richinsdakota
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Posts posted by richinsdakota
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So sorry to hear of your loss , but when I go, I hope I can go out like that, with family and memories on my mind. Bless u all and take care...Rich B.
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Sorry to hear of her discomfort problems....afraid I cant offer much on rad or chemo...altho I have heard rad can cause pneumonitis or lung damage. Question for the doc tho...also, my one chemo treatment, (taxotere) gave me pneumonia like infection...had to stop right there, take antibios and steroids for a week to clear it up. Was very short of breath when that hit ...
I am familiar with the stomach probs caused by heavy pain meds...my doc gave me Nexium which really worked. Ended stomach probs. If u can get that, should help. Good luck...Rich B.
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If theyve done the tests and scans...u should get a pretty good idea at the appt. of what is there. But u have to ask the hard questions, and press the dr. for info u wanna know, or dont understand, etc. They dont always explain all details, etc., unless you press them too. Its always a good idea to write down questions u think of , so they dont get lost in the conversation at appts.
The only tests that can give an overall view, the full picture, of the extent of the disease, are the full body PET scan, and Bone scans, if bone cancer is suspected. I would insist on at least the PET scan, so youll all know how much youre facing, and where it is.
I would imagine a suggestion for treatment would be made, or maybe a referral to an Oncologist, or multi-Dr. board for treatment decisions, depending on hospital , etc. In any event, try to calm down and take it one step at a time....once you are investigating the disease, you are moving faster than it does., it doesnt grow overnite. There should be time to diagnose it and consider treatment options....then go at it....all you can do...one step at a time. Hope your news is good and good luck...Rich B.
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Yep; as is said here...all is not doom, and there is time to diagnose and treat this disease. Its a long term process, not an overnite disaster, so try to calm down, take it one step at a time...good luck...Rich B.
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Hi and welcome; Can u keep in touch with your moms progress on the internet? Here, for instance? might be a way to communicate .
I dont know much about sclc, there is a category here for that tho...check it out for lots of info, Im sure there...good luck..Rich B.
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The risks , explained to me by the interventional radiologist, were the usual...possibility of infection, etc....but the major one was possiblility of lung collapse, higher for smokers...he estimated about 40% chance in my case. (smoker). said it might require 3 days in hosp. if it occurred. \
Fortunately, it all went well, and a good sample was obtained and diagnosed. After a few hrs. observation time, (to make sure lung stayed inflated), I went home with a band aid. All in all not to bad. Wish u luck...Rich B.
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Kool, congrats...and kudos to the doc. Rich B.
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Sorry ur all having this difficult fight with this awful disease....must be really tough, Im sure....wish u the best possible, tho...take care...Rich B.
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Hi Don; sorry u had to go thru that again...once is hard enuff, huh? Ur spirometer readings sound just like mine. I left the oxygen at the hosp., and found I could walk 6-8 blks without much problem. My problem is stairways, bending and stooping around house, or working much with my upper body., get winded fast then, and I dont seem to gain much capacity in remaining lung, in spite of lot of excersize, etc. Had to cut excer. down some, as I was irritating the chest pain. Sprirometer seems to be stuck around 12-1500 now.
Yea, swelling sucks, and I sometimes notice a kind of cold, clammy feeling...dunno...meds maybe. I tried adjuvant chemo, but onc. hit me with full dose of Taxotere, which I had a severe reaction to, (gave me pnemonia like infection, in remaining lung), so once I recovered with a week of antibios and steroids, I stopped treatment there.
People have diff. tolerances of diff. chemo drugs...so no predictiing what it will be....I maybe should have tried some milder drugs, but guess I had had enuff...decided to take my chances . Anyway, good luck ....from a fellow one-cylinder guy. (one lung-er). Rich B.
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Welcome; I had not mets or lymph involvement at surgery....but Im only 7 mos. out, so havent had first screening xray, etc, yet. Hopin I stay clean, but never know a s u know.
I had terrible stomach from pain meds irritation, and other meds....see if u can get Nexium from doc., it really works! Expensive, depending on ur insurance...but is very effective. Good luck...Rich B.
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Also; it is important to realize, as I was made to understand, that tumors dont grow huge overnight....while it is prudent to expedite diagnosis and treatment, it really doesnt make much difference if they find a pea or a grape size tumor in there, or so...
I have suspicions my tumor was growing in there for maybe a year or even two or three....dunno...it was large, but still hadnt invaded lymphs or metastisized anywhere.
Someone here pointed this out to me when I was in my panic stage and it helped me to calm down a bit. Hope it helps u too....course, there are always anti-anxiety meds from doc., ...doesnt hurt to bring the worry down a little. Wont change the outcome and just drags u out unncessarily, huh? Ok...take care...and try to take it one step at a time...Rich B.
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Yea, the antibios and steroids is familiar to me....had similar reaction to Taxotere...pnuemonia like infection in remaining lung. They cleared it up, but I stopped treatment at that point...made me gunshy, I guess. But I show No disease at this point, so it is a luxury to be able to stop adjuvant chemo...may not be if disease is present, of course. Good luck...Rich B.
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Yep, doesnt sound too bad....maybe youll be lucky (relatively speaking), like me....tumor was isolated, no lymph involvement or mets anywhere...hoping for good prognosis for both of us..Rich B.
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Hi; sorry ur having this problem, and Im sure the prednisone is necessary...all I know is it turned me into a sleepless, emotional wreck when I took it for chemo treatments. I guess we cant avoid these awful side effects tho....cant stop taking it if u need it. Id be inclined to make them find the cause of the cough tho...? dunno...good luck...Rich B.
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HI; I see u are having lot of scans etc., already...but u didnt list a PET scan....this is a full body scan to spot any cancer anywhere else in the body....I didnt get one till after my surgery, and I wished I had...if we had found more bad trouble spots, would maybe have had to re-evaluate whether surgery should be undergone. Luckily, we didnt find any...but I sure would have liked to have known how involved my cancer was before surgery. Just good to know extent of problem before attacking one spot, get the big picture , so to speak.. K...good luck...Rich B.
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Hi and welcome; Well, I know with chemo treatments, they usually give steroids....these were the culprit in my case....made me an emotional basket case. Emer. room doc gave me Lorazepam, which worked nicely to counter the anxiety. Steroids hang on quite a while too, before dissipating from the body, so I still take a few Lorazepams a day. But if she s alredy taking anti-axiety pillls...dunno...only doc can sort it out I spose. Take care and good luck ...Rich B.
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Upon diagnosis, I guess I was like that G.I. in a foxhole in ww2, being shelled by artillery....I thought my god, let me get thru this somehow and Ill change my ways. Even thought of getting religion, tho Im just not religious.
I went home in shell-shock, after surgery....concentrating on controlling pain and recovering, etc. I was motivated to begin getting my house in order, ie, Living Will, Medical pwr of attorney, etc. Even wrote my goodbyes to family , to file away for that eventuallity. I have intended to gather all my useless junk (packrat stuff) to haul out, leaving only the house and reasonably useful stuff as my estate, if I should lose the fight, but having a hard time getting started on that one yet.
I seem to be falling back into old routines, and habits....even resumed that nasty smoking habit that may have claimed one lung already....sigh....Im jus one of those fools who love to smoke.
Anyway, any thoughts I may have had of grandiose changes or accomplishment s in the time I have left have faded now, dont seem so impprtant anymore. I guess I am what I am, and I live how I live, and Im just not going to overhaul my life much. I may travel to visit familly a little more often, but probly not much else will change. Who knows what I might do later, with the threat of recurrent cancer hanging over my head, I do tend to think about changes more, but havent acted on much yet. Dunno....Rich B.
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HI and welcome; youll find a lot of suppport and knowledge here that helps us all get thru our fights....good luck and keep us posted. Rich B.
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Hi..and welcome. Yea, so young to get sick...I was 60 when diagnosed. You found the right place tho...lotta help and support here. Rich B.
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What a nice post...thx. Welcome and best of luck to you and Mom. Youll find lots of info and helpful folks here...good luck to us all. Rich B.
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Yea, wow...Id sure hate to undergo a second Thoro....sounds to me like youve opted for the best plan , make sure its really necessary before another surgery. Its what I would do too, if I had similar circumstances. Its really no different than what I am doing, ...surgeon says tumor all gone....onc. says screening every few months to spot any recurrence. I had one follow up chemo (taxotere) but stopped right there when it gave me pnuemonia like infection. Guess its all we can do....hope what we have done is enough to finish off the beast. Good luck to us all...Rich B.
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Probably; I had a bunch of chest xrays and ct scans while we went thru the surgery and chemo and were fighting a pneumonia like infection caused by taxotere. My remaining lung was so inflammed, the rib cage was sore, and trying to sleep on even my good side caused me to cough up a bit of blood, apparently irritated it more. I had to wait several weeks before trying that again, and I think its healing up now. But I think I probly had 20-25 exrays while the docs were panicking over it. Cant be very helpful . Havent had rad. treatments, so dunno...but hope I never need them. Good luck, Im sure theres more helpful expertise here than this...tried "ask the experts?"
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Yea, sorry...sounds like a tough week...hang in there hon. Hope it gets better soon....Rich B.
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Haaa! This is the funniest thread Ive seen yet...heheh...but some good advice, along with the absurd..heheh...
Only thing I could add; is "Bring home the Colonel" ....(jus so you get him outa there in time!.) heheh....good lluck...Rich B.
Migraines after thoracotomy/tests?
in GENERAL
Posted
Hi..jus curious if anyone else has developed migraine headaches after surgery and tests regimen associated with lung cancer bout? I havent had them since age twelve....but 6 or so mos. after surgery...bang...every day or two now, all winter long. Im suspicious of the MRI Brain, maybe....scrambling our brains maybe or sinuses agitation? Dunno...
If anyone has had migraines develope in the year or so after tests and surgery...would like to compare notes...or hear of ur story. Thx in advance.....Rich B.