mike_s

That business with the tigers was not my brightest moment. Did I tell you that while I was petting them I had an epiphany? "This isn't the west. There is no-one in a tower with a rifle to take this monster out if he decides to eat me, and worse all of the attendants are Buddhists who would no doubt feel very bad, but believe it was karma." I was just so sure I was going to die that I felt I had to rush to do a bunch of things that I did not want to miss. I am a little more relaxed now. I do still have the shirt, though. No I did not. Very, very cool. I will try to stop by more. Frances Bean looked me up on Facebook and after talking with her, I felt bad I had not stopped by. Thank you very much.Best Regards, mike_s

You are welcome. Nice to meet you. I will try to drop by more! Best Regards, mds

I went to look up Dr. Ross for my 10 year anniversary, and found that she is now working for the Mayo Clinic. I am still a fan of Providence, though. They have a new cancer wing too! Let us hope neither of us ever need it. Best Regards, mds

I was very lucky that I was in very good physical shape(martial arts) when I was diagnosed. My doctor told me that the treatment she was about to give me would kill 60% of her patients. I can understand very well how you could not tolerate it. I almost could not. I asked her why she was giving me the second round of Chemo since I was NED, and her response was "LC is sneaky". I cannot fault her judgement. I will try to stop by occasionally to say hi. You have already beat the odds. Good Luck continuing to beat them. Best Regards, mds

I got an email from an old friend in this group, and it reminded me that I have not been on in years. Since I got massive support from all of the people here when I was sick this made me feel very, very guilty. I have updated my signature to indicate that I am still NED. My wife Naphalai and I are still happily married(7 years now), and my company is doing great. I moved to Vancouver WA from Portland OR to be closer to my work. We plan on retiring to Thailand in a few years. Even in the NSCLC community, miracles do happen; I am one of them. I am very grateful to everyone here for supporting me through what was one of the roughest periods in my life. Be well. Best Regards, Michael and Naphalai

It is a good thing that I am not the kind of guy to say "I told you so", because now is when I would say it...... Congratulations mike_s

I feel a lot better now. I have heard mostly good about Kaiser, but I consider my doctors to be the "A-Team" because of the results they got for me, given my advanced stage. Financially this is great! I get to go from $620 for one, to $297 for two. Happy days! Best Regards, mike_s and Naphalai

If all else fails, contact the Insurance Commissioner for your state to see if they might help. States vary, but they are supposed to be an advocate for you, not the Insurance Company. Insurance companies really do not like phone calls from that office, because they have the power to pull the Insurance Companies license to operate in your state. Best Regards, mike_s and Naphalai

My radiologist was going on vacation to Hawaii for a week, and my throat was sore so I asked if they could stop while he was gone. They stopped both chemo and radiation for a week, which really helped me cope. They said it wass important to stop both, because they interact. A drink made from ice cream, Carnation instant breakfasts, and milk helped keep my weight loss down. More iron than ensure, and tasted better. Best Regards, mike_s and Naphalai

Amazing people for the longest time!! She was definitely an inspiration to me after I was diagnosed IIIB. Keep rockin Connie! Best Regards, mike_s and Naphalai

I just hit 4 years... Welcome, mike_s and Naphalai

Hopefully in Oregon? Hello, all. I am back to annoy everyone again. When I was diagnosed, I was uninsured, which really sucked. I have since gotten insurance through the state of Washington, but it is costing me $620/month for one person. My wife Naphalai just became elgible for insurance through Kaiser that is mostly employer-paid, but you must go to Kaiser doctors, etc. I am quite happy with my existing doctors at Providence, but the $620/month is killing me. Does anyone have anything positive or negative to say about NSCLC treatment via Kaiser? I do not expect a re-occurance, but the time you get one is not the time to find out your doctors really are not very good. Best Regards, mike_s and Napalai

I actually stop by much more frequently that the "drive-by" schedule would indicate. I just don't post much; I am not a terribly talkative guy on the web. Usually when I want to say something, five others have said it before, so what is the point? Thank you. Things are going very, very well. Makes me nervous. Best Regards, mds

Kind of like ConnieB was for me when I got here. I was terrified. I try to, but I am working a lot of hours for a startup company and it seems like time goes by so fast anymore... It seems like I just turn around, and my oncologist is calling me to schedule another CT scan. Whenever I get scanned, I try to come by to encourage anyone who is new, especially if they have one of the later stages. Miracles do happen! Best Regards, mike_s

Hello all, just stopped by to let you know I am still doing well. A clean CT makes for a very happy Thanksgiving. I got to introduce my lovely Thai wife to the organized American gluttony that is Thanksgiving, closely followed by the "Turkey coma". We had a ball with my whole family. I married off one of my daughters, and the other is a software engineer who swears she will never marry. Quite a change from when I was diagnosed, and had a daughter halfway through college, and one in trouble in high school. I have a lot to be thankful for. Thanks to everyone here for your support over the years, and congrats to all with good news. Best Regards, mike_s PS - I am rooting for you with your surgery ConnieB!!

Very glad to hear your Dad is doing well Frances. If you remember, wish him well from me. Best Regards, mike_s

Good Luck Frank. I hope you play many many rounds of golf in the spring. Best Regards, mike_s

The instant breakfast is for the iron, and vitamins. The taste is what sold me on it, as well as the cost. I never found a flavor of Ensure I liked. and it is so damned expensive. Long back, and getting married to the gal in the first set of pics. She knows all about the cancer, and is fine with it. She is a VERY devout Buddhist, which may affect that. She just believes that any time we have happy together is a gift from Buddha, that should be enjoyed, not questioned. "Kao pen faen Michael"... She is my girlfriend.. actually fiance. I have filed all the papers necessary to bring her here, and we are just waiting for the government to get on with it. She is the sweetest, kindest woman I have ever known, and I am looking forward to making her my wife. I really want the government to get off the dime, because 30 min phone calls to HK are not cheap, and I seem to be calling her every night. My bedtime is around 10 PM, which lines up perfectly with her lunch at 1 PM (the next day) in HK. We are teaching each other our languages via the telephone. Regards, mike_s

I can't figure out where to post this, so I guess "General" is the place... When I was undergoing chemo I had real problems with getting enough protein, because I could not eat much due to lack of appetite, and esophageal pain from the chemo/radiation combination. I had no health insurance, so a lot of cash was going out, and I REALLY needed to watch expenses. I was drinking a lot of "Ensure", and was really unhappy because to me it tastes like crap, and is horribly expensive. I complained about it to a senior chemo nurse while I was getting treatment one day, and she suggested an alternative.. she says she reccomends it to all of her patients, because it contains much more protein and iron than "Ensure", and is MUCH cheaper: 1 Cup Milk 1 Cup Vanilla Ice Cream 1 Packet Carnation Instant Breakfast(I like Chocolate) I tried it once, and then I went out and bought a 3 gallon tub of vanilla ice cream, and the largest container of powdered Carnation Instant Breakfast they sold. To me, it tastes like a really good chocolate shake. There are other flavors, if you don't like chocolate. The down side of this drink if you look at the stats is that you get much more carbohydrates(SUGAR) with this drink than you do with "Ensure". What the nurse told me is really true though, the iron and protein from this drink leaves "Ensure" in the dust. Trust me, it tastes waaay better also. "So what" with the sugar. Chemo patients, in general, need every damned calorie they can get. Regards, mike_s

Congrats!!! Regards, mike_s

We have not set a date yet, other than approximately 30 days after she enters the country. The US Govt. moves VERY slowly, and it will take 4 to 8 months to get here here. Regards, mike_s PS - Thanks to all for the good wishes!!

Sure! Want to come to Thailand next year? I am not religious, but Naphalai is a Buddhist, and wants a Buddhist ceremony at her family's home. She just doesn't care when. Once she gets here, she cannot leave until she has a green card, so it will take a while. Noone is more suprised than I am. I have been bad-talking marriage since my fiance dumped me at the end of six-weeks of chemo. That kind of behavior gives you a somewhat clouded view of the institution. Regards, mike_s

Thank you. A bunch of clear scans in a row can really change your attitude. Regards, mike_s PS - Hope I am not getting overconfident, but I am NOT going to live my life 3 months at a time.

I am not certain what the name Naphalai means. I am fine with her working, so long as it does not involve more than 30 or 40 hrs a week. Working more than that is fine, but it needs to be something we do together; I am not bringing her here to never see her. We will probably start some kind of small business for her. She has an intructor certificate from the most famous Thai Massage school in Thailand, so teaching Thai Massage would be a natural. We will figure something out; the important part is to be together. Regards, mike_s

One kind of interesting side note about Naphalai(God I love that name). I am a Senior Software Engineer in a hi-tech startup company. I took a about a 30% pay cut to go to work for my current employer, because they offered me a percentage of the company, but I still make a fair amount of money. Naphalai does not have to work if she does not want to. Naphalai is a very funny gal! I told her that I made enough money that she did not have to work, and she looked at me like I was crazy. "Everyone must work... what will I do? Sit around the house and watch television? I take care very good care of you AND I work very hard and we save money for when we are old!" I think that attitude comes from no Social Security system. Gotta love that asian work ethic....I think I really love this gal! She is every bit as entreprenuerial as I am, and if NED stays with me, Vancouver Washington better look out! Regards, mike_s