stand4hope

Kim, What a sweet and wonderful daughter you are. It is so obvious how much you love and care for your mom. God bless you for that. Kim, the effects of chemo and radiation are cumulative. Your mom might get a lot worse before she gets better. I can't remember where it was, but very recently there was a thread about this and how it has to get bad before it can get better. If someone else doesn't link it before me, I will find it and post the link for you to read. Please keep us posted how you and your mom are doing. Love, Peggy

Oh, how awful, Caledon. I'm so sorry for your mom and it must be so painful to break a hip and the surgery probably has both of you scared. The only way she is going to be free of that pain, though, is to have the surgery. Since surgery is in two hours, I doubt that you will see this, but if you do, please give your mom a big hug for me. And here's one for you, too: ((((((((CALEDON)))))))))))) Love, Peggy

VENTING: Before cancer, my husband was always hot. He was one of these guys that got mad if I closed the windows at night when it was in the low 50s or upper 40s. He turned the furnace down every night to 62 degrees and sat in the recliner in the morning watching the weather wearing only his undershorts. I would get up freezing. He also turned the air conditioner on at the first sign of heat and humidity. We've always kept the house about 70 to 72 in the summer. Now, he is JUST THE OPPOSITE. He is always cold. I know it's because of the cancer and that he has lost weight, but he just about runs me out of the house. I came home from work the other night and he had the air conditioner turned up and it was 78 degrees in here. Today, it's only 67 degress outside, but humid because it's been raining all day. It is 75 degrees in the house and humid. I told him it was hot in here and he said, angrily: "IT'S YOU, PEGGY!" He thinks it's because of hot flashes. Hot flashes or not, it's hot and stuffy in here. I'm sitting at my desk in a loose cotton night gown, with my hair pinned up with a fan blowing right on me - and I'M NOT HAVING HOT FLASHES! I have told him now on two different occasions that he should put on a sweatshirt or go buy some sweaters. I guess that isn't macho, huh? Like I said, I'm venting, but I just wondered if any of you that have cancer and have lost weight are cold all the time, or if you are the caregiver if your spouse/loved one is cold all the time. Do you live under the same roof? If so, how do you solve this dilemma. It's making me crazy!! Peggy

Sharon, Hubby takes 250 mg. once a day. Minimum side effects, see my post in Andrea's thread and PM I sent you. Best wishes and prayers for your dad! Peggy

I love you, Dean. You do so much to help all of us keep a positive outlook on life, whether we have cancer or not! YOU ARE THE BEST! Love, Peggy

I'm signing up for the Chubb Club or Fat Cancer Survivors and Caregivers Club, or whatever it's called. I started yesterday. I know Ry said to report in at the end of summer, but I have to do this NOW. I had a microwaved apple w/Splenda and cinnamon for breakfast. 1/2 chicken breast, spinach, fresh tomatoes and mandarin orange for lunch and was hungry an hour later, so I ate a slice of plain low-fat bread and that took the edge off. Please send encouragement into the atmosphere. I lost 37 lbs 3 years ago on WW and gained it all back plus 10. I AM DETERMINED TO GET THIS DONE!! I WILL be back in 4 weeks to report a weight loss (8/21/04)!

Has anybody heard if TBone got to go home yesterday? And/or how he's doing? Peggy

Pam, I'm glad that calling hospice has given you some peace of mind. Please keep us posted on your dad's progress. I will be praying that he will be stronger very soon and able to take care of himself once again. God bless you, Peggy

Cheryl, You have been in my prayers every day and will continue to be. I pray this new chemo will be the bullet you need to shoot the cancer straight to hell. I'm sure you're worried about the pericardial results, but we're just going to expect that the new chemo is going to wipe that right out, too. All my prayers, loves and hugs, Peggy

Hi Silkee, I don't know what happened with this thread. It's dated June 18, but there wasn't a single post until recently. That's weird, and I apologize that there weren't any other responses to you. Did you by any chance post this in more than one forum? Maybe that's what happened. Anyway, I am very sorry for the loss of your mother in January. Losing a parent is really hard. I just lost my dad a few weeks ago, not to lung cancer, but to a lung disease - COPD. I know it leaves a big hole in your heart and I pray that your days will become better and better. I don't know anything about groups in Cleveland, but perhaps someone else does. God bless you, Peggy

Wow! Jay, you really do have a very full plate. It doesn't sound like a good idea for you to try to take care of both of them, though. Just the fact that you are thinking about trying tells me you are a caring and very strong person and you will be able to deal with all of this just fine. I know it won't be easy, but just the fact that you're here looking for help shows you are in the fight to win. Hang on tight. I don't know if anyone on here has exactly the same situation as you, but there are plenty of us who have situations that seem insurmountable, but we get through them with the help of everyone here, our families, friends, and God. Please keep us posted how you and your son/daughter-in-law are doing. God bless you, Peggy

Hey, my dear friends. You are way too kind. The only reason I deleted it was because I made a joke in it and then I felt bad because this is a serious thread. It's easy to remember exactly what I said, so I'll repeat it. Here it is: In my simplified opinion, to which the Bible agrees: God is a person. Satan is a person. Oh, there's one more. Jesus is a person. The reason I know that is because the Manhattan Transfer called him on the phone: "Oh, Operator, Information, get me Jeeeeeeeeeeeeesus on the line." Woohoohoohoohoohoo. I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv that song! I'll be singing it all night now. ***************** Ok. That was it. I did a P.S., too and said I was sorry because this is a serious thread, but I just couldn't resist. The younger ones out there won't know a thing about that song, but I can tell you it is one of those songs that makes your blood pump and makes you want to prance around the room singing at the top of your lungs - especially if you saw them sing it instead of just hearing it. Elaine, I don't know about God having a body. The Bible says that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one, so maybe the "body" of God was simply the body of Jesus. I don't know. I do know that Genesis says He was walking in the garden. Also, in the Bible all references to God and Satan, are he, I, etc. The New Testament says that Satan is roaming about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. The word "like" is always significant in the Bible. The Bible is great for giving us word pictures that we can identify with it. Jesus was the Master at this. Oh, Operator, Information, get me Jeeeeeeeeeeeesus on the line . . . LOVE THAT SONG!! Love, Peggy

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaavid! Darn it! This can't be happening. I have been smiling at your great enthusiasm for the party. I will, and am, praying extra special prayers for you tonight. Much love and turbo-energized prayers coming your way! Peggy

Shoot, Elaine. The spell that Cat and I cast wasn't scheduled to happen to you until tomorrow. We'll have to turn that witch book in for a refund. Tip: Try to remember the last date and time, that way you can tell if the forum has had new posts. It saves a little time.

Doggone it, Andrea. We just gotta come up with some way to help you relax. I felt so bad when I read your post. I actually read it before I left work tonight but haven't had a chance to respond until now. We all get upset and emotional, so don't worry about the venting part. Also, I don't ever want to hear you say that others have issues that are more important. Your issues are just as important as anyone else's. If they are upsetting you this much, then they are VERY IMPORTANT! Nobody should have to be in such turmoil. That being said, I wish I was a psychologist right now so I could give you some ideas how to cope, but I'm not and I can't. All I can do is tell you how I cope with my stress when I know that I am close to freaking out and losing it. I always, always get my peace by turning to God. I just get myself alone (usually in my car driving down the road) and, usually with tears, I ask God to please take away my fear. I tell Him that I am sorry that I have not been trusting Him and ask Him to forgive me and tell him loud and I clear that I do trust Him. By the end of my prayer, I have reaffirmed my trust in Him several times and told Him that I love Him, and I can literally walk into my house and nobody has a clue that I have been freaking out. Works for me! By the way, trusting Him doesn't mean that I expect Him to make all the bad stuff go away. I just know that by trusting Him, even when it's bad, He will eventually make it good. He loves to be trusted!! Andrea, send me a PM if I can do anything for you. Hey, I've got an idea - I'll try to plan a trip some day to California. My brother lives in Pleasant Hills - I think that's about 1 hr. from Sacramento. Wouldn't that be fun? We could have dinner and get better acquainted. It might be a very long time before I can make the trip, but hey, it's something we can think about, huh? I'll just do you like I do my son when he starts freaking out about something. I stop, look, listen and then say "Get over it." It really ticks him off, but it stops the scene. Of course, I know there's a time to say that and a time not to say that, so don't anybody think I'm insensitive please. Write soon, Andrea, and RELAX YOUR SHOULDERS!!! You can't stay tense with relaxed shoulders - it's impossible! That's it - relax them - relax them even more - let them droop all the way down as far as they will go and then take a deep breath and relax them again. Voila! YOU'RE CURED! Love Peggy

Woohoo! It's fixed. I got logged in the very first time and when I clicked View Posts since last visit there was a nice long list. Thank you, Rick. YOU FIXED IT!!! You're the man!!!!! Love, Peggy P.S. Here's my computer tip: If you are using a dial up and want to speed things up, do ths: Open Internet Explorer, Tools, Internet Options, Advanced Tab, find the selection that says "Show Pictures" and remove the checkmark. I think it's under the Multimedia subtitle. The pages will load faster without the pictures. It isn't as much fun, but if you want to see a picture, all you have to do is right-click the graphic and select "Show Picture."

Ya'll behave now - Ya hear!!! HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!!! Peggy

Hi Sharon, I got your PM but came here first to read your post. My husband is having almost no problems with the Iressa. Here's a link that Andrea started last week that I thought was really a good idea because it contained a very interesting poll. I posted in there with a little more info about my husband's side effects. As far as it being "last ditch", in some cases that is what it is (I'm afraid it's ours), but not so in others. It's really so very new (maybe on the market a year - John or Rich could probably tell us exactly) that I think they are starting to use it more for preventive measures, too (even first line). Chemo can be so debilitating (sp?) that since the onc "isn't concerned", he probably just thinks this is a gentler approach for your dad. Also, I don't recall you mentioning his age or general health, but I really think trying the Iressa is maybe a better idea than chemo since his profile looks pretty good. Here's the link to Andrea's very helpful thread: http://www.lchelp.com/community/viewtop ... ght=#85627 Let us know how it goes, and I hope this helps. Love, Peggy

Hey girlfriend! So glad to see your post. I sent you a PM and it seems to have disappeared from Outbox, so I guess you got it today, but you answered the questions here, so don't even try to catch up when you get back online. Which 1/2 job gets you back next week - the morning or the afternoon? That is horrible about your house progress - how FRUSTRATING I was trying to get to the Michigan bash, but some problems with hubby and son this week caused me to back down, plus I don't think my poor old back could survive a drive that far. I would so LOVE to come and meet everyone. Keep in touch, Beck. Love, Peggy

Rick, Ok. I did clear my cache, even cleared all my history, etc. I do this periodically anyway. Still having to log in twice, and my results are exactly the same as Cat is saying. After the 2nd log in, I go to View Posts and nothing is there, although there have been posts. I think Cat is on to something when she said she thinks it is recognizing her (and me) on the first log in attempt, but then it boots us out and that's why it says no new posts. Good thinking, Cat. Also, clicking on "Home" is working fine now. Oh, and also, I'm typing this from my work PC, but I was having the same thing at home last night. I had a huge power surge on my computer last night and blew out the power supply, so I booted up an old laptop and had to re-activate an old AOL account to use dial-up, but I had the same issues there that are described above. I'm actually able to navitage the site by going to each forum to check for updates, so this is certainly not a critical issue for me, but just thought you would like to know that I'm getting the same as Cat. Thanks again, Peggy

Rick, I can get to the site just fine, but I'm having the same problems that Cat desribed in the tech forum. I have to try to log in several times before it will finally log me in and when I go to View Posts Since Last Visit, most of the time there isn't anything there, even after several hours have passed and there are definitely new posts. View Posts . . . works after I have logged in, but only posts since I logged in. Also, all day yesterday, the link for "Home" wouldn't work - it would take me to a this page can't be found. I could use the back button to get there, or simply type lchelp.com again in the address line to get "Home", but the "Home" link wasn't working. I tried it just now and it did work. I hope all this makes sense, and thank you for all your help. Peggy

Thank you, Angie. I am praying for TBone and his family daily, and I, too, will double my efforts. Peggy

Lori, When I turned 50, all I wanted was to be 45. Since you can't give her that, I love the ideas about writing a poem or a letter. I wish I would have thought of doing something like that for my mom and dad. She will love anything from you personally like that. Peggy

She will be back. She has had computer access problems. They are staying with her parents while the house is built and her dad was going to send his computer out for repair. Also, her access at work has been limited for a while. I miss her posts, too, but wanted you to know that she is ok. Waiting for your return Miss Becky . . . . Love, Peggy

Caledon, I know it's late so that's maybe why nobody else has replied yet, but I know I'm confused and don't know what to say to you, so maybe others are as well. I don't quite understand what happened here. The post is just a little confusing to me. Was the doctor talking to her like a little child or something when he said that and pointed to her chest? and that's why you're upset? Also, I'm not sure about the next part. Who are the people you are talking about? Are they connected to the statement about what the doctor said? or is it a separate thought about friends who have maybe deserted your mom at this critical time in her life? Sorry, I'm just confused and it's probably just me. God bless, Peggy