SDianneB

TAnn, M. D. Anderson isn't a shabby place, yanno! I'm sure they will help you find what is to be done to help you. We're all on your side. Di

Underwear in a dresser drawer? What a concept. I must give this more thought ..... Di

Lisa -- I hope it's something easily fixable with your mother. Di

(Says the ever shy Becky! ) Ditto that, and just hang in here and you'll read words from some of the most wonderful people you'll ever come in contact with who have "been there, done that." Best wishes, Di

Angie, I'm so sorry. Just keep looking at and hugging that beautiful family, and your awesome dad. Di

See there, Becky -- didn't all those nice folks just answer your question? What is the old saying -- that if we all had to put our troubles out on the table and were offered a chance to swap ours for someone else's, we'd probably just take back our own. After my 2nd round of chemo when this was still so very new to me, the scan results were terrific -- showing a drastic reduction in tumor size. The first call I made was to my mother, to tell her some good news for a change. Since then, she's had her 91st birthday, and has followed me through all this. Last Monday, I had the extreme pleasure of calling her again just after I walked out of the Oncologist's office to tell her the cancer is GONE, and what the future treatment/keeping it gone measures will be. Nothing could have made me happier, because we had spent the last few years worrying about her, and she's in fine shape. Now, she's had to worry about my sister (heart disease) and me, and we don't want that to get her down. I was as thrilled to get to tell her that as she was to hear it. So there is your GOOD stuff. All the bad has something good in it if we dig deeply enough, I think. And heck, if nothing else, the people who post here and share their lives every day are terrific. Di

The studies I've read (one from Emory University in Atlanta) were done by Radiation Oncologists, and show a significant benefit to having PCI. I bet someone here has a link to studies, and there are some in the folders you see when you are at the "home" page of this forum. It's a tough decision, to be sure, and one that each person just has to weigh for him/herself. Di

Angie, along with all of us here, I'm so very sorry you are all having to go through this. Yes, I HATE CANCER too. I look at the photograph of your beautiful family beside your posts and see though that you have helpers in this battle, and sources for lots and lots of hugs and comfort. I'm sending you my thoughts and prayers, but will have to leave the real hugs to your great family. Di

Cindy, you GO girl! Wow. I've always had a deep respect for registered nurses, and you're just one more reason why. Happy Holidays!! Di

Well, of course you're terrified. We all are at times. Right now, I can't envision a time that I won't be terrified when a big scan is coming up or something like that. People here say that lessens somewhat with time, but right now, I just can't imagine "time" and "future" in quite the same way as I did BC. (Before Cancer; AD = After Diagnosis) Not so long before I was diagnosed, I found out that the husband of a favorite cousin had died. She (the cousin) hadn't let any of us know. I was shocked, as they were both in their mid-60s, he had recently retired but was still consulting and traveling some. Once I contacted her son, I found out that she was diagnosed with uterine cancer in an advanced stage, and while worrying and caring for her, he went for a checkup and found out he had colon cancer. They operated on him, and he died before he even left the hospital. Her cancer never did go into remission, and she died just a short time before I was diagnosed. I did NOT have a great outlook when I was diagnosed, and a lot of it had to do with the shock I was still going through with those two. They were bright, energetic people, and lived a wonderful life, totally devoted to each other and their 2 boys. Like others have said, BREATHE!! I celebrate breathing nowadays, because I CAN BREATHE! I can. Yes. And every morning that I wake up and see the sun and can still draw a breath, I am thankful for it. I also have a difficult time now and then getting out of the "me, me, me" mode, yanno? It's why this place helps me so much, because I can come here and read what other say, and know that we are in this together. The "me" is still there and still important, but there is also a "we" that gives me kindred spirits to think good thoughts for and pray for, and to even grieve for when we lose someone. It's about LIFE, dontchano. For however many minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years we have. We live and enjoy what we can.

Tiny, that is wonderful!!! You have a wonderful trip, ok? Di

Ok, so if I have that all the time anyway .... KIDDING! You guys ... Di

Kim, I watched my dad have a near fatal heart attack when I was small, then my mother had one and had a stent placement about 6 years ago, then my brother, then my sister. Each time, they barely got care in time. I wondered and waited myself -- waited for my turn with the heart problems, and they didn't come. Or at least they haven't come yet. I got the little family surprise -- cancer. I had to be different. If nothing else, going through this is teaching me to be more thankful for every day that I can draw a breath, even when it's a wheezy breath! We just don't have guarantees in life -- we can walk out the front door and get hit by a truck, or have a heart attack, or cancer, or live to be 100 and die with a cigar in one hand and a decanter of Jack Daniels in the other. Take care of yourself -- that's so very important. Feel what you feel, and when those emotions come, just leterrip! Di

Haha! Bring on the colors! Winter is kinda dullsville anyway, no? You and your "brain fries," and Addie and her "head in a toaster." TOO funny!! This helps -- it really does. The fewer surprises the better! (The tech and I talked about this when I was having chest radiation -- she says it lasts just seconds, and less than the chest treatment, and those were really fast.) Di

That's why I'd like to get it over and done with before the end of the year -- that and the insurance deductible that kicks in again on Jan. 1!! I have no idea how it will affect me either, and I may have the same as you. The techs over here at the Sarah Cannon Center are terrific people, and they are good to tell me things that sometimes even the docs don't. They also see patients every day for treatment, and the docs see us once a week, so the techs know if we get into trouble and need help faster than the doc will. They were the ones who gave me the great ointment/cream for my leathery skin. The doc recommended I use sauces and gravies on food during the esophagitis, which were awful, and it was the techs who said "we could have told you so!" (I told them and the dietician about my popsicle secret, and they passed it on too!) Do you have the fatigue all the time? Does it happen at a particular time of day? The reason I ask is that I had chest radiation early every morning, and could go from there on to work and not miss a beat. I was thinking of doing this the same way, but someone told me they had fatigue about an hour after the treatment. If that's the case, I may want to schedule this for the afternoon so I can have a treatment then go straight home. That might be something to ask the techs about too. I've even seen one of the masks now, and it doesn't look appealing, but I CAN do it. I so like and trust the techs there that I give them NO trouble, believe it or not! They say it, I do it! Thanks for sharing your experiences with me. Di

In the late 70s, I had what they call "Bell's Palsy" -- it was an infection of a nerve that controlled the left side of my face. It came on gradually, and I thought I was having little strokes. I was relieved to find out it wasn't that, but the treatment for what I did have doesn't always give 100% results -- or it didn't back then. I had to take a multivitamin every day, had B-12 injections every day for 2 weeks, and steroids. Whew, is right! I'm pretty strong, and can stand anything for a few weeks, I reckon. I'm with you 100% -- I'd kick myself if I didn't do all I thought possible. Di

This morning, it would have taken their helicopter to have dropped me down there! If anyone else is reading this who decides to come to Vanderbilt, let me know, and I'll try to help you navigate around there. It may be that I can drop you off, or if you come with family, I'd advise you to have a spare person for a driver who can drop you off and come back to get you later. It may be that they are just busy in December which isn't unusual -- everyone wants to get stuff done before the holidays, and insurance deductibles kick in again on Jan. 1, etc. I may reschedule, but may wait until after I've had the PCI, then see the specialist after the first of the year so he can review everything. Are you done with the PCI yet? Did you already say and I missed it? Di

Angie, I just don't know what to say. I was a big time daddy's girl, and I know it's almost unbearable to go through when they suffer. As my dad would have said, "keep your chin up." Hang in there. You'll get through this. Di

You're asking someone who is a little stupid all the time? Ha ... Looks like I'll get started with PCI maybe in a week or so -- I hope so. I found out yesterday the results of the PET scan from last week -- NED at last! When I was checking out, there was a sweet lady there at the desk with her husband -- in her 70s. She'd just finished PCI, and he said it got to her too -- very, very tired, just wanted to sleep all the time she said. But, she said it went away just about as fast as it came on once the PCI was over. She looked -- and said she felt -- wonderful. I was on my way to the Oncologist/specialist at Vanderbit this morning, and drove around there for 30-40 minutes and could NOT find a place to park. Seriously. It was wall to wall, bumper to bumper, and 20 minutes of that time was spent driving around the parking garage. I finally called the office and asked if they knew a trick that would help with parking, and they did not. It was 8:00 traffic, pouring down rain outside, cold, and their only suggestion was to go to the other end of that massive complex and park in the hospital parking garage then walk. Yeahright. Just what a lung cancer patient should do -- walk half a mile in the cold rain. I just told her that I'd reschedule when and if I could get someone to bring me and drop me off, because this parking thing was nuts. I may change my mind when I get started, but right now, I'm so eager to have PCI that I'm not really caring a whole lot if it puts me off my feet the entire time. I committed to aggressive treatment when I found out about this, and feel like this PCI is a MUST DO in order to maximize my survival chances. Sorry you're going through bad times with this, but thanks so much for sharing what you're going through -- even the bad stuff. Di

Oh, dontcha just love it when they say "don't worry now, but ..." Hang in there. There are more possibilities here than just the worst thing you can conjure up in your mind. Will be thinking of you ... Di

Happy Birthday, Nina! I wondered too when I was first diagnosed if I'd see another birthday, and I just might make it. Thanks for telling us about yours -- it's fantastic inspiration! Di

Oh wow. A horse of a different color, huh. Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers. Di

Hi Mike! Glad you came here, but wish none of us needed to come here. I'm limited stage SCLC (you can read all that below!). I relate to feeling much better after round 1 of chemo. I had the same drugs as you, just a different schedule. After only a week or 10 days, I was feeling SO much better, even with the chemo. I don't know where you are in the world, or what cancer center you may be near, but there are many places you can search the trials online. In the message list here, I think there are threads about that and some sites where you can start out. Glad you're doing better, and welcome! Di

Ann, there are several here who have had what you're talking about - PCI (prophylactic cranial irradiation). I'm sure that when everyone gets settled from the holiday, they'll let you know their experiences, or you might want to check out some of the earlier topics -- this has been discussed several times. I'm waiting to see if I am a candidate for PCI, and will definitely have it if I am. From what I've learned, the benefits far outweigh the risks to someone with SCLC, because if it recurs, it will most likely recur in the brain. I should find out next week if I'm going to have this or not. Maybe we can compare notes! Di

Of course, you are both in my prayers. Hoping the MRI will show nothing for us to worry about. Di