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I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice. My dad was just diagnosed as having a recurrence in his lung(one tumor) . It has also spread to his liver (1 tumor), and his lower spine with some soft tissue involement in that area. We are waiting on results from the brain MRI. He currently is in a lot of pain in his hip area. What can we do? What are the options? Do we have any? The doctor said that he was ineligible for surgery for the liver and lung. Why? He was scheduled to start a trial on Wed. (AMG706 with Paminitub?) This bone met makes him ineligible. Where do we go from here? Does anyone know the best route to take? He has been a patient at MD Anderson for 3 years. I would appreciate any info. Thank you so much.

Don and Lucie, My prayers are with you. I am so glad it is not a brain met!

Thank you for your replies. I will check on Tarceva and clinical trials. He went through the radiosurgery very well. It was a very long day. On Sat. he was tired , but up and smiling and hugging on the grandkids. I guess we will find out in a month how the treatment worked. Again, thank you so much for your prayers and replies.

Hello, everyone. I have been reading and posted a couple of times over the past 2 years. It is so hard to read my own writing about my dad's journey with lung cancer. It just makes it seem real and I really don't want it to be. However, I know that it is. My dad(age 58 now) was diagnosed in July of 2002 stage 3a NSCLC. He had chemo. 1st, then his right upper lobe removed. One year later(Aug 2003) he had a seizure. He was treated with radiosurgery plus WBRT( with complete success). Checkups were fine until July(2004). One tumor was successfully treated again with radiosurgery. Follow-ups reveal NED in lungs ,abdomen, and brain Nov.1st 2004. Then the Dec. MRI showed up with 2 new tumors. He will be treated tomorrow morning with radiosurgery. He is very positive and trusting God. He never has even took much time off from work. He is still working full time 5 days a week from 6 A.M. to 6P.M.! I just can't stand this. I love my parents so much. He is the most wonderful man in the world. He is being treated at MD Anderson. Isn't there anything we can do to keep these new tumors from coming? You all have so much wisdom and knowledge on this board. I am praying for all of us.

Thank you so much for your reply. I haven't been able to get on the computer since I posted. My dad is scheduled for radiosurgery on Thurs. He has 2 new tumors. This disease is awfully sneaky and heartbreaking.

Does anyone know how many times you can have stereotactic radiosurgery? Do they just keep on doing it for every brain tumor that comes up? We have already had WBRT, and radiosurgery twice. We are scheduled again this week for radiosurgery at MD Anderson. The other scans, and tests of the rest of his body are showing clear-- why do these brain tumors keep showing up? Thank you for your help.

I am not sure if this will be in the right spot, hopefully it will be! Thank you to John, Tbone, Ginnyde, Carolyn Flournoy, and Don Wood for responding. I am sorry it took me awhile to respond. The special person is my dad. He just got the test results from his brain MRI. It is a small tumor. He has been thru a rt. lobectomy(stage 3A) and chemo., then a year later a seizure which led us to find a tumor. He has had radiosurgery, and WBRT. Now he has this new small tumor. This disease is horrible. I am praying for each of you. My dad still is tired, not much appetite, but sort of maintaining his weight. I love him so very much.

Hello, I have been reading this board for a long time, but have never posted. I have a VERY special person in my life dealing with this disease since 7-02. There are so many great people here on this site. I was wondering if anyone could please tell me how often someone with NSCLC should get a pet scan. Are they regularly scheduled or do you have to request them? My 2nd question has to do with WBRT. Can it cause scarring in the brain that would show up on a brain MRI? In a different spot than the original tumor site? Has anyone experienced this? Also, could anyone that had WBRT please tell me about your appetite and energy level? When did you get your appetite and energy back? Do you still need to take naps? Are you losing weight/ maintaining? Are you still working full-time? Thank you for reading this. Please respond!