ggabrielides

Well, mom passed on Monday. My dad and I thank God she is finally free of her ravaged body and pain. As much as the fine staff at Northwestern tried, her pain managed to come through the huge doses of Morphine she was given. She is now at rest in the light with her mom, dad, and brother. One of the most difficult things for us to process was the lightning-fast speed with which this cancer did its damage and took mom. Even though we watched her die, it is still a bit unreal, especially when I go to my parents' home. She is everywhere there. (Sigh.) Again, thank you all for your support and kind words, Gina

The last few days have been extremely difficult. Though the level of care, expertise and communication have been outstanding, my mom's cancer had spread so much that treatment of any kind would not be of any benefit at all. The agitation alone of radiation therapy would be detrimental. In the last couple of days, she has been moved to palliative care (within the hospital, thank goodness). She is in so much pain that she has been put on very high doses of morphine. Doc say she has probably days left... She is still very cognizant (when she is alert) that we are there, and all we (and the hospital) can do is keep her company and comfortable. It breaks my heart to see her this way, since I can tell she is still very much inside her failing body. I pray she passes without pain and in peace. Thanks for all your support, angels all of you, Gina P.S.: I will continue to lurk the boards and offer support to anyone who needs it. I can also act as a buddy, and will work for Lungevity, fighting to raise awareness and funding for the important research that needs to be done!

She's on her way! So relieved... for now.

ACK! Dang paperwork...

OK, I tried to apply a smiley in the first paragraph. I don't think it worked. Oh well. I am feeling happy now, though!

Yippee!!! My mom is going to the Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern (Chicago)!! My mom can now get the care (and attention) she deserves. posting.php?mode=reply&f=38&t=45977# Thank you all of you for your support. I really do appreciate it. I feel as though angels are guiding the way here, both human (in you) and celestial. Peace, Gina

I need to vent. When my 71 year old mom was diagnosed with Stage IV NSCLC in late September, we were told that, with treatment, she would improve and could lead a "new normal" kind of life. At first, her assigned docs at her local community hospital were very attentive and involved. As her condition became more complicated (through discovery of additional tumors, infections and other issues), and treatment became more complicated (some of it due to the inability of the community hosp. to provide radiology to in-patients), her "docs" have become completely inaccessible, and barely involved. As a result, her condition has grown worse and worse. At this point, she is not ambulatory, her pain meds/sedation have left her unable to speak for herself. In the past two days, my dad and I have been desperately trying to get answers about my mom's condition (one of the associates of my mom's "docs", actually told my dad via cell phone that he "doesn't know what to do next" and left it at that. There was no talk of hospice or any next steps or anything like that. In fact, unbelievably, the hospital social worker asked my dad which rehab center (!?) she should be transferred to--obviously with no idea of my mom's true condition. My dad and I are completely devastated. My mom is incredibly sad, and cries even through her sedation. In the beginning, I did not want to inject my opinions, as my parents seemed very satisfied with mom's care. I gradually became suspect of the handling of her care, and started too slowly to express my suspicions. I live an hour away (without traffic) from my parents, and could not be continuously monitoring the situation (plus, her docs were impossible to get a hold of). My husband and I are working with great urgency to get her into a major university hospital in our area. We have some connections that can assist us in getting her transferred within the next two days. Our prayer is that she receives top quality care, and even if she does not make it, at least we would know that it was not because we gave up on her. I can't help but think about how it is BECAUSE of the inefficacy of her care that she is in this condition. I would have thought that if the docs could not handle this complicated of a case, she would be referrred to another doc/hospital/cancer treatment center much earlier. We are all sad and incredibly heartbroken-- the emotional toll of all this in almost unbearable. If you are so inclined, please keep my mom (and dad) in your prayers as my husband and I continue to work on her behalf. Thanks for reading, Gina

Alan's post made me remember the battle cry of the USC Trojans (my son is a student there). Fight On! How appropriate!

Thanks for your support everyone. This whole thing is still fresh, and almost doesn't seem real yet. I got online right after the diagnosis, and the statistics for 5 year survival freaked me out a bit (I mean, a lot). Thanks to your notes, I do have more hope. My mom still feels good (the chemo and radiology have not yet "kicked in") and has an optimistic attitude. We'll keep on trekking, and I'll stay involved with Lungevity (what a great organization!). --Gina

Hi everyone, My 71 year old mom (a non-smoker) went into the emergency room 3 weeks ago with abdominal pain, and what she thought might be some sort of bronchial infection. Thanks to an astute attending physician, xrays were ordered, and a mass (7cm) was found in her left lung. She was having pain in various other sites, which were originally thought to be swollen lymph glands, but turned out to be metastethes (sp?) of the cancer pressing on various nerves. Cancer has been found in her bones, and we are awaiting results of her brain MRI. She has been diagnosed as stage IV. My family (dad, sister and I) are still reeling from the news, and my mom is handling this diagnosis with grace and optimism. It is shocking to go into the emergency room, thinking you are probably going to be treated with antibiotics and sent home, but then being taken to the oncology floor with a completely "out of the blue" diagnosis. She and my dad had their physicals in June and were given a clean bill of health! Her medical team (Drs. O'Reilly & Shirazi of Palos Community Hospital, and various other mds and nurses, who seem wonderful from every account by my mom) are treating her aggressively, with daily radiation and chemo scheduled every 3 weeks. From everything I have read, the prognosis for this stage is not great. I am scared for her, for my dad, and my sister and me. I am here to connect with a community that can offer support through her journey. And I will support others in any way I can. Thanks for reading, Gina