to get in some good bike riding this spring (motorcycle). We know there is a good chance that this disease could get the best of him or that the Alimta could knock him out of another spring of riding like last year, and quality of life for him right now is extremely important. I will update this thread tomorrow if the written reports say anything different. I love you all, and thanks for reading this way too long post. Please forgive me if I don't post much for a while. Love, Peggy

Joanie, This is very good news. Now you can relax and enjoy the weekend. Have a good one. Love, Peggy

Gail, Every single time I read something like this, I feel my heart is going to split apart. I am so sorry for your friend, but I'm glad she has you to lean on. May God bless them with His love! Love, Peggy

Today, I am thankful: 1. For a warm, cozy home. 2. That it's warm enough to not snow. 3. That next Tuesday it's going to be in the 60s. 4. That the weekend is less than 24 hours away. 5. For bathtubs and bubble bath. Love to all, Peggy

Pat, I'm really sorry to hear that Brian is having such a hard time with treatment. It happens, and I know it's hard on you. It was hard on me when my hubby was knocked on his butt from treatment. I so very vividly remember how scared and sad I was. Just know in your heart that it's working to kick the cancer to hell where it belongs. He will get better. It may take a while, but he will get better. BIG HUGS!!! Love, Peggy

Oh, Julie, I am so sorry for this great loss to you, your sister and the rest of your family. I got all choked up reading about the song your daughter sang. How blessed your mother was to hear that right before she passed. And when you told about the song on the radio, oh my, I got goose bumps. What a wonderful, incredibly wonderful, thing to experience. God bless you, Peggy

Wow! Di, that sounds horrible. You have really had a hard time. I'm glad to hear you are getting good skin color back. That is very frightening to read about something like that happening. It kind of made me shiver while I was reading about it. With everything else, you sure didn't need that, but I'm glad to hear that things are better. Love, Peggy

Sharon, I sent you a PM, too. My comment certainly wasn't directed at you, but I guess I can see why maybe you took it that way. I was simply saying that I wasn't afraid to state my opinion. I'm sorry you took it personal - guess that happens with words sometimes. I've edited my post to say that I am happy to . . . . Love to all, Peggy

I posted in LC in the News about this webinar that is today at 2:00 p.m. EST. I can't watch it because I'm at work. If anyone reading this can watch it and take a few notes and let us know what they say, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!!! Here's the link: https://webmail.indy.rr.com/en/mail.htm ... cert=false Peggy

Well, I'm happy to let you know my very strong opinion. I totally agree with Becky and Ann. Love to all, Peggy

Hey big guy! Thanks for posting. I was mega-worried about you. Our neighbor gets us free tp, so I've got a whole bunch of that stuff if you do that again. So glad everything is stable and you feel better than you have for 2 years. That made my day! Love, Peggy

Karen, I don't know his last name. He's the one that thought he had lung cancer, but I think it turned out to be head and neck. He called it SCC (small cell cancer). Here's a link to his last update so you can see his picture. Is that Bruce Lambert? If yes, do you know how he's doing? Thanks in advance. http://www.lchelp.com/community/viewtop ... ht=#120048

Pam, The only thing I can offer is how it was explained to us. My husband had severe shoulder pain caused by a met. It was not fractured, but there was a hole in the bone. The reason the bones weaken and give in is because the cancer cells are stronger. The cancer doesn't actually "eat the bone" like people think. The bone just sort of gives up and the cancer wins. The radiation kills the cancer and with the cancer out of the way, the bones heal. My husband's shoulder pain was completely eliminated and I know others here have had the same result with spine, pelvic and rib mets. I don't recall reading about any cases that did not work, but there are probably some of those, too. Maybe they can come on and talk about that, especially if they had surgery. Maybe she could have the radiation, and then if it doesn't work, she could still have the surgery. Perhaps that would be worth exploring. Let us know what is decided and how it goes. Love, Peggy

Today, I am thankful: 1. That I don't sit close to Becky when she's mad and typing. 2. That I got home from work and could take off the new shoes that were killing my feet. 3. That I'm not going to wear those shoes tomorrow. 4. That I have other shoes to wear. 5. That I have feet. LOLOL! Love, Peggy

Well, that one's pretty darn good, Becky. Just for that, I've got two more on my desktop. The first is I got from Cindi O'h, and the second one I am doomed because I can't remember who posted it, but it was somebody here, so I hope they will come on and take credit. Cindi's: Step one: "I can't" Step two: "He can" Step three: "I think I will let Him" The one I can't remember who wrote it: "It never, ever gets easier, we simply grow stronger." Hope these help, Melanie! Love to all, Peggy

Melanie, It does seem to come in waves, doesn't it? I can't figure out why that happens, but it sure does happen to me, too. Don't know if this will help, but here's a quote I keep on my pc desktop: "The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. . . . Your life will always be filled with challenges." - Richard Carlson Hang in there, kiddo. Keep us posted. Love, Peggy

Oh, wow, this was the best part that I picked up in your post: Praying that will happen!! Love, Peggy

Pam, Has anyone talked to her about radiating the bone met that is causing the pain? Keep us posted. Love, Peggy

Heather, I'm sorry to hear that your mom has to get back into treatment. My husband had radiation and chemo at the same time, and other than very severe fatigue, he didn't have much trouble with the radiation, except for the burning esophagus when he swallowed, and food tasted horrible to him. He had some chemo related problems that probably multipied his side effects somewhat, too. The good news is that he got through it all just fine, so I will pray the same result for your mom. Love, Peggy