shineladysue

Wow , Charlie, that's great.... So, you couldn't keep that envelope glued shut. You had to peek inside and seeeee. .... Soooo glad you did and I hope when the doc reviews it on Monday you will come away feeling as encouraged as you are today. Hey Cindi, I'll have a rottttgutttt with Charlie..... ummm what is a rottt gutt? lol Let's play it safe.. Cindi, make mine a Bud light and you can make that two... one for Mike and I . Mike just walked behind me and gave a thumbs up and and yell to Cindi to hurry up with that beer. Looking forward to the official report, Charlie. In the meantime, try to enjoy the moment. Prayers to you. Sue

Beth, Overall, it sounds like you are tolerating the Alimta pretty well. Keep it up. Steroids, well that's another story. Those things are a necessary evil for some folks. Mike is on 20 mg of prednisone, but on the days he takes the dexamethasone he doesn't take the prednisone. The dexamethasone turns him into a bear , as it is. He had treatment on Monday and he has the fluid gain creeping up on him a bit today too. He has his puffy face and FAT eyelids. Hang in there. You're sounding good to me. Sue

Nina, There's a whole truck load of prayers going up with your name on them. I'm so sorry you are having all these problems and worries. Sure hope they will all be taken care of and resolved in short order. Sue

Welcome Pam, I'm glad you found us. You have found a site of many compassionate people helping one another cope with this disease. Even though every one has a unique case, there are many similarities in treatments. There's lots of information and support to be found here, as well as hope. You asked a question about mets appearing after treatment and the answer is yes. Treating cancer is an ongoing process of trying to find the treatment that works best with the patients body. In the meantime, new mets can appear and there are various forms of treatment for different for all kinds of mets. If you read over the profiles and posts at this forum you will soon begin to learn more of what you might expect. If you have a specific question, there is nearly always someone here who has experienced it and or someone will give you links to help. Again, welcome to the site we all wish we didn't have to belong to, but are thankful exists. Sue

Bill , Thanks for sharing your wife's progress and know that my prayers are with you both. Take care of yourself . Sue

Ginny, Please send my thoughts and prayers to Rosemary and her family also. Sue

Thoughts and prayers coming your way Frank. Sue

Congratulations !!! Carolyn Helen, what a beautiful name. Can hardly wait to see the pics. Glad to hear hubby will be around a bit too. Hope to hear from you soon. Sue

Peggy, It really doesn't sound bad at all. You and hubby hang in there and keep saying those turbo boosted prayers. Know that I'm sending you some as well. Hope you get some positive reassurance on Friday. God Bless/ Sue

Wishing you the best and keeping you in my prayers. Sue

Cindi, It sounds like you have a lot going on, but an excellent doctor. She really does sound like a keeper. I wonder , did she ask what it was you were drinking before you collapsed on the 6 minute walk... Quite honestly, I couldn't do that myself. I don't have cancer, but I have a mild case of emphysema. Mike's doctor does many different pulmonary tests on him as well. He uses a nebulizer 3 times a day every day without fail plus Flovent inhaler twice a day. It really is helpful . Keep following doctors orders and know that I am only one of many sending lots of prayers and positive energy your way. Love, Sue

Don, I just want to wish you well and let you know that you are in my prayers. I also want to tell you to be patient with yourself. Losing an entire lung is a shock to the body. I know it took Mike a while to get his energy back. One thing the nutritionist told him was to eat high carbohydrate foods . She says you need it regain your strength and energy. It also took a while to build himself up. There were days he would go out and just walk around our back yard and the next day, he didn't feel like walking at all. Actually, he was out of work for 9 weeks and when he returned, he was still not 100%. He was told that it takes about 1 year to recouperate from a pneumonectomy . All I am saying is be very patient with yourself. He chose not to do the chemo follow up at the time, but he would highly recommend it to anyone . Whether it would have prevented his recurrence , we don't know, but given the choice again , we would have chosen it. As far as what the regimen is, I dont' know. Only other thing that I would like to say is make sure your doctors stay on top of follow up scans and if something doesn't feel right, follow your instinct. God bless you and know that I'm sending prayers for a full recovery. Sue

She's adorable Curtis. Thanks for sharing . Sue

Wednesday has to be a better day. Hang in there Frank and know that lots of us are pulling for you. Sue

Bill, Enjoy this day and every day you have with your wife. This is wonderful news . Thanks for sharing your wife's story with us and may Tarceva be the miracle drug for her. Know that my thoughts and prayers are with you. God Bless ! Sue

Wendy , Thanks for the supply of angel dust . Maybe if we put that with Peggy's turbo power boosted prayers things will start to turn around for our members. Everyone is in my prayers. Love you guys. Sue

Karen , David & their family are always on my prayer list, but I will borrow Peggy's turbo booster for this one.. Hope to hear good news soon. Sue

Frank, This news of yours leaves me with every emotion you can think of. I am soooo sorry Frank that you have been going through all this. First of all, I want you to know that you have my prayers for a quick fix and that you will be feeling better in no time. It makes me angry to think that all of us look to those scans to let us know what is going on , not to mention that they cost an arm and a leg and head and a foot... You know what I mean. This is so scary to think all of this was going on and not showing up. Makes you wonder if it's the fault of the equipment or the radiologist that reads them and or both. This just makes me feel angry, and sad . I want to scream and cry all at the same time. I'm sorry, I'm getting carried away, but there seems to be a lot of this stuff happening lately. Take care Frank. Know that you and your family have my prayers. Sue

(((Elaine))), I am so sorry to hear about all the pain and hardships in your life. I know at times it is hard to come here . We become very attached to people here and then things sometimes take a turn for the worse. Almost every time I visit here, I cry , but before I go, I try to find someone to laugh with or to give an encouraging word to. I also know this group is wonderful and would be here to help me if I need it. It's obvious to me that you have many friends here and they love you and would love the chance to send a hug, a prayer or offer some other word of encouragement. Don't stay away so long. Please accept my prayers to help you get through all that life is handing you. God Bless You, Sue

Glad you are going to wake hubby. Being anxious all alone will only make it worse. I can certainly understand how you , of all people, might have anxiety . Bless your heart, you've had more than your share to cope with. Hopefully, hubby is awake now. Let us know later how you feel. Sue

Sending prayers for Rosemary and Fred. Rosemary, I would like to say that by giving an update on Fred's condition, you may be helping members of this board, as well as helping yourself to vent your feelings. Our purpose in being here is to support one another in the good times and bad times. Know that we care. God Bless you. Sue

Beth, I just woke up , as I often do in the middle of the night. Beth, you do sound anxious and depressed, but please don't ignore any pains in your chest or shortness of breath. If you get really worried, wake hubby up. He would want you to wake him up, I'm sure of it. You said you cut down your prednisone. I hope the doctor ok'd that and told you how much to cut down. Mike is on 20 mg. prednisone a day and the doctor tells him never to cut down or stop taking it on his own. Prednisone is one of those drugs you have to gradually go off of if you have been on it a while. I wish I could help. I know Mike has recently been shorter of breath and retaining a lot of fluid plus his blood pressure is rising. The doctor thinks it is due to steroid buildup, but he has been on them for about a year now. They are keeping him on the steroids , but giving him a diuretic. It seemed to start helping by the next day. I hate to suggest anything like this because it's probably not your case at all. Promise me you will wake up hubby. Don't go through this alone. Ok? Take care Beth. We care about you. (((Hugs))), Sue

Val, Prayers that your baby will come soon and without teeth (Cindi-is trying to make you laugh or gasp or something there not sure... she always cracks me up... luv ya Cindi) I remember feeling the pressure of having my second son before Christmas. He made it the 22nd and we came home the 24th -whew barely. Walk!!! Just walk as much as you can especially if you get those twingy feelings again.. Keep us posted.. Sue

Ry, Glad to hear John is doing better. It means so much to have confidence in your doctor. We love Mike's pulmonologist and oncologist. I hope John will continue to do well and that a treatment plan is made for his mom. Keeping your family in my prayers. Sue

(((Melanie))), You sound like you have a wonderful attitude about your treatment. Try to stay calm and not worry about the next scans. So sorry about the loss of your friend. You sound like a fighter to me.. Hang in there and know that you are in my prayers. Sue