Amy P

My Mom has the rash as well - doc told her to take benedryl and it is helping although she can only take 1/2 tab to keep the sleepies away. For her head I gave her a mosturizing treatment and filled a shot glass full of hair conditioner and then heated it in the microwave for 30 sec, put it on her hair and wrapped her head in a warm damp towel and left it on for about 20 min and that helped seemed to help her scalp - she also had a mosturizing treatment at a salon - maybe it was the combination. Hope he finds some relief!!!

Cat - Thanks for posting that. My Mom and I have come to an agreement to disagree on church. I don't particularly care for organized religion and it drives her bananas. She has told me her dying wish is for me and my family to begin attending church - now as you will see from my signature - she is nowhere close to dying and I told her I thought it was unfair for her to put that kind of pressure on me and THEN she asked her pastor to talk to me - I about died having to defend myself but I did and I told Mom to butt out, that this is a personal decision. This just helps me realize that I am not a sinner because I pray at home in bed at night, alone with my own thoughts. Thanks Again!

Pam - I see you are in Independence -I am in OP. I am wondering who your Dad's oncologist is? Where is he being treated? This is atrocious treatment and I want to help spread the word to avoid this hospital. Are there any other dr.'s he can see or is he limited (I noticed in one of your posts that you can't take him back unless he is acute)? My Mom has had nothing but good experiences and if I can help in anyway - please let me know!!! Thinking of you and your family! Amy

I have a couple of general treatment questions that I know you all will know the answer to.... 1) Are bone scans done only when there is pain? Mom has been experiencing some leg pain since returning from their trip - she attributes it to sitting on their trip but I am not so sure. It is primarily around her knee - in the joint. She went to see a nurse practioner (who is her GP) and she is sending her to get tested for blood clots...which leads to 2) Are blood clots a side effect of Iressa? or of LC in general? 3) Are CTs normally done just of the chest or upper body - esp in the case of recurrance? Mom is having a chest CT in late Aug and since we know the cancer is in the lmpyh nodes should the doc be checking to make sure there aren't any mets to the brain or do they again wait until symptoms are present? Thanks in advance!

Ginny - Love and hugs coming your way and hoping for peace for Earl - he has fought a valiant fight with you by his side. How lucky the two of you are to have each other.

When my mother-in-law was dying, we had to tell our kiddos (ages 5 & 4) because I did not want to them to be suprised and I also wanted them to have a chance to say good bye - we told them that when Nonna died that she wouldn't be in pain anymore and that she would look like she did before she got sick - my very insightful oldest child said she would be peaceful, like when she sleeps. Later that night when I called to talk to Nonna and I told her the girls knew and what Audrey said - her response was that is all I want - peace.

Curtis - I live in the KC metro area - what are you here for? There is some fun stuff going on this weekend - let me know and I can filll you in! My MIL passed away almost 2 years ago from Ovarian Cancer and my beloved FIL has just started to date again - he is a great man and has a lot of insight and having been through the ordeal of losing his spouse and best friend, I am sure he would be willing to visit with you. I have found him to be a great source of support with my Mom. PM me and I can pass on his info. PS. he is going back to school to get his master in counseling and wants to councel families of cancer patients

Don - I know others before me have said it but your Mother is so lucky to have you to take care of her. You are an amazing son and caregiver. I only hope that if my mother declines that I will be half the caregiver that you are. Hang in there, take care of yourself and I hope everything goes well with her treatments. Sending pizza and prayers your way! Amy

Dean - I have spent most of my time on this sight just reading and taking everything in and your posts are always of great interest to me - your wonderful positive outlook on life (and life with cancer) reminds me so much of my Mom. I am sending warm comforting thoughts and prayers your way as you deal with these symptoms. Amy

Supposedly, these are actual quotes takes from Federal Governament Employee Performance Evalutaions - from some of the posts I have read these could apply to a portion of the medical community! 1. "Since my last report, this employee has reached rock-bottom and has started to dig." 2. "I would not allow this employee to breed." 3. "This employee is really not so much of a has-been, but more of a definite won't be." 4. "Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap." 5. "When she opens her mouth, it seems that it is only to change feet." 6. "He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle." 7. "This young lady has delusions of adequacy." 8. "He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them." 9. "This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot." 10. "This employee should go far, and the sooner he starts, the better." 11. "Got a full 6-pack, but lacks the plastic thingy to hold it all together." 12. "A gross ignoramus...144 times worse than an ordinary ignoramus." 13. "He doesn't have ulcers, but he's a carrier."! 14. "I would like to go hunting with him sometime." 15. "He's been working with glue too much." 16. "He would argue with a signpost." 17. "He brings a lot of joy whenever he leaves the room." 18. "When his IQ reaches 50, he should sell." 19. "If you see two people talking and one looks bored, he's the other one." 20. "A photographic memory but with the lens cover glued on." 21. "A prime candidate for natural de-selection." 22. "Donated his brain to science before he was through using it" 23. "Gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train ain't coming." 24. "He's got two brains, one is lost and the other is out looking for it." 25. "If he were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week." 26. "If you give him a penny for his thoughts, you'd get change." 27. "If you stand close enough to him, you can hear the ocean." 28. "It's hard to believe he beat off 1,000,000 other sperm." 29. "One neuron short of a synapse." 30. "Some drink from the fountain of knowledge; he only gargled." 31. "Takes him 2 hours to watch '60 Minutes'." 32. "The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead."

For those of you who are taking Iressa - did you experience a decrease in appetite? My mom who has always been a healthy eater is only eating one or two small meals a day, she says she just isn't hungry. I don't want to push her because she does have a weight problem but I also don't want her to lose weight the unhealthy way and I want her to keep her strenth up. Any thoughts?

Jamie - yeah for the surgery - one thing we did to help our kiddos feel included was to have them draw pictures for grandma - my oldest had just learned how to cut paper hearts so she got lots of them! Best of luck to you and your family. Many prayers for you and your family coming your way!

What a way to start the weekend off! Yeah Ray!!!!

Onc confirmed that Iressa is working for my mom! Her cough is almost non-existent and chest x-ray showed no new tumor growth in her lung since March . Will have CT after 2nd round to check lymph nodes. This news was well timed as the folks pack up to go to Canada for a week! Thanks for letting me share!!!!

Thank You Thank You Thank You - for all of your kinds words and messages of hope. They made me cry not out of sadness but because I have finally found a place where I my thoughts and fears will not be a burden and I can share freely without ruining my make-up 50 times a day so I will primarily try to post at night! As for the treatments questions, my mom and her Dr. are not sure that she could tolerate the chemo - she does not do well with strong drugs (she ended up in the hospital for severy dehydration after taking prednisone for 5 days). If the Iressa does not work then she will try a course of radiation, if that doesn't work who knows???? I was suprised that she would agree to the radiation - my mom is a quality of life advocate and has told me she does not want to put us through what we went through with my MIL who died fighting - I told her she needs to do what she wants to do and if that means nothing I am with her or if it means chemo I am with her. She is precluded from most trials because of prior cervical cancer. The most important thing right now is that she is living her life - just spent a weekend in my hometown and all of my parents old cronies hosted a huge catfish fry and gathered for a night of catching up and they leave on 6/17 to spend a week in Canada. Thanks again to all of you and my sincerest hugs go out to all of you I will be here for the long haul!

Hello all! I have spent the last couple of days just reading and absorbing and I cannot even begin to tell you what a comfort these posts have been. My mother was diagnosed in Jan 2001 with NSCLC - a non-smoker. She had complete pnuemonectomy (sorry - I know I butchered the spelling!) on left side. Onc did not believe they got all the cancer - Mom chose not to persue additional treatment and was all clear until Mar of 2004. Had bronchoscopy for stomach problems, results came back concerning, subsequent CT and PET scans show cancer back in multiple lymph nodes and two tumors on right lung (non-operable). She has been on Iressa for a month and we go back to Dr. Friday for checkup. I think it will be positive as her cough has subsided significantly over the past couple of weeks. The past few months have been so emotionally charged...I have been going to all Dr. appt as my parents don't hear everything the Dr. tells them and what they do remember it is hard for them to communicate back so I have been designated listener/questioner. My mom's onc is awesome but also very cautious. She has not given us any timelines but has encouraged Mom to go where she wants and see who she needs to see while she still feels good and she has been. I am the youngest of 3 kids and the only girl so I am VERY close to my mom and understand her and her wishes so I have been designated her decision maker when the time comes - an overwhelming designation, I might add. Your posts have given me more hope than I have had over the past few weeks and for that I am thankful! What makes this all the more devastating is that we lost my mother-in-law to ovarian cancer almost 2 years ago (she was dx 2 months after Mom) and we were with her when she lost her battle. I feel like I am in a BIG BLACK HOLE with no escape - it is all so overwhelming. Well I must go and get some work done - it has taken me over an hour to write this because I have to keep wiping the tears away. Thanks again to all of you and I am sure I will be around a lot - I am going to need it!