stand4hope

Terry, I am speechless. From your original post there was no indication that your husband was having these kind of problems. I don't know what to say or suggest. Listen to everything Ginny suggests to you. It sounds like your husband is a lot like Earl. Ginny is probably the best qualified here to help you get through this. You and your husband, and your 9-year-old are in my prayers, Terry. Please keep us posted. God bless you, Peggy

Cat, Have a nice break, have a nice weekend, and have a nice commitment to be back Monday morning! We'll miss you. Love, Peggy

Bo, Great news! Thanks for sharing. I believe the cancer can spread without lymph node involvement. To my knowledge, my husband has no lymph node involvement and he has mets to bones. He is also getting Zometa every four weeks. I think he has had three infusions now, but we probably won't be getting scans for a while. Icing on the cake is there are also no side effects. Once again, so glad you have a "night and day" experience. Peggy

I appreciate a new acronym for ASAP. I get tired of seeing that word at my law firm. From now on, though, when I see it, I will Always Say A Prayer!! Thanks, David. I also LOVE that little poem at the bottom. So very, very true. Peggy

Hi Paige, I'm sorry you had such a challenging day, but am sure glad it ended with you finding some peace. I'm like you, I always feel better when I have detailed information. I have a "need to understand" and it sounds like you do, too. It's good that you now better understand your mom's decision. I think I'm going to skip my pity party session today, though, and bank it for a day when I might need two in a row. OK? Give your mom a big hug for me. Love, Peggy

Thank you, Melinda. I know it took you a lot of time to search for and find just the right post. You DID find the right post. Thank you, again! Love, Peggy

Awwwww, really? Did that really happen to you, Bruce, or is that a joke? If that really happened, I am very impressed with your quick, clever and very funny response!! Peggy

I ditto everything that babesdaughter said. Sometimes people pass quickly, and sometimes they remain with us for a long time. That's how they come up with the averages. Your mom might have a ton of good days coming her way, and that's what I'm going to be praying for. Enjoy each and every one of them! God bless your mom, and you and your family, Peggy

David, I am so sorry. My grandmother (Nana) lived to be 98 also. It doesn't matter how young/old they are, we so hate to see them go, even though we know they are in a better place. I'm sorry for both of your losses. Please share my condolences with your family. Love and Hugs, Peggy

Hospice already? I don't think so. I have to get to work, so I don't have time for the whole story, but my husband had a terrible reaction to taxotere, and was literally knocked flat 24/7 for almost 2 months, including having a fever for 3 weeks and having to be hospitalized for 4 days, and then recovered and got Gemzar/Navelbine, did much better except for fatigue and now Iressa. Read my post under General II called radiation results and learn how he is today - one year later. His diagnosis and cancer spread is VERY similar to your husbands. I'm not saying your doctor is absolutely wrong, but PLEASE GET A SECOND OPINION ASAP!! Praying for you and hubby, Peggy

Dark, dark, dark, very, very dark PET scan. That's just the way I visualize it. Prayers for a dark scan. Sounds weird doesn't it? Oh well, dark is a good thing - a very good thing! Love, Peggy

Great news about the jobs, Lily. That's pretty flattering to get both of them. Way to go! Love, Peggy

Amy, I think she needs to know just enough to be worrying about you at least a little bit, but not enough to have her scared to death. Moms aren't happy if they aren't worrying about their kids. We just seem to have a really strong backbone for handling it, and actually, we probably kind of thrive on some of it. What's a mother for? I think if she knows at least some of the stuff that's going on with you and some of the reasons you need the medicine, then it will give her something to talk to you about and help get her mind off her own illness, at least for a little while. When we got the bad news from my husband's PET scan a while back, I was devastated. Absolutely shocked. I went to visit my dad, who was dying from COPD in a nursing home, and I just lost it when I saw him. I laid my head on his shoulder in the bed and cried my eyes out. He hugged me and patted me on the back and had tears in his eyes. He couldn't talk because of the ventilator, but he said his usual: "Think positive, baby, think positive." He needed to be in the loop and not left out. He knew his daughter needed him even though he was the one that was dying. When my brother got here from California, the first thing my dad asked him was if he knew about my husband. He was no longer focused on himself and his sickness - he was focused on me and my husband. It got him back in the family if you know what I mean. You're mom might be different and only you can know, so if this sounds totally out of line for you, then don't tell her anything. Good luck, and let us know how it goes. Love, Peggy

Lucie, You are absolutely incredible and such an inspiration. You also have a very wonderful name. My mom was a Lucie, too. Is your real name Lucille? There were four of us kids and we were dirt poor. Boy, did my dad love that song: "You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille. With four hungry children . . . . ." Tee hee. He went around singing it in his baritone voice ALL THE TIME. I know the chemo is tough, Lucie, but I don't think that fine man of yours is going to let you get down very long. I think he would fight a grizzly bear for you. God bless you, Peggy

David, I will be on my knees for you tonight. God bless you, Peggy

P.S. I just thought of one more thing he said. Right before we left I asked him if he had trouble in his shoulder again, would they do radiation again. He said, "Wellllllllllllll (with a look of doubt). Never say never, but I guess it would depend . . .." He then added that if they did, it would usually only be if a good amount of time had passed and would depend on other cirumstances. He also then added, "Now, if it was the spine, the answer would be a definite NO. There's just so much radiation that you can give to the spine, and it remembers it forever." He said too much radiation and you can severely damage the cord. And one more thing, in exactly 15 minutes, my husband will be one year older and Sat. will be one year since he was diagnosed. When I remember the severe headaches he was having this time last year, and the terrible time he had with chemo and radiation last fall, I am even more thrilled with his status today. Good night, now Love, Peggy

Jane, that was really, really, nice. Such a wonderful tribute to Alan. Love, Peggy

Oh my gosh, Betty. You are SO wonderful. Thank you so much. I'm going to grab my credit card and order it now - no more procrastinating. I'm soooo excited. Thanks again! Sorry, Denise, didn't mean to post take, but just had to say thanks to Betty. Love, Peggy

Hi Jim and welcome back. I'm so glad you had a good time. I'm about ready to think up some kind of vacation for myself. I need one of those, too. Glad you're back. Peggy

"Goofy Dancing" I would LOVE to see that. You make me smile, Cat. I'm so glad you got such good news. Love, Peggy

Trish, I have to read between the lines here a little bit and kind of guess, but I'll give you my first reaction. But, please remember, it's just a guess. It is good there is no growth, but I think that with the administration of chemo, they really like to see at least some shrinkage, especially since she has a 6 cm. tumor in her liver. I'm sure they would like to see that troublemaker lose some of its size. This is probably one of those things where a tough decision is in order. Do I settle for stable? (the chemo is holding down the cancer) or do I try a different chemo that might be more effective in destroying more of the cancer (or not)? It's a tough place to be in. I know this isn't much help, hon, but it's the best I can do with the little I know about it. Please let us know what she decides. Much love and many hugs, Peggy

That was great, Jane. Thanks for sharing. Loveya, Peggy

So glad to hear this good news, Kelly. You sound so excited and that makes me very excited for you and your mom. Love, Peggy

Denise, Thank you for the update. I remember you saying that you thought your mom's friend coming would help, and I'm so glad it did. I love Gone With The Wind. I can't even count how many times I've watched it. That's one movie that will help keep her mind off her problems. The only movie I have probably watched more is called Imitation of Life. It's an old movie with Lana Turner and Sandra Dee. I literally sob everytime I watch that move, but it is very, very good. I would love to be able to buy it. I keep thinking I'll see if I can find it on the web, but then I get doing other things and forget. I sure hope and pray your mom does well with Iressa, and I'm praying for you as well. Enjoy the movie! Love, Peggy

I'm sorry, Amy, I don't know anything about that, but I hope you get a lot of answers here that will help you out. God bless, Peggy