Justakid

What I wouldn't give to just sit and have my grandfathers favorite meal and talk to him. He's been gone 12yrs now. A favorite meal just the two of you recalling all the good times! That's what I would wish from my own children

Sometimes anger and depression go hand in hand. I agree that we go through cycles when it comes to possible terminal illnesses. We cycle.....I started shocked, then ready to kick butt, then crushed, then totally beaten and ready to give up, then mad as hell and ready to kick butt........I'm exhausted now and others are fighting for me while I can not do it. Hang in there!

Wow - I don't know what to say. I have pain at my incision area about one week after chemo. BUT I have a CT Scan tomorrow to see if chemo is working. I can offer to advise other then to tell the doctor and have him take a look at it.

I am speechless too! But him being a firefighter, I never thought about them.......imagine what they are exposed too! I can not believe how this is running in families (I mean I believe that part) but not crossing to the other side (there's no link) it only goes to show how out of control this all is! You are in my thoughts and prayers! We have to find a cure for lung cancer! and other cancers!

Kim - I know about the breathing thing, few..... I am currently on 40mg prednisone and the nebulizer every 4hrs (since Friday with the nebulizer) and had awesome improvement, until today........the mold and pollen count here are very very high and may be affecting my breathing today. I see the Pulmonary Doc tomorrow and will let you know what he says. I can't take most breathing meds cause they increase your heart rate and I'm on heart meds. I'll post tomorrow and we'll see what he does for me.

I'm glad you git your vacation in! I'm so sorry for the problems that are happening now! It's just not fair! Hang on, WE NEED YOU HERE!

Well that sucks! It has to be marshmallow! Keep us posted!

Welcome, you couldn't have found a better place!

Welcome, you couldn't have found a better place!

I have had a few questions about this post so I'll clarify a little..............I don't know what my doctor did but the insurance company rented the bed and bought the wheel chair and nebulizer. Don't know how it worked for them to pay for everything other then the doctor wrote the perscriptions for them and said I needed them. I told him my fat sausage legs could barely hold me sometimes. He put the oxygen monitor on my grabbed my hand and made me walk fast around the office, the first thing I did was walk directly into the wall and almost fall over. Told him I was a little top heavy. My PCP is wonderful and I wish I could see him for all my stuff, but can't. I guess ask and yee shall receive! Wheelchair is also wide enough for my prednisone *ss!

I had seen my Oncologist last Wed when I had chemo and said I may have sleep apnea again, he said to see the Pulmonary Doc, anyway he wouldn't see me for over a month. I also told them I had gone from stage 3 to 4 and that he needed to check my lungs, well no one seemed to care. I'm also still wheezing since January. Needless to say, I was upset. Don't get upset around my mom! I got an appt with my PCP today at 11:15, when the doc came in........my mother took over and went off.............I am now sitting in my new hospital bed (at home), with wheel chair in the car, new nebulizer, sleep test ordered and call into Pulmonary doctor that he will be checking my lungs out. My Mom and PCP ROCK! Mom says she doesn't like specialists! For months I have tried to sleep sitting up and can't....now I have the hospital bed (thank goodness), we went to the store to get me some fat t-shirts the other day and I almost didn't make it to the car (that prednisone is hard on the legs, plus the fast weight gain keeps making me fall over-I'm too top heavy), now when a lot of walking is involved I have the wheelchair. A nice new lightweight one. My PCP hates the inhalers and has gotten me the nebulizer and says it works better.....used it tonight....it broke up so much stuff in my chest I thought I would pass out before I finished coughing crap up. Something tells me that I'm gonna sleep tonight! My Social Security Disability was approved and so was both children's (first pmt to come on 09-02-05), just gotta make till then with no money The only other thing to pray for is that the CT Scan on Monday shows improvement, shrinkage, disappearance, whatever............ That's my busy exhausting day![/b]

Charlie happy anniversary!!!!! Mine would have been 04/28 from the first time I was told, didn't quite make it there! Think I'll have a few draft beers tonight!!!!!!

It has to sell and you can get one of those cool little apts and have plenty of time for fishing. Do me a favor and move to NC to be near my brother, he wants me too and of my usband could get transferred we would be there tomorrow. Move near a good friend who can be there for you!

Is there where we are to be honest or lie? I was dx April 04. stage 3A, had surgery, radiation and chemo. Had side affects thats that no one else gets, the kind that 3% of the patients get and had problems getting my doctor to believe me, had to switch doctors. Everything that could go wrong (it seems) did. I had 4mths after treatment and then was told that the cancer was back in all remaining lung lobes but one (February 05) . Did treatment work initially.....no....did I follow every direction and do everything that I was told to do to the letter to increase my chances......yes. And now I am at stage 4 working again on chemo. I'm not on onf the luck ones but it WILL work this time because it has too! And I won't accept anything less!

Everyone is different. I had the same treatment and developed side affects the first week (THIS IS NOT NORMAL). Keep an eye out for thrush in his mouth, I got it 4 times during treatment. I just hated going in every single day for radiation treatment, taking my shirt off for my male technicial (of course) and getting zapped by the machine. Felt like I was in some sci-fi movie. Good luck!

Like everyone has said, stats are not accurate. Of those 5yr stats, how many of those people are between the age of 20-30, 31-40, 41-50 etc. How many had surgery. How many actually died a cancer related death. I have found that you have to ask "point blank" How much time....before you get an answer. I was just rediagnosised from stage 3 to stage 4 and asked. I was told that I had 4 months to live WITHOUT treatment and with Treatment "who knows". Well from what I can tell, that leaves me wide open to live till I'm 100, as long as chemo works! Statistically I'm also too young to have lung cancer.....I'm only 37. That's barely old enough for a tumor to grow and get rooted . Dont believe the stats!

Thank goodness it's TB! I know when I had my first surgery the pathologist thought the cancer was not LC but had traveled from somewhere else and was now in the lung. When we got the test results that the primary was in the lung we danced in the doctors waiting room, people thought we were crazy. They just don't understand that sometimes there are worse things that can happen! I'll take TB this time instead of the cancer spreading!!!!!!! Good luck!

Patti- Thank you for the update and let Frank know that he is in our prayers! relax and get better soon! Keep us posted.

Jim- Glad you get a little break, you deserve it! Go fishing and relax!

I hate to hear that someone else was dx with this shi##y disease but, thank goodness it's someone well known and in the public eye.....let's get some attention out there and some reseach done and get us all cured! I know I'm being greedy but Peter Jennings is a lot better then Gerald McRainey and Ernest!

That's wonderful!

Hang on Mrs.Manny, I know it's hard! Those extra stains should hopefully explain what the hell is going on. I'm with you, after 3 Alimta treatments I can't breath. Between steriods and inhalers, etc. It's rediculous and feel like we are not necessarily waisting time but that there should be something to make me more comfortable. Keep us posted!!!! And I'm working on getting my attitude back everyone!

I ditto MrsManny! Could be anything at this point!

WOW, congratulations!

It's painful, but bareable. Honestly.....all the side affects I had from treatment were worse then the surgery! But I had them all! After surgery the chest tube is the most uncomfortable! When he feels like geting out of bed after the lobectomy, grab a wheel chair, put the drainage tube collector in the chair and start walking around the halls and Nurses station, it really helps! Good luck