stand4hope

Alisa, I don't remember if I responded to your first thread, but I just wanted you to know that I agree with you that everyone here is wonderful. I take that back - they are all fantastic, incredible, amazing - they are supercalifragilisticexpealidocious!!! Love, Peggy

Nell, I sure don't know a diddly darn thing about this procedure, but please know that Bob is in my prayers. I pray that he will have a successful procedure that will free him from the pain. Love, Peggy

Hi Renee, I know we've already talked, but I wanted to publicly say how happy I am to hear from you. I've not had this experience and can't even begin to identify with your grief, but it hurts me to even think about it. You take your time about coming back and just take care of you!! Please keep in touch, Love, Peggy

Betty, A REAL VACATION!!! Wow! Send your hall pass to me when you get back - I want one of those, too! So glad to hear you're doing so well. My husband had an unexplained fever for several weeks when he was on chemo and radiation. His fever got as high as 101+ several times. He took Levaquin (sp?), Tylenol every 4 hours, and it just wouldn't go away. They hospitalized him, did blood test, blood cultures, the WORKS, and never did figure out what was causing it. It finally just quit! Very weird! Here's praying yours will just quit, too!! Have a good time! Love, Peggy

Father, I pray that Beth's stubbon esophagus gets opened up all the way to her belly!! No more stuck pills and no more pain! Thank you, Father!! AMEN! Love, Peggy

Go, Nancy, Go!!! If there are any cancer cells lurking up there waiting to pounce, they are about to get the SURPRISE of their life! Muahahaha! Love, Peggy

David, So glad to hear you are feeling better. Enjoy that camping trip! Love, Peggy

Wow! This news just blows me away! That's WONDERFUL, and thank you for sharing this with us. Love, Peggy

OH NO!! I am so heartbroken to hear this. She was such a sweet lady. I do remember her last couple of posts and things were not going well for herself or her husband, as I recall. I think they were having a difficult time trying to care for each other. If any of her family gets to see this, please tell them how sorry I am for this great loss. Love, Peggy

Oh, and Cat, here's a P.S. About 22 years ago, we lost an infant son. I was hospitalized for two months prior to his birth for major complications with my pregnancy. At a very low point in my hospital stay, my husband looked me in the eye, pointed his finger right at me, and sternly, said: "When I come back here tomorrow, I expect to see your hair fixed, I expect to see makeup on your face, and I expect to see you smile." He was the boss of me - because I did it!! LOL! Now, I'm going to be the boss of you: Fix your hair, put on some makeup and smile!! Love, Peggy

Cat, Take a deep breath, hold your head up high, throw your shoulders back, put a smile on your face, summon up that fight that we all know is in you and fight this beast with all your might!! You can do it!! I am always praying for you and God hears. All my love, Peggy

Bruce, I'm so happy to hear this good news! I just love doctors that can lift those burdens from us. Congrats on having a stress-relieving day!! Cindi: You are too funny!! Love, Peggy

Elaine, I am so tremendously sorry that you lost your wonderful mother. It's so hard to lose our parents that have loved us and sacrificed for us our whole lives. May God hold you and your family very close during this difficult time. Love, Peggy

Duplicate post.

Ok. I'm back. Here's what I said on the other post: Beth, if you compare our husbands' profiles, you will see a lot of similarities (Stage IV, brain mets, stereotactic radiosurgery, etc.) My husband was not eligible for surgery, so he didn't have time off work for that, but the aggressive chemo/radiation treatments literally knocked him flat for 2 months. He was down 24/7 and I thought the treatments were going to kill him instead of the cancer. Reading my quote above, you can see that didn't happen (THANK GOD!!). By the way, we are more than one year out from diagnosis. I also don't see anything in your profile that your husband had previous WBR. I thought that was a little odd since he's had two mets treated with radiosurgery. The good news is that Bill's mets are tiny. WBR is very effective for small mets, so it will hopefully wipe them out, as well as any that can't be seen. Now, about the emotional part of it. I am just like you as far as being weak and very emotional. Sometimes I am very ashamed of myself for worrying so much because my husband just doesn't seem to give it a thought and is strong as an ox with the whole thing. I've only broke down in front of him 2 or 3 times and that's a miracle. I feel just like you do in every respect. The one thing you are saying in your post that I also have been guilty of is what to expect next? It's so hard to NOT think about that, and I just have to force myself to ONLY look at today and the days before today. Today he's good and I just try to shut it off when I start thinking about where this could be going and just think that "today he is good". Sometimes it's hard when we read on here the bad news because I think most of us tend to vicariously put ourselves in that person's situation. Beth, we just can't do that! Yes, it's possible that our husband's could have the same future, but it's also possible that they will not!!!!!! If I let myself think about what COULD happen, then I am not happy, upbeat and positive around my husband. I can't let him think for ONE MINUTE that I am anything less than optimistic that he is going to continue to have a long life. I feel like I'm rambling. I'm typing as fast as I can and I know this is already too long, and I have to get back to work. If I think of anything else, or you want to talk - PLEASE PLEASE send me a PM. We are on the same path here. OK? Chin up! Shoulders back! Take a deep breath! Love, Peggy

Dear Beth, HANG IN THERE!! Your story sounds almost identical to mine - including you being weak and him being strong. I've got lots to say to you, but my boss is hovering around my desk - imagine that! LOL!!! I posted to someone else about the brain met thing the other day. I will find it as soon as I can and be back here shortly (when it's safe!) HANG ON GIRL!!!! I'll be back. Love, Peggy

Well, rats! I was going to say "Yippee for sure", but Di beat me to it. I guess I'll say HIP! HIP! HOORAY!!! Great news, Doug! Peggy

Beth, I am feeling very happy that you are going to start the road to recovery. . . and it will happen - you will recover. My husband was beaten to a pulp with treatment and he has recovered well. One good thing about feeling bad - it feels so good when you feel good again. LOL! Many prayers for you, Beth! Love, Peggy

Best of luck with the upcoming MRI and chemo, Rich. What does the "K..." mean in your post? Just curious. Love, Peggy

David, It's good to see you back posting again and I'm glad you're on the mend! Love, Peggy

Karen, I know it's hard for you to be so far away, but please take comfort in knowing that it meant so much to your mom and dad that you were able to go visit. I know that they both want you right where you are - taking care of your adorable children. Iressa has done wonders for my husband, and I am praying it will do the same for your dear, sweet dad. Hang in there!! Love, Peggy

Beth, I think this is wonderful picture. You look really great and the best part is that you have such a great smile after all you've been through. I love it!! Love, Peggy

Hi Katie and a great big WELCOME to you! I'm sorry you have a reason to find us, but I know you will be glad you did. You will get the love and support and answers here that you are looking for. Please take time to read through some of the threads here, particularly in the NSCLC forum. You will find lots of information there. I know it's hard, but try to be calm and patient about the waiting. NSCLC is a slow-growing cancer, compared to SCLC which grows quite rapidly, so it will be ok to wait a bit for your appointment, but like Frank said, don't let them stretch it out too long. Please know that you are going to find many survivors here of NSCLC. When my husband's NSCLC was found, it was quite advanced, including 8 brain mets. Currently, he has it in his brain, bones, liver, pericardium, and, of course, his lung. The good part is that he is doing great, and I mean he is really doing well. We've had a rough year, but since mid-summer, after recovering from chemo and radiation, and after starting Iressa, he has rebounded and is doing very well. He works every day, took a 3-day motorcyle trip, racking up 1400 miles, takes care of our yard (about an acre), prunes trees, waxes his truck, and just keeps on keeping on. It sounds like your dad is in great physical health for his age, and since he put in those water heaters and is still doing physical labor, I just bet he's going to do very well with treatment. Performance status is very important, and it sounds like your dad's score is way up there, so he should do very well. Please keep us posted on his progress. God bless you, Peggy

Heather, I, too, will pray for Peggy. I recall seeing a post by Peggy when I was reading some older threads. It caught my eye since we have the same name, and I wondered what happened to her. I'm sorry to hear that she is in the hospital and having problems. Love, Peggy

Dee, It doesn't get much better than that, does it!!!!! Congratulations! I do hope that your breathing problems improve and you are able to get the injections to help with the pain in your spine. Love, Peggy