osirus226

Ginny, Im very sorry about the loss of your sister. Praying for you and your family. Kelly

Just wishing you the best for tomorrow, hoping that you make a full and quick recovery so you can be back on your feet and free of pain. Take care Kelly

CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS!! Heres to many, many more to come What an inspiration

Ginny, Im sending many thoughts and prayers to you and your family. Hoping for a speedy recovery to Earl, your sister, and your friend.

Jamie, I know Im a little late here, but I just wanted to send my thoughts and prayers to you and your family. I am hoping that you get some good news and straight answers soon. Keep your chin up

Snowflake, You do make a really good point. If I were an insurance company, I probably would not want unnecessary and expensive tests being ordered. Hopefully, with all the technology and advancements that are happening everyday, there will be a cure to this horrible disease as well as a definate answer as to whether or not lung or any other cancer for that matter is or can be genetic.

Just wanted to thank everyone for the warm welcome. Andrea, I am 21 years old. The reason I questioned preventative testing is that there are things that have (medically) happened to me recently that are almost identical to what happened to my mom when she was my age (I wont go into detail publically yet though). I smoked for 5 years. From ages 16-20. I quit last year when I had a good opportunity (surgery). Still, I'm sure that alone puts me at some sort of risk. Snowflake, after reading your post I felt sick to my stomach. I cannot for the life of me figure out why doctors do not check things out that are blatantly suspicious. If there are an abnormally high count of white blood cells, why not find out whats causing that to happen??? I know my mom could have been diagnosed at least months before she was, she had just about every symptom lung cancer actually does cause. Before I was thrown into this living nightmare I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I now have some direction... I'd like to be involved with finding the cure.

When I hear of doctors treating human beings like they mean nothing it makes me wonder why the person chose to be a doctor. I have learned in just 21 short years that you must learn to be pushy when it comes to your health. I just finished reading an article on ways that hospitals overcharge patients using "medical language/slang" or codes that most people wouldnt understand. When will the madness end.

Hi everyone. I think its about time I come out of the shadows and say hi. I have been reading along for a few weeks and I cannot believe the amount of courage I have found here. You all are such strong people. I envy you all because I am missing that strength as of yet. I was wondering if anyone here has any knowledge of any testing for family members of people diagnosed with cancer, I guess like a preventative sort of thing. If anyone has any links they could share with me that would help me learn how to deal with this monster that would also be very helpful. Nice to meet you all! Kelly