kreed70

Ok~ Sorry this has taken so long for me to update all of you! The surgery itself went very well- her thoracic surgeon was very pleased. He took all of the tumor, 4 ribs total (2 were already pretty eaten away by the cancer anyway) and 2 others to be able to get into the chest wall and take a good part of it. The tissue around the tumor and the ribs were all cancer free! The surgery was to be 3-4 hours but wound up being 6 hours as a neurosurgeon was brought in to work by the nerves in the back/shoulder. This was something we already knew might happen if the thoracic surgeon wasn't comfortable working so close to the nerves. The incision is perfect and all went well w/ the chest tubes draining. As I write this 8/31/04, the staples and chest tubes are gone! She is still on oxygen at home temporarily. In the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) is where things became dicey. All of the things that happened are not complications of the lung surgery per se but of stress to the body and some human error. The initial breathing tube was kinked because it was too small and that lead to difficulty, she had to have broncoscopies to clear the large mucus plugs that she couldn't get up on her own, she went into atrial fibrilation of the heart where the heart would race for long perionds of time and only medication could clear it up, she developed a pulmunary embolism (blood clot) and pnuemonia. She was given morphine for pain but apparently morphine supresses the respirtory system so it is believed that alot of this junk stemmed from that. She was in SICU for 8 long days and then in a private room for another 8!! Having one or two of these isn't so bad but to have all of them in body already weak from cancer and it's treatments, was really rough. We are greatful she could have surgery! She will being having more chemo just to make sure. The thoracic surgeon said this surgery could be curative- MIRACLE!!! I'll keep you posted. Keep praying! Kelly

I love to hear about His miracles!! Kelly

Hi Bill, My mom had low- dose chemo (taxol/carboplatin) while having radiation. I know you can't have high- dose chemo at the same time. Get a 2nd opinion!!! It's well worth it!!! Kelly

Everything is clear!! Thoracic surgeon feels he can do a successful en bloc resection!! God's mercy and favor thus far has been amazing!!! We are thrilled, scared and tons of other emotions! Any suggestions are welcome!!! Kelly

My mom went see the Thoracic surgeon this morning and he thinks he will be able to remove the tumor!!! She is getting a stress test, blood work and mediastinoscopy on Friday7/23/04. If all that is good, lymph nodes clear then surgery will be very soon!!! We are very happy an hope for the best! This is very stressful! I know so many of you have been in this situation! Please keep praying for my mom and my family!! Thank you!!!! Kelly

My mom went see the Thoracic surgeon this morning and he thinks he will be able to remove the tumor!!! She is getting a stress test, blood work and mediastinoscopy on Friday7/23/04. If all that is good, lymph nodes clear then surgery will be very soon!!! We are very happy an hope for the best! This is very stressful! I know so many of you have been in this situation! Please keep praying for my mom and my family!! Thank you!!!! Kelly

I too loved the book and highly recommend it for anyone!!!

My mom received news that we never thought we would hear!! We are being cautiously optimistic 7/13/2004- Received results of CT scan of chest and abdominals- tumor shrunk 25% and abs CLEAR! NO METS anywhere! Nodes clear. Weight is great and so is breathing! Still inoperable. Starting Carboplatin/Taxatere every three weeks for nine weeks. Getting 2nd opinion later in the week. 7/15/2004- Went for 2nd opinion- Stop the presses!! This oncologist says SURGERY may be POSSIBLE!!! Said her IIIB is not the worst there is and because her overall health is so good, we have a shot. She is meeting w/ Thoracic Surgeon 7/20/2004!! May be have to get mediastinoscopy. PLEASE PRAY FOR HER!!! Kelly

Great news!! Congrats!!

Jamie, I am so happy that your dad's surgery went well and he is doing well!! My mom holds out hope that she'll be a blessed as your dad!! Kelly

Check this out!!!! www.oasisofhopehospital.com www.isselstreatment.com www.themossreportscom www.cancerdecisions.com http://www.survivingsmallcell.com I already posted in on the SCLC forum Kelly

Check this out!!!! www.Oasis of Hope Hospital.com www.Issels Treatment.com www.The Moss Reportscom www.cancerdecisions.com http://www.survivingsmallcell.com

I love this site!! It has been so helpful! All of you are so warm and caring!! Thanks be to God when people come together to show love and compassion upon one another! Update on mom- dome w/ chemo/rad. will get scanned 7/8/04 and meet w/ team of doc 7/13/04. She is so fatigued still! Getting shots to boost red blood cells due to anemia to build energy but it isn't really working. Stopped working for now due to fatigue, weight is still good, has to force self to eat, having problems sleeping too. Keep praying!!

My mom and I have been obsessively waiting as well!!! Hopefully, she will be able to have surgery as well!! I am thrilled for your family!! Kelly

My mom takes no supplements but I want her to!! I really want her to do traditional treatments and alternative/holistic treatments as well. What supplements do you take?? Grace & Peace!

Thanks for putting this together!! It will help my mom tremendously!! She was dx with NSCLC 3B 4/12/2004.

My mom was just diangosed 6 weeks ago with NSCLC stage 3b. She is 60 and smoked since she wasa teenager. It has grown out of the chest wall. It is in the lymph nodes as well. She is on chemo/radiation right now. She is doing well- has not lost any weight, has almost quit smoking and has worked everyday! We are hoping for the best! I am much more concerned with her spiritual health beacuse our souls are eternal. I've been praying for both physical and spiritual healing- whatever is in God's will. This is site has been really helpful thank you!! kreed

From www.lchelp.com 4/06/04 at 03:40 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I would like to tell everyone about a new medical imaging test used to diagnose, stage and restage cancer patients. It will also tell if the therapy you are undergoing is working or not. It is called Integrated PET/CT. I'm sure most of you know about the PET scan, but I'd like to educate you about the integrated PET/CT scan. Here is how the technology works: A patient with or suspected of having cancer comes into our outpatient center. A small injection of a radioactive sugar is given to the patient. The sugar travels thru the body and gets “gobbled up” by cancer cells. Cancer cells metabolize the sugar and trap it. Since the sugar is radioactive, it gives off energies that can be captured and turned into a picture. PET scanning is not new; it has been around for over 10 years. As I mentioned earlier, the PET scan shows what is going on at the cellular level (cancer cells eating up the sugar). While this is very informative, the integrated PET/CT gives much more information to the physician so they can tailor the treatment more specifically to each patient. It works like this: When the patient lies down to be scanned, a whole body CT scan is done on the patient, which shows exemplary anatomic detail. The patient is then moved a little further into the tube to get the PET scan performed. Since these two tests are integrated into one machine, we can overlay the physiologic data (PET) with the anatomic data (CT) which will tell the patients physician exactly where the tumor is, and how they can plan their therapy to kill it. A PET/CT scan takes on average 20 minutes, while the more antiquated PET or software fused PET takes in excess of one hour, and is nowhere near as informative to the physician. Most insurances (including Medicare) pay for PET/CT scans because they change the patient management up to 40% of the time, and may help avoid unnecessary and costly surgery. If your physician has not suggested you get a PET/CT scan, ask them for one. This scan is extremely important in lung,colo-rectal, lymphoma, and breast cancers especially where there is mediastinal involvement or a question if there is chest wall involvement, or lymph node involvement. With the "fused" PET/CT, if there is a spot in the mediastinum, you will know exactly if it is a particular lymph node, or a mass, which is extremely important for Radiation Therapy planning or surgery. A plain PET scan or a PET scan that uses software fusion is not as accurate as an integrated PET/CT. It could make a world of difference... I would be happy to answer any questions about the technology that I can. farrdog@sbcglobal.net 918-523-7200 God Bless, Jason Farr __________________ Jason L. Farr R.T. ®(MR)(CT)CNMT