An update on Jen-Its scan week!

[jcawork]

Thought I would update everyone on how I am doing. I haven't done this in a while. I have finished round #5 of carbo and VP, finished radiation 34 tx over 7 weeks.

I never had any neausea

I did not get esophogiolitis

I have had heartburn since tx started-maloox by the gallons

I did have hearing loss from the first dose of Cisplatin

My counts (wbc, rbc and plates) have been a wreck-neupogen at home

I did get pneumonitis-still have it -big cough and wheeze since 9/12/04

Got a bladder infection w/ my counts were down-antibiotic

I never lost a pound (popsicles and chardonnay diet) and I am a lot more jiggly! Total out of shape blob

The exhaustion comes and goes.

SOB comes and goes

I have been up and down w/ depression and anxiety

I have not slept well since the coughing started 2 months

Still struggle w/ giving up the smokes 100%

Have worked PT from home

Have incredible Rad. Oncologist, Rad. team and chemo team.

I got my CT's done yesterday and they were NED (chest, abdomen, pelvis). I still have a 1cm nodule that they think is dead and the radiation damage is there.

My Pet was today-waiting for results to confirm CT scans

MRI of my head tommarow w/ be fused w/ CT and PET

Need to do PCI, but I am dreading it

Meet w/ my Oncologist Fri to see if I am done or if he wants me to do more chemo. Hope I am done.

This scanning thing is a hell of thing. The anxiety is horrible, Even if everything is NED and I am finished, I am so freaked out about recurrance. As we all know SCLC likes to come back, we have seen so many people on this board complete all the TX's and then boom, they get hit again. I know attitude is important, but on this post I thought I would be honest about how I feel instead of working at saying the right thing and looking brilliant. I feel very fortunate and very threatened at the same time. I don't think I could do it all again.

I have made some great friends on this board. They have been my inspiration and my hope. I am not religious and I am unable to get the same "hope" I see others get from religion. I have recieved such inspiration and love from my friends on this board. What survivors, what guts!

I will report back where I stand end of the week. Thanks everyone for being there. Thanks to all who have walked this road before me and shared about it.

Jen

[Addie]

Answered you up in SCLC, Jen....but will say it here too....NED!! I'm so happy for you!!