stand4hope

No groaning here - I'm really laughing (and no, Frank, I'm not blonde.)

Beth, I'm glad you're feeling better. I'm also glad Cathy posted her story about Taxotere. I know there are many who have done Taxotere and did just fine, and I will be praying that you are one of them. Love, Peggy

God has spoken to me personally, distinctly, directly, clearly, unexpectedly, and quickly on two previous occasions in the last ten years - tonight was the third time. It just happened when I read Cheryl's post about her anniversary and her praises to God. If any of you read my post in the why, oh, why thread, you might recall that I said if I could only type one sentence that helped one person, then my mission here would be accomplished. Cheryl just proved to me that that statement is correct. You never know when something YOU say is going to be used by God to change someone's life, or at a minimum, help them when they need it. We not only have the crisis of my husband's cancer in our life, but we have a second crisis that is even more difficult to cope with. That crises swells each day, and recently has become so frightening that it's hard to sleep at night. Cheryl, your descriptive post of God's beautiful creations in your own back yard, and His words that He gave you to post tonight completely lifted my fear. I have been sitting here frozen since I posted back to you. I don't know whether to thank you or to thank God, but I know I need to be thankful, and I am. Love to you all, Peggy

.... and, I was so taken by the end of your post, that I forgot about the 1st part. Happy, Happy, Happy Anniversary!!! and I am so glad to hear that your scans were stable. Have a good night, Cheryl. God bless you, Peggy

Cheryl, Can you see my tears through cyberspace? I can see God smiling down on you and so pleased that you gave Him all that glory. He loves to be praised and thanked, and to receive it from someone like you who is going through so much suffering and pain and worry and fear, and to shout it to the world in public like this without embarrassment must please him beyond our comprehension. I stand in awe of you. God loves His child called Cheryl. Love, Peggy

Shelly, My guess is that she has already been to lawyers that wouldn't take the case, or she didn't have the money to hire one, otherwise, she never would have walked into that courtroom without a lawyer. In other words, my guess is that she knew about the hearing to open the estate, and she talked to lawyer(s) and was told she could go on her own and what to expect. We have a couple of will contests in our office right now and they can be very expensive. Unless your step-sister has a big chunk of money for a big fat retainer, she will have a very hard time getting someone to take the case, especially since she was written out of the will. Also, the others are right - it's very difficult to prove incompetency. She will have to pay for copies of medical records, physician statements, depositions, etc., and believe me, it is expensive, time consuming and difficult. I'm with the others, I think she will just quietly disappear - at least I hope so. Love, Peggy

OMG Ry!!! That's awful and I know how scary that is. It sounds just like what happened to hubby with the Taxotere, but they have bags of benadryl ready to slap in the IV in case someone has a reaction. He turned red, tight chest, rash, almost passed out. I'm so glad you are ok. And you're right about having somebody there because he was so quickly going out that if I hadn't been there to yell for help, who knows what would have happened. I'm just curious - what was the name of the antibiotic? Only curious because I'm allergic to Septra, and I guess it's not uncommon to have allergies to sulfa-based drugs, although I can take Z-Pack just fine. Glad you're ok. Love, Peggy

Oh, Elaine, thank you so much for coming to the rescue. Paddy, you hang in there. I'm at work now and can't stay on here, but I will call you tonight. Love, Peggy

Nell, It really is a blessing that your friend is feeling well. (Thank you, Father!) Even if we know the cancer is there, having them feel well is so wonderful. Keep us posted. Love, Peggy

Wonderful! Cat's ok, too! This is all really great news. Who else is out there that we haven't heard from? Hugs to all of you, Peggy

Little Mo, Great news on the shrinkage! If you decide on WBR or gamma knife, it will be ok. Before you know it, all of that will be behind you. What a cute picture you painted for us of the little guy off to third grade, and mommy making him some strawberry jello to slurp when he gets home from the big day. You're a good mom. Love, Peggy

Oh my, Cindy. That's a lot of stuff to be dealing with. Who can blame you for breaking down? I'm glad you have a place to talk about it, get all those feelings out, and people to listen and care. I think getting it out is so important. Like me, most of us don't have answers, but we do understand and care very much. God love you, Peggy

Oooh, David, the description of that procedure made me wince. I'm glad you got through it ok, and that your treatments are progressing. I love that spirit! Knock those cancer cells straight to hell where they belong. I also love your picture. Love, Peggy

Karen, I'm so glad your mom is feeling well and you guys got to laugh and have a good time. It reminds me so much of the fun times we used to have with our mom and dad. We are a silly and fun family. It just makes everything so much better when they feel good, doesn't it? I will pray that her MRI scan is ok, and that if it was a mini-stroke, that all will be well with that, too. Much love, Peggy

This is LCSC, which stands for Lung Cancer SUPPORT Community. I looked up the definition of support: ... to carry or bear the weight of; keep from falling, slipping or sinking; hold up...to give courage, faith, or confidence to; help or comfort...to give approval to or be in favor of; subscribe to; uphold...to maintain or provide for (a person, institution, etc.) with money, or subsistence... ©1995 Zane Publishing, Inc. Through the grapevine I learned early this evening that I'm No. 1 on this person's worst list as a troublemaker, which has supposedly been backed up by some un-named others. I am NOT a thick-skinned person. In fact, if we had a contest, I'm sure I would win the most thin-skinned person award. This hurt me deeply. I spent all evening reading through my last 200 or so posts and every single post contained words of encouragement and support to someone. I couldn't find a single post to back up this charge. I only recall posting one sarcastic post to someone who was very angry and used some strong unkind words toward someone, but I deleted those words shortly after I posted them because I knew in my heart that it just wasn't a nice thing to do. Other than that, I can't find anything to substantiate this charge, so I choose to not own it. I read all of your very wonderful posts to David and Karen tonight, and if David hadn't told us about this, and if I hadn't read all of your wise comments, I would have never posted on this website again and take a chance at being hurt again. Like I said, I hurt easily, and with the death of my dad, my husband's cancer, and the problems with our son, I don't need to voluntarily go someplace where I am going to be hurt some more. I know I need to work hard at thickening my skin, and my friends, that's exactly what I am going to try to do, because I am going to stay here and give you all as much support as I possibly can, whenever I can. I can't promise that I will stay forever, but I'm not going anyplace anytime soon. Like it says in the definition above, if I can type only one sentence that keeps even one person from "falling, slipping, or sinking", my mission is accomplished. You have no idea, you just have no idea, how much I care about each and every one of you. Love, Peggy

Ok, Paddy, my friend, just for you. It's old, but it's us. I always want to see pictures of other people so I can put a face with the name, and I've been selfish to not do the same thing. I just don't want him to get upset about it if he ever sees it. I guess I'll just take my chances. After 37 years, I think the worst that would happen is that he'd just be irritated and tell me to take it down, and of course, if he does, I will. We both had a good day and very nice evening, although he said some things tonight about dealing with the cancer that were unusual for him. I'm hoping it's just a passing mood, but I was also glad to have him talk about it a little. He seems very tired. Have a good night's rest everyone. Love, Peggy

Oh, Shelly. I know you must be feeling so discouraged. Please try to expect the best from this. Doggone it! I know that's a lot easier said than done. You've had one of the toughest times of anybody I know, but you keep coming through it and getting right back in here and encouraging everyone else. You can do this! Your sister can do this! I will pray for your sister. Isn't her name Kate or Katie? You don't need to answer that - I'll go back and look it up. I want to pray for her specifically by her name, and for you, too. All my love, Peggy

Thanks, everybody! I did get my roses! 12 beauties with baby's breath and fern galore. They are BEAUTIFUL and smell good, too. I got only a little emotional - much better than last year. Donna - CONGRATULATIONS to you, too! Curtis, you hit it on the head, we're not just lc survivors, we're fights-sickness-kid survivors, too. Don - the only name better than Don would be "Peggy". hehe. (you know the "better half"). Becky - a "life sentence" for sure. I tell everyone I was BORN married - that would make me 37 years old, right? Yes, Paddy, we can only use the name just for today. Connie-Oh, YEAH, believe me, they DID say it wouldn't last. When we got married (1967), he was working in a gas station and drove a maroon Belvedere that was souped up with some big, loud engine and the car shook when it idled. It was spit-shined and ready to drag race any other beastly vehicle that thought it could win. My parents thought he was pretty cool, though, loud car and all. My sisters are just head over heels in love with him. He is like their big brother and always has been. That's when I weighed 105 lbs. soaking wet, and he was 6'2" with a full head of dark hair. I bet you can figure out how to advance those two descriptions 37 years. Thanks again, everybody. I love you all, Peggy

Kel, I'm so glad your mom is doing better. I don't blame you for being so upset about them doing that. I would have had a pit-bull face, too. I'm sure they are so embarrassed when they find out, and that should teach them a lesson. I had communication issues between all the different shifts when my dad was on a ventilator and couldn't speak for himself. I finally got so frustrated that I went to the charge nurse and the head of the whole floor and complained that issues weren't getting communicated in report between shifts. I called 2-3 times a day and I kept hearing, "I wasn't told about that in report." Finally, they had a big meeting of staff and got on them about doing a better job of "reporting" at shift change. You might try that approach (attack it from the top) and see if that helps. I'm sure the charge nurse (all shifts) would not like it that this was happening to your mom. I hope you get your mom home soon, Kel. Love, Peggy

Yippee!!! TAnn, that is the best news. So glad to hear that word "stable". I'm sure the MRI will be ok, but please let us know when you find out. GREAT NEWS! Love, Peggy

.......37 YEARS!!!....... I am so happy today. This time last year, I didn't think I would ever see another one of these special days. Don* had been diagnosed just 1 month on this date last year. He sent me a dozen beautiful roses to work, just like he always does every single year, only this time when I picked them up at the receptionist's desk, I cried all the way back to my desk. He was already getting treatment by this time, and he was still pretty angry and shocked at the whole thing. The last thing I thought he would remember was our anniversary, and even if he did remember, I didn't expect the roses. I teared up during the day every time someone asked me "How many years?" Well, today, I'm sure I will get them again. I already got a beautiful card thanking me for putting up with him for 37 years, and I have started my day with "happy tears". Love to all, Peggy *P.S. I know....Now you know his name. He's very private and I told him I wouldn't use his name on this website, but I'm so proud to call him my man, that just this one time, his name is Don.

Nancy, Did you get your results today? Thinking about you . . . Love, Peggy

Are you out there, Cheryl? How did it go today? Been thinking about you all day. Love, Peggy

Shelly, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your mom. My God hold you close in the days ahead and give you His loving comfort through this tough time. I am so sorry. God bless you, Peggy

Bob hasn't posted much since I've been a member of this community, however, I feel like I've come to know him because of all the fond posts that others have posted about him. The picture I get is of a vibrant, enthusiastic, likeable and very funny guy. I know he will be missed by all and I extend my deepest sympathy to all of his family. May God bless you all, Peggy