Hi...my wonderful dad was dx with NSCLC, Adenocarcinoma Stage IV. These past 4 months have been a nightmare to me. I think I am finally coming to grips that this is for real and I am sooooo scared. He has always been so healthy, which I have been so thankful for and feel very lucky. Before he was dx he was swimming 1 mile 3 times a week. My dad is 75 years old.
In Dec. 03 they thought he had pneumonia and was given antibiotics and sent to have a chest x-ray. The pulmonary dr. saw something he didn't like and sent dad for more scans and then a biopsy. The bad news...NSCLC Adenocarcinoma Stage IIIb or IV. We were devastated.
He started chemo (Carboplatin & Taxol) 2/17/04. He has now taken 4 cycles of chemo and has had a really rough time. He had pneumonia in
March and had to be hospitalized. He gets severe bone and joint pain after each chemo that last almost through until the next chemo treatment.
He gets very fatigued and was getting extremely short of breath. He is getting Procrit shots to help this and I believe they have helped to some degree. The shortness of breath is much better. It just seems he just doesn't get many days he feels good.
He is such a wonderful dad and I just love him so much! They live about an hour away and I am able to go to all his dr. visits and chemo treatments. I take notes daily on how he is feeling, his meds he is taking and any other things I feel should be written down. I take my notebook to every dr. appointment and take so many notes the drs. look at me funny! I use these notes to refer back to when needed. This has helped me tremendously.
He is scheduled to have new scans done 5/12/04 and 5/14/04. I am hoping and praying that things have greatly improved.
I have read the posts on this site often and see how you all help each other with info and support. I need all the info and support I can get. It has been 4 months since dx and I still fall apart every single day!
Thanks for listening and I will be there for you all also.
Diane
