richinsdakota
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Posts posted by richinsdakota
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Congrats!...and wishing you many more to come. Keep up the good fight, ...best of luck to come, we hope. Rich B.
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Dang surgery/back pain just wont give me a break....thought I had finally got a med (oxycodone) that knocked it out, but it only lasted a few days...must be quickly developing a tolerance to the drug. Taking the max dose now, and still run out before next dose is due. Anyone else have this problem? Find a med that consistently works? Would appreciate knowing, so I can bug the doc. next week for something. Seeing the orthoped. guys about the lesion on spine, so good time to sort out options, I hope.
Also gets pretty depressing not being able to do the house/yard work that needs done, etc. Gonna have to beg the neighbors to do it for me...sheesh..hate that. Time to winterize soon, and I cant even carry the dang ladder...sigh.
Sorry, I know Im probly not as bad off as some....(I manage to smoke with no problem...sigh), it just gets depressing, this long term disability, I guess. I hate this time of year...cold, windy, dark early....yuk. I know yall cant fix it for me...just gotta shout out my frustration, I guess...ignore me, if ya cant stand my whinin...hehe...Rich B.
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Yea, HECK..we all got more serious things to worry about than our typin..I think anyone who's reasonable knows that either the typer is unaware of meaning, doesnt mean to shout...or just forgets the cap lock on. I doubt that anyone here would take offense of it, least I wouldnt.
I simply read the message...easy to tell if someone is angry or not. So....NO PROBLEM..heheheh Look forward to your posts, however you type it. Rich B.
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Hmm..interesting, thanx for posting that. It sounds awfully 'magic bullet' like tho...havent heard anything about any science backing up this treatment concept. I think Id be careful to wait on serious clinical data reinforcing the claims.
Havent heard any public/news media clamor on it either, seems like there would be. These groups that patent new treatment concepts are obviously in it for the profit motive..so great caution is a good idea. Wait and see if we hear more about it..etc..k..cya
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hehehe..welcome Don, u bring out everyones humor it seems..Rich B.
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Thanx all, for the good wishes...Ill find out what the ortho guys think next week...if nothing, Ill get back to starting chemo. If they want to biopsy or explore, I might just go for surgery, try to fix that back pain, if we gotta get in there anyway..dread more surg., but 16 yrs of pain could use some relief....dunno..we'll see what happens next, all we can do.
Yea, Cat; the oxycodone does raise the mood level ...but I needed that, pain was really depressing. First time Ive been nearly pain free since 1988...sheesh...feels good. Makes me long for a permanent fix, fuse vertebrae or nerve block..somethin...
Anyway, thanx for listening and good wishes...cya next week or so.
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Yep; I second all of the above...welcome and we'll look forward to your updates...good luck to us all. Rich B.
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Yea, so hard to know what to do with the sketchy and varying info out there...maybe our Oncodoc will weigh in with a pro opinion here..?
I would guess...probly wouldnt hurt to do the adjuvant chemo...barring intolerable side effects and risks from it....heck, never hurts to be very cautious...take advantage of every new available thing, I guess. Altho, its a personal decision of course, after weighing these factors. Id say, present the info, pro and con, and let the patient choose treatment or not..? Bout all we can do, probly...our best guess as to whether it will help us or is not worth doing...dunno...K ...good luck..Rich
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Hi Eileen; I havent seen anything breaking down stage 1A and 1B in the chem o trial...I am a stage 1B, (so far..) and Onc. didnt suggest any difference in benefit of chemo...so dunno...maybe we'll learn more to come out...k..cya
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I guess if one goes looking for trouble, one sometimes finds it. I asked for one last MRI/spine because I was suspicious of the severe back pain that Ive had for 16 yrs., but it is right in the thoracic region, near the lungs, thus the possiblility of bone metastises. Sure nuff, it turned up a small lesion of unkown type on the spine. Onc. says it dont show up on the previous PET scan, so dunno what it is yet...so Im off to the Orthopedic specs. for opinion/investigation.
Meanwhile; chemo being delayed yet again pending opinion from ortho guys. Onc. doesnt want to wait much longer tho, he said.
I assume there may be more scans needed, maybe biopsy, maybe surgery..? If it comes to that, I may go for it, ask them to try to eliminate the pain while in there....heck, Im laid up for rest of year anyway from the Pneumonectomy...might as well, get it over with while were into all this...sigh...dread more surgery, but...
Some good from the appt. tho...Onc. gave me Oxycodone for the combined pain of surgery and back pain...(kind of silently agreeing that the surgeon cut me off too soon....) Much better, relief from that constant , depressing hurting, and I can walk 3 times further than I hobbled with the pain...THANX ONC. hehe
Good luck to all and hang in there...Rich
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Kathleen; Here is the helpful articles link..see "changing the standard of treatment"...hope this helps: http://cancernews.healthology.com/focus ... ds&spg=FIA
Click on that ...to read several helpful topics...K..cya
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HI and welcome; I can only add that my oncologist has adapted post-surgery chemo (3 treatments over 3-4 mos. as I understand it) as the new standard in the hospital here. (S. Dakota) I think this is becoming widespread now, because recent clinical trials have shown it to increase the beyond 5 yr. survival rate by a small, but valuable margin..5-10% , I think it saID.
I was supposed to start the chemo about 6 wks after surgery, but not sure how long after surgery it might be recommended. Im being delayed a bit by having to scan/check another suspicious lesion in the spine, and onc. mentioned he doesnt want to wait much longer to start chemo, so...dunno, u might have to research more for the answer to that.
There are a lot of helpful posts with links to great info sites around this board, under the various forums. Good luck to us...Rich
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Kudos to you for the great accomplishment....one which I have yet to make. still tryin...Rich
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Hi Dianne; welcome aboard...
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Kaffie; No I really dont no yet how many treatments i get...probly be about the same as your getting, I would think...Shoot, they wouldnt let me off that easy..just one..hehe ..I m sure. Anyways, keep us posted, Ill try to too.
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Good for you Kaffie...hang tough and good luck. As noted before, seems you and I are on parallel regimens..hehe...Im starting post-op chem o next week as well...not sure what the cocktail is yet, but I guess its a 5 hr. infusion..yuk. Well, we do what we gotta do, I guess...wishin us luck, Richinsdak.
P.S. One difference, I guess...I havent got the nicotine monkey off my back yet...I gotta find a way...sigh
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Yea, pain is difficult issue...Im about 2 mos. out from thoracotomy, lung removed. Dr. was stingy with pain meds because of habit forming fears, I guess, but I finally got off em and onto Darvocet which I supplement with 3-4 inbuprofen every 3-4 hrs. Doc says thats ok, and gives me plenty of Darvocet, since its much less problematic or habit forming, I guess. Over the counter stuff like ibuprofen or motrin, etc. can help , but I d ask Dr. how much can be safely taken, etc.
I doubt that most folks can get off the heavy opioids very soon after surgery , took me about 2 mos. During that time, I just had to keep callin to get refills, and the more I hurt, the angrier I was with em..hehe..gets their attention, if you have to. I think they gauge your need by the level of your urgency, so dont be afraid to assert yourself, get what you need...Ok...good luck
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WBR?
in NSCLC GROUP
Ok, got it now...my guess was way wrong...thanx for helping me learn, all of you. Rich
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Hi; afraid I cant help explain, Im just undergoing brain (done) and spine (next week) MRIs. I know they did the brain with and with out contrast, but dont think the spine uses contrast. (No fasting needed, anyway)
Anyway, Ill try to remember to ask , find out as much as I can ...next week...k...cya Rich
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Interesting....well I too had some unexplained "night sweats" in the last year or so before dx. I also have severe back pain in thoracic region which has been called Degen. joint disease for 15 yrs. or so. (MRI spine soon). Were checking it out because of the recent connection made between cancer and cox 2 enzyme (being present on lung cancer tumor cells. )
Also; I remember news report of a study couple yrs. ago, (England?), where majority of cancer patients reported "hurting all over" prior to being diagnosed. This was certainly true of me...could be degenerative joint pain..or....cancer-producing cox 2 enzyme flood???? Speculative at best, but interesting coincidences. Anyway..for what its worth...keep up the good work...Rich
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WBR?
in NSCLC GROUP
I see the term wbr being used here....apparently chemo? What does wbr stand for? anyone..pardon my newness, just dont see it in the glossary. thanx
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Hi and welcome....your support will be good for the board, and all..Rich
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Yep..welcome , sorry for the tough diagnosis, but remember noone can predict how long someone will survive, everyone is different.
Youll find lot of great info and support from the great folks here...good luck. Rich
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For Oncodoc; No, I dont lump all drs. as bad guys...I had an anesthesiologist who was exceptional, and now the Onc. seems quite thorough and helpful......sorry if my post sounded that way. I was just noting that a number of posts now, have related some pretty remarkable behavior and oversights by some drs., as I also experienced in my surgery adventure. So to be more accurate, I maybe should have said SOME drs. aint what they used to be.
As for yourself; I commended you in the dr./patient relationshiip thread on your caring enuff to ask the members here for their opinions , etc. You obviously strive to improve your care of patients, by gaining more insight and perspective. Kudos for that. The fact that you participate here speaks to that fact, and your professional input is very helpful to us all. No offense intended toward good docs, but again, sorry if it sounded that way. Rich
Me too...can I whine a bit?
in NSCLC GROUP
Posted
Thanx all for your kind understanding and the great suggestions...I never heard of a duragesic patch, but you can bet my doc will get asked about it tomorrow..hehehe....dunno why they are so slack about offering any solutions, they act like they dont have a clue what to offer...(maybe the case..?) But now I know such things are available..so watchout doc!
The neurospine guy did say that the back pain was likely aggravated/irritated by the surgery...chopping out of that rib, which just happens to attach to that vertebrae. But again, didnt offer much except an apppt with pain management spec. off in the distance..sigh. Anyway, I get to do another MRI/spine tomorrow...seems the view wasnt to his liking on the first one. He so far doesnt see anything to indicate any cancerous bone destruction, tho..so hopefully may be just arthritis related.
K..thanx again for the info and the kind shoulder to whine on...hehehe...Rich B.